Core Networks
• Capacity measured in billions of bits per
second (Gb/s)
• Fiber is king - virtually unlimited bandwidth
with equipment upgrades
• Core network is the crucial first step
• Subscriber access requires additional
investments in last mile infrastructure
Last Mile Wireline
Expensive New
Physical Plant
• Fiber to the home
• Fiber to the curb
• Coax / CATV
• No business case
Leverage Existing
Physical Plant
• Metro ethernet
(fiber + copper)
• T1, bonded T1s
DSL - best value
• Telco has the wire
Last Mile Wireless
Expensive Spectrum
Peaks & Ridgelines
• Cellular 3G
Voice and Data
• Cellular 4G
LTE and WiMax (802.16)
• Long Range, near-LOS
• Carriers focused on mobile
services, not fixed
Unlicensed Spectrum
Elevated Structures
Private 802.16
Longer range, near-LOS
• Standard 802.11 (Wi-Fi)
Many small coverage areas
Extended 802.11
Mesh, PtMP (LOS only)
802.22 TV ‘white space
Our Best Options
Telco DSL - They Already Have the Wires
Circulate petitions and show a business case
Moderate incremental expense for carriers
Adirondack Style - Do It Ourselves
Utilize unlicensed spectrum solutions
Low to moderate capital expense
Public / private partnerships cover OpEx
• Major carriers are not focused on economic
benefits in the Adirondacks. We are
WiMax / 802.16
• WiMax Forum is an
industry organization to
promote and certify
interoperability.
• The only certified profile
for unlicensed spectrum
uses 5.8 GHz, which
suffers from rain, snow
and foliage.
• Commercial vendors
offer same technology for
unlicensed spectrum.
• Advanced modulation
and antenna technology
supports longer range
and better penetration.
• Unlicensed 2.4 GHz band
good for towns, valleys
and other near-LOS.
• Unlicensed 900 MHz
good for long range and
non-LOS. Tradeoff is data
rates less than 3 Mb/s
Wi-Fi / 802.11
• Wi-Fi Alliance is an
industry organization to
promote and certify
interoperability.
• Designed for small, local
wireless networks.
• Media access control is
contention-based and
does not scale to large
areas.
• Wider coverage requires
many radios, with mesh
or point-to-multipoint
back-haul links.
• Mesh and PtMP benefit
from deterministic and
proprietary media access
control techniques.
• Generally poor
penetration through walls
and foliage - LOS only.