Fixed Wireless Broadband - Technically Speaking

"Current access mediums such as enhanced copper, cable and fiber competently serve only a portion of the available market and, with the exception of fiber, provide insufficient symmetrical bandwidth to meet the multi-megabit needs of the current broadband fixed market - much less allow for future data speeds. A broadband fixed wireless network presents the single best medium for delivering these services reliably, cost effectively and profitably ."

- Cisco Systems Statement of Direction, 3 rd July 2000

Broadband Wireless Access (BWA)
A BWA radio network consists of base stations (or Access Points) and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) radios aka Subscriber Units (SU). The Access Points (APs) are typically mounted on towers or tall buildings since each customer requires line-of-sight (LOS) back to the base station in order to receive service. Each Access Point delivers bandwidth to each subscriber unit. Because the AP is communicating with multiple SUs, it is considered a point-to-multipoint (PmP) network. Point-to-multipoint networks are very cost efficient and easy to manage since Access points serve as the management portal and their quantities are limited.

Point-to-Point
One important consideration is how to get the bandwidth up to the base station. The preferred method is to deliver the bandwidth through a wireless backhaul or point-to-point link. WiVo uses Trango and Alvarion equipment for PtP links. A PtP link consists of two radios, one on each end and is a highly cost-effective wireless Ethernet bridge which provides up to 1Gbps connectivity, eliminating the expense of leased lines or fiber trenching.

Point-to-Multi-Point
The success of fixed wireless broadband can be attributed to the fact that its design was conceived specifically to allow Internet providers the ability to quickly, cost-effectively, and reliably deliver high speed internet access to large numbers of customers in disbursed geographic areas.

The Trango equipment offers higher speeds and longer ranges than competing solutions - but equally important is the manageability and scalability of the equipment. Trango solutions exceed in these categories as well.
Trango Broadband's outdoor wireless Ethernet bridging solutions enable all types of organizations to easily and cost effectively establish reliable, high speed, secure wireless connectivity between multiple remote locations.

Base Stations
Base stations (AP's) are strategically located on high-rise building rooftops and use wireless access units with sectorized directional antennas to provide the wireless access hub connection. Each unit typically allows a 7-10-mile range, giving a fully provisioned base station coverage over a 200 square mile area. Total maximum capacity per base station is 155 Mbps (OC-3).  

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)
WiVo Wireless Broadband solution is designed for users that require a high rate of sustained connectivity (typically 1 to 10 Mbps) but occasionally even higher speeds (up to 54 Mbps) for heavier traffic loads. Each subscriber unit (SU) is a sealed 9.2" × 4.25" × 3.1" unit located at the end-user's premises, for example, on the roof, with line-of-sight to a base station. In addition to housing the antenna, the SU also contains the customer-end gateway router, so no additional equipment is required. The customer interface is a standard RJ45 CAT5 Ethernet connection and ready to be connected to the customers LAN via directly or to a firewall.

Installation
WiVo's field technicians will install the CPE at the customer's location typically in a couple of hours using non-penetrating tripods, or an existing structure.  Indoor window mounting is also possible.  The CAT5 cable plugs directly into a customer Ethernet LAN or PC, and can service from 1 to over 200 individual hosts or servers. Repeaters can also be used to extend the 10-mile range limit for critical locations.

Data Centers
WiVo's wireless base stations are interconnected using either DS-3 or OC-3 connections back to a Data Center . At these Data Centers, WiVo maintains peering and transit with multiple global backbones. The Data Centers are also home to WiVo's servers which provide web hosting, DNS, mail and other services. Each Data Center is a state-of-the-art facility with around the clock security, UPS and generator power backup, and environmental controls (for temperature and humidity).

 Key Advantages

•  Performance – The wireless equipment delivers lots of bandwidth at great distances. New customers can be added to the network without any noticeable hit on overall speed.

•  Dependability – WiVo utilizes direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) Technology. DSSS was invented years ago by the US military as a secure, robust, and reliable means to communicate across great distances. The same characteristics of DSSS that worked well for the US military, can work to the advantages of providers like WiVo. DSSS is inherently dependable, efficient, and secure. ISPs can spend more time acquiring more customers and less time maintaining or repairing the network.

•  Manageability – The equipment was designed to provide the ISP with complete control over its wireless network. All radios feature comprehensive management interfaces including Telnet, HTTP, and SNMP built right into the radio. Network operators have full access to the radios to monitor performance, optimize the network, add or modify subscribers. Using SNMP, operators can be alerted to any potential problem on their network.

•  Scalability – The system can grow along with the ISPs business. Adding subscribers is a simple matter of adding the SU to the AP's database. Access Points can be co-located (in fact, up to 22!) to provide coverage to multiple sectors. New base stations can be added and interlinked using PtP radios. The possibilities for growth are endless.

•  Ease of Installation – One of the most important considerations for cost-containment is ease of installation. In order to minimize truck-rolls and the time that installers spend at each new location, it is imperative that the CPE solution be easily and quickly installed. The equipment was designed with this in mind. All of our radios feature Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and radio/CPE solutions which are integrated together. This means the entire radio is mounted outdoors — on a pole, or on a wall.

•  Security – Unlike the popular 802.11 standards which are based on open protocols, Trango's WWAN solutions utilize completely proprietary techniques to ensure optimal over-the-air security.

•  Outdoor ready and rugged – Unlike many competing solutions, the entire Trango product line was designed to go outdoors. The radios are designed to withstand the harshest environments whether it be snow, rain, or extreme heat. For more information on our equipment providers, please visit : www.trangobroadband.com and www.alvarion.com