National Communications Forum: Session PCS 10 Wireless Broadband Access

National Communications Forum:
Session PCS 10
Wireless Broadband Access
Session: PCS 10
Tuesday, October 17
Judith Hellerstein, President

Hellerstein & Associates
2400 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 1023C
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 333-6517 Fax: (509) 355-9792
Judithh@jhellerstein.com www.jhellerstein.com
A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

“Give Your Company the Competitive Edge”
OUTLINE
 Demand drivers for broadband access

 What is fixed broadband wireless access?
 Four types of access technologies
 MMDS
 LMDS
 DEMS
 38 GHz
 Benefits and challenges
 Target markets and market deployment

Market Size
 Services
 Two Analyst views
Strategis: 2003 – $9.6B
Pioneer: 2007 – $14B
 Major Investments
 Sprint MMDS acquisitions Apr/99 for $870M
 MCI MMDS acquisitions Apr/99 for $805.6M
 Significant equipment R&D investments

Demand Drivers for Broadband Access
 Internet growing at exponential rates. By 2002, data will account for

99% of all traffic through the network
 By 2003, more than 50% of all Internet access will be through
broadband: DSL, Cable and Wireless
 More than half of all broadband access will be through DSL
 One in four users will be in smaller markets
 Strong demand in small, midsize and semi-rural markets
 Data traffic demand is driving access market to provide high-capacity
transport
 Limitations of Fiber/DSL technology are driving the broadband
wireless industry

Bandwidth/Voice Supply & Demand
Gbps Global Bandwidth Demand
70,000
63,222
60,000
50,000 44,497
40,000
28,789
30,000
20,000 16,721
10,000 5,405
3,137
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Research

Estimated Growth in Consumer Broadband
Access
50,000
42,500
# of Households
40,000 36,900
31,400
30,000 25,800
19,900
20,000
14,100
9,200
10,000
4,600
1,750
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Broadband is Changing the Shape of
Business Access
Business Access Revenue Forecasts
$50,000
Revenues $ Millions
Dial-up & ISDN

Fixed Wireless
$40,000 $1,339
DSL $1, 12 5
Copper T1 $957 $1, 2 9 0 $5, 76 5

$893
$114 $4 , 2 3 5
Fiber
$30,000 $161 $1, 3 4 3 $7, 0 4 3
$2 , 6 57 $5, 4 4 0
$3 , 70 1
$19 $1, 3 0 3 $6 , 2 52
$7, 0 9 4
$20,000 $1, 16 8 $2 , 2 0 0
$7, 153
$5, 8 2 2 $6 , 754
$9 71
$751
$4 , 8 6 4
$10,000 $5, 2 6 1 $17, 12 0 $18 , 6 6 9
$14 , 4 2 2
$11, 4 52 $11, 556
$8 , 3 3 5
$6 , 0 8 3
$0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Bandwidth Requirements for
Broadband Applications
Business Applications Bandwidth Required
Telecommuting/SOHO .014-6 Mbs
Internet .500-1.5 Mbs
Desktop Video Conferencing .128-1.5 Mbs
Local W ebsite Hosting .5-6 Mbs
Computer Telephony Integration .300-1.5 Mbs
Consumer Applications Bandwidth Required

Internet .500-1.5 Mbs
Education .5-6 Mbs
Video on Demand 3-7 Mbs
Shopping .500-1.5 Mbs
Interactive Video Games .300-1.5 Mbs

What is Broadband Wireless Access?
 Wireless broadband access uses radio spectrum rather than
copper or fiber optic cable as a medium for transporting
telecommunications and data traffic
 Uses spectrum from24 GHz to 42 GHz
 Value of spectrum depends on the frequency selected
 Targeted deployment
 Interface supports voice, data,a nd video services
 Bandwidth is shared among users in a cell.
 Wireless infrastructure:
 Mobile: unable to provide broadband services
 Fixed: able to overcome the bottleneck in the first or last mile
Fixed Broadband Wireless Technology
 Technology used to deliver wireless access:
 Point-to-point
 Point-to-multipoint
Allows high speed, high capacity two way multimedia service to
be delivered quickly to consumer.
 Fixed wireless access uses spectrum between 24-42 GHz
 ATM air interface supports voice, data, and video
services
 Bandwidth shared among users in a cell
 Bandwidth applications from 64K to 155 Mb

