Upcoming Events

A Network Computing Webinar:
Avoiding Downtime: How Virtualization Can Help In Times of Trouble

June 12, 2013
11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET

Are you caught between a desire for the benefits of the cloud and concerns about security and control? Then you should attend this insight-packed webinar to learn how private data networking technologies like MPLS IP-VPNs can address your concerns and allow you to safely and intelligently reap the savings, agility and other benefits associated with cloud computing.

Join us to hear top industry experts discuss the private data network technologies that are best suited for enterprise cloud access requirements. You won't want to miss this opportunity to learn how your organization can best mitigate risk while reaping the full potential benefits of the cloud.

Register Now!

More Events »

Subscribe to Newsletter

  • Keep up with all of the latest news and analysis on the fast-moving IT industry with Network Computing newsletters.
Sign Up

Wireless Broadband and Other Fixed-Wireless Systems

By Peter Rysavy  Our appetite for bandwidth is insatiable. And now, just as wireline modems are topping out at 56 Kbps and ISDN service is finally available in most locations, new technologies, such as DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and cable modems that offer transmission speeds of megabits per second, are beginning field trials. Meanwhile, old standbys, such as corporate T1 connections at 1.54 Mbps, are being upgraded by many companies to T3 fiber connections. But as quickly as LECs (local exchange carriers) and competitive access providers lay new fiber, many companies are finding high-bandwidth connections difficult to obtain or prohibitively expensive. Wireless has always been an alternative for high-speed connections, but never has the range of choices been as great nor the rate of innovation as rapid. This chapter delves into the world of wireless broadband and other fixed-wireless connections that deliver data rates from T1 to 155 Mbps. These wireless connections serve the same function as a wireline-- interconnecting private networks, bypassing a local exchange carrier or connecting to the Internet.

In our first chapter on wireless networks (http://www.networkcomputing.com/netdesign/wireless1.html), we examined wide-area wireless networks, covering data over PCS (personal communications systems), packet data networks and Metricom Ricochet. In our second chapter, we surveyed wireless LANs (http://www.networkcomputing.com/netdesign/wlan1.html). Both chapters concentrated on mobile computer communications. This chapter focuses on communications that are fixed and at higher data rates. A simple form of such a system might involve a private microwave point-to-point connection; a more complex system might involve a carrier that has deployed a complete network using sophisticated point-to-multipoint hubs. A LEO (low-earth-orbiting) system of satellites would be even more complex. There are as many variations in high-speed wireless systems as there are variations in wireline systems.

Fixed-wireless systems have a long history. Point-to-point microwave connections have long been used for voice and data communications, generally in backhaul networks operated by phone companies, cable TV companies, utilities, railways, paging companies and government agencies, and will continue to be an important part of the communications infrastructure. Frequencies used range from 1 GHz to 40 GHz. But technology has continued to advance, allowing higher frequencies, and thus smaller antennas, to be used, resulting in lower costs and easier-to-deploy systems for private use and for a whole new generation of carriers that are planning to use wireless access as their last mile of communication. The terms wireless broadband and broadband wireless are not used consistently, but generally both apply to carrier-based services in which multiple data streams are multiplexed onto a single radio-carrier signal. Some vendors also use the terms to refer to privately deployed networks.



(A backhaul connection is a company's internal infrastructure connection. For example, a phone company's backhaul might be from one central office to another.)

The goal of this chapter is to show how fixed-wireless systems are no longer a communications tool restricted to large or specialized organizations. They are available to almost any size company in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes. You¹ll find that you have a wide range of choices, including whether to use licensed or unlicensed spectrum, whether to deploy a private network or use a carrier network, and whether to use a terrestrial network or a satellite network. In some cases, you may not even know that your service provider is using wireless technology. This chapter discusses the options available, how the various technologies work and how to go about implementing a fixed-wireless solution.


TOC

Broad Fundamentals

 Fixed-Wireless Applications

 Wireline versus Wireless

 Private versus Carrier

 Unique Aspects of Wireless

 Radio Spectrum


Types of Fixed-Wireless Systems

 Private Licensed Links (Microwave)

 Private Unlicensed Links (Spread Spectrum)

 38-GHz Carrier Service

 LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service)

 Satellite Systems

 And the Rest


Using Fixed-Wireless Systems

 Choosing Between Wireless and Wireline

 Understanding Geography and Climate

 Choosing Between Private and Carrier

 How To Deploy a Private Connection

 How To Use a Wireless Broadband Carrier

 When To Use Satellites


Service and Equipment Providers

 Microwave Products

 Unlicensed Wireless Bridges

 Wireless Broadband Carriers

Company Directory
to browse our data, starting with a particular company.

Network Computing Links
allows you to request additional product information from our advertisers.

Print This Page


e-mail E-mail this URL

Vendor Comparisons
Network Computing’s Vendor Comparisons provide extensive details on products and services, including downloadable feature matrices. Our categories include:

Research and Reports

May 2013
Network Computing: May 2013


TechWeb Careers