Microwave
 Licensed and unlicensed

 Licensed, MMDS, LMDS, DEMS, 38-39
GHZ
 Unlicensed 900-904 MHz, 2.4 GHz- 5.7
GHz

Frequencies
 Frequencies available for delivering broadband
 Spectrum used is typically above 2 GHz
 Lower frequencies are often used for mobile applications, while
higher frequencies are used for fixed wireless access
 Fixed Wireless technologies include: LMDS, MMDS, and DEMS
 Fixed wireless spectrum lies between 24-42 GHz
 Both Licensed and unlicensed bands are available
 Unlicensed bands include 2.5, 5, 18, and 60 GHz bands (ex.
Metricom’s Ricochet)
 Licensed bands include 2.6, 24-26, 28-30, and 38-40 GHz bands
 In the US, about 100 MHz is available in the MMDS band near 2.6 GHz and 1.3
MHz is available in the LMDS band near 30 GHz and 1.4 GHz is available near
40 GHz

Fixed Wireless Systems Architectures
 Point -to-Point
 Point-to-Multipoint
 Point to Consecutive point

Fixed Wireless Systems
 Point -to-Point
 Network Architecture consists of a single link between two
points, typically two rooftop antennas
Base Single
Station Customer
 Line of sight connection is needed between the two

antennas
 Each point must be within 1-3 miles of the system’s hub site

Point-to-Point (contined)
 The hub aggregates the traffic from multiple radios

and then the traffic is backhauled to the company’s
switch

Benefits of Point-to-Point Architecture
 Much less expensive than building a fiber

network.
 Additional links added as need arises
 Ease of additional provisioning
 Highly flexible and easy to control

Equipment
 The major providers are:

 DigitalMicrowave
 Harris Corporation
 Wavespan
 Glenayre

Point-to-Multipoint
 Systems are comprised of four main elements
 Hubs
 Radios
 Customer premise equipment (CPE), and
 Network management systems
 Customers access the network by sending voice and data
traffic over the local network to a central hub-site as a radio
signal. At the hub-site, the signal is converted back into
voice and/or data traffic

Point-to-Multipoint (continued)
 Operates as a “hub and spoke” linking a single radio hub
with multiple rooftop antennas
Base
Up to several thousand customers
Station
 Since each hub site serves several buildings, this type of
technology enables service providers to offer faster,
cheaper, and more comprehensive serivces
 Multiple radios can then be combined to offer 100%
coverage.

Point-to-Multipoint (continued)
 Enables costs to be spread out more evenly among
customers
 Uses spectrum more efficiently than point-to-point systems
 Difficulty in adding additional spectrum because of FCC
imposed spectrum caps
 Enables bandwidth on demand on a pay per use basis

Equipment providers
 The major providers are

 Nortel
 Newbridge Networks
 Lucent
 Alcatel
 Spike Technologies

Point to Consecutive Point
 Being deployed by Advanced Radio Telecom using Triton’s technology
 The technology is configured as a point-to-point redundant ring
architecture capable if providing 100 Mbs of bandwidth in each
direction of the ring
 Ring configuration allows network operators the ability to expand the
geographic area covered by an operator
 Capacity can be expanded by deploying additional rings in the area
 Network is fully redundant
 Rings are self healing
 Architecture is similar to SONET

Four Types of Access Technologies
 MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services)

 DEMS (Digital Electronic Messaging Service)
 LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service)
 38-39 GHZ

Wireless DSL Consortium
 Wireless DSL Consortium formed in July 2000
 New group composed of Fixed Broadband Wireless equipment and
chip manufacturers, system integrators, and service providers
whose goals are:
 To define, develop, and implement a set of open interfaces for MMDS
products.
 Enable quality of service control to the end-user
 Improve Wireless broadband coverage to non line-of-sight customers
 Create protocol specifications, interoperability standards, and
validation methods for testing of new standard.
 Members include, ADC Telecommunications, Conexant Systems,
Gigabit Wireless, Intel, Nortel Networks, Nucentrix, Sprint, Vyyo,
and Worldcom
Standards-based Fixed Broadband Wireless
 Allows service providers to mass deploy Fixed Broadband Wireless

equipment and service
 Lack of standards leads to market fragmentation, low volumes, and
high cost
 Promotes interoperability of technologies and leads to increased
customer choice
 Allows the market to provide more product and supplier
alternatives than possible without a standard
 Helps focus industry on resolving other challenges necessary to
reach mass deployment
 Lowers costs to suppliers and to consumers
 Increases choice of providers and greater selection of products
MMDS
 Frequency Band: 2.5 GHz
 Formerly a one-way service, but in September 1998 FCC rules allowed
for the commencement of two-way service
 In August 2000, the FCC began accepting applications by carriers wishing
to convert their one-way MMDS spectrum into two-way spectrum
 Data rates: 128 Kbit/s ~ 1.544 Mbit/s
 Originally designed for the delivery of cable TV signals
 Supercell approach
 Market players: Sprint & MCI WorldCom have the potential to cover
60% of US households

DEMS
 Frequency Band:24 GHz

 Requires a cell radius of 2~3 miles
 Data rates: 1.54 Mbit/s
 Market player: Teligent holds between 80
and 400 MHz of spectrum in 74 markets
 Only commercial carrier in the market

LMDS
 Frequency band: 28-31 GHz
 Largest block of spectrum ever authorized
by the FCC
 Capability:
 multichannelvideo programming
 two-way voice and data services
 Data Rates: 64 Kbps ~ 155 Mbps
 Market player: Nextlink
Typical LMDS User Equipment
Roof Antenna/Transceiver Indoor Unit
Rx
Network Ethernet User Interface
RF Unit Power
Interface Unit
(Outdoor Unit)
Tx (Indoor Unit)
Prime AC Power
User
Terminal
1-10 Mbps

Projected World Market LMDS Service Revenue
Total Annual Service Revenue
$9,000
$8,000
Revenue US$ Millions
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year

38 GHz
 FCC recently auctioned off spectrum

 Previously licensing of companies had been
done on a case-by-case basis
 Market players:
 Winstar
 Advanced Radio Telecom (ART)
 AT&T

Target Markets
 Target Markets
 SOHO
 Small Business
 Medium Business
 Residential
 Demand for high speed access over the past
two years has resulted in 35-40% growth
rates
Benefits of Fixed Broadband Wireless
 Provides bandwidth and access speeds equal or greater than ADSL or

cable modems
 Offers quick installation as compared to wired systems
 Can extend the reach of fiber or coax by providing the “last mile” of the
network
 Fast market entry for service providers as compared to wired systems
 Low startup and entry costs
 Pay as you go approach: carriers only required to add equipment as the
number of users grow
 Operator control over facilities
 Flexibility of deployment, especially in medium--high population
densities where penetration rates are initially low

Services
 High speed data bursting as high as 20 Mbs

 Local Exchange and Long Distance
 Video Conferencing
 Training and Distance Learning
 Remote medical diagnostics
 Virtual Private Networks

Benefits and Comparison
Wireless
Wire-line
LMDS MMDS
Time to
Deploy
Months Hours
Cost of
Infrastructure
$150K/mile $15K/mile $1.5K/mile
Environmentally
Fixed Coverage, Environmentally
Deployment Challenged,
Most Expensive Advantaged,
Characteristics Small Coverage
for Small Users Wide coverage
Area

Alternative High-speed Access Technologies
 Cable modem
 DSL
 Broadband Satellite
 Fiber
 Mobile- 3G service

Challenges
 Overcoming line-of-sight limitations, such as terrain and tree foliage
 Weather related signal loss
 Broadband wireless technology is not as well understood as broadband
wired technologies
 Although spectrum is available, equipment is not readily available
 Technology for the higher frequencies is just now coming to market
 Lack of any high volume production of equipment needed
 155 Mb modems are only produced in low-volume, high-cost production
 Technology for low-cost, high speed burst modems is available but systems
have not been produced.

Conclusion
 Fixed BWA will provide alternatives to ADSL, T1 lines
and HFC systems to deliver broadband services to both
business and residential customers.
 Fixed BWA will complement, not replace wired systems.
 Fixed BWA systems will be used to extend the connectivity
to fiber optic networks.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
Judith Hellerstein, President
Hellerstein & Associates
2400 Virginia Avenue NW Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 333-6517 Fax: (509) 355-9792
Judith@jhellerstein.com www.jhellerstein.com
Thank You


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National Communications Forum:

Judith Hellerstein, President

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Demand drivers for broadband access

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Internet growing at exponential rates. By 2002, data will account for

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

Dial-up & ISDN

Copper T1 $957 $1, 2 9 0 $5, 76 5

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

Internet .500-1.5 Mbs

Desktop Video Conferencing .128-1.5 Mbs

Local W ebsite Hosting .5-6 Mbs

Computer Telephony Integration .300-1.5 Mbs

Consumer Applications Bandwidth Required

Education .5-6 Mbs

Video on Demand 3-7 Mbs

Shopping .500-1.5 Mbs

Interactive Video Games .300-1.5 Mbs

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Bandwidth applications from 64K to 155 Mb

 Licensed and unlicensed

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Line of sight connection is needed between the two

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 The hub aggregates the traffic from multiple radios

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Much less expensive than building a fiber

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 The major providers are:

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 The major providers are

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services)

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Allows service providers to mass deploy Fixed Broadband Wireless

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Frequency Band:24 GHz

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

Total Annual Service Revenue

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 FCC recently auctioned off spectrum

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 Provides bandwidth and access speeds equal or greater than ADSL or

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

 High speed data bursting as high as 20 Mbs

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

A Telecommunications and Technology Research Group

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