FREE Radio Spectrum - any takers?

crawler

Telecoms regulator Etain Doyle has exempted a number of wireless short-range devices from licensing, including some for the provision of fixed wireless access (FWA) in the 5.8GHz band. The exemption will enable the rapid deployment of FWA services such as wireless Internet provision and will complement existing licensed FWA services. Enhanced power levels are being permitted to enable higher capacity and flexibility of use

Ya never know....

crawler

Hmmm just think about this.....how happy will the people who actually paid ( way over the odds ) for spectrum be with this decision.....

Also - Buy I-Dream multi user - horse a wireless omnipole tranmitter on the roof ( disguise as an RTE ariel ) and flog to all around you at a fraction of the cost....maybe get a local pub to sponser? Might even make sense to but a 2mb leased line if you could get the numbers........say 48 users ( residential dsl is based on 48 users contend per 2mb me thinks ) would work out at about €40.00 per user/month + install....

Pie in the sky ( Pardon the pun, guffaw , guffaw ) , I know but worth thinking about

Dangger

The High Hurdles Facing Wi-Fi

longword

Originally posted by Dangger
The High Hurdles Facing Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi5 (802.11a) is a bit lower down in the spectrum, centered around 5GHz, with some of the chips capable of stretching to 5.25GHz. They won't be able to take advantage of 5.8GHz which is intended for a different standard altogether - 802.16a. Unlike the 802.11* standards which are designed for short range LAN use, 802.16 is targetted at Metropolitan Area Networks right from the start. The main 802.16 standard is for the 10-66GHz range, but 802.16a which isn't quite finalized yet is meant for use in the 2-11GHz range.

Dustaz

reading this type of thing hurts my head badly. Can someone un-beard the article for us?

sceptre

TBH I was surprised the thing took off at all or even worked in the first place. The first article I read about wi-fi (probably in PCW) mentioned the 2.4GHz frequency it would be working on. Even for a fairly-non-tech person like me, my first thought was "hmm, microwaves and cordless phones, Bluetooth (vapourware at the time), naw, won't wash"

nice enough link (with pictures for people like me):
http://www.dell.com/us/en/biz/topics/vectors_2001-wireless_deployment.htm

hudson806

Originally posted by Dustaz
reading this type of thing hurts my head badly. Can someone un-beard the article for us?

Slightly less beardy version (correct anything that's wrong, I'm just working this out from the ODTR document published today):

The ODTR has made two changes to License exempt bands:

1. 802.11a (operates in the low 5GHz area as Longword pointed out) is now allowed, indoors only. This is subject to the caveat that whenever the 802.11a standard is modified to support frequency agility, users will be required to upgrade to it.

2. The 5.8GHz band is now free to use. This is significant because there is lots of equipment (non 802.XX) out there that operates at 5.8GHz.

I think the big winners today are companies like Leap who now have access to the kind of spectrum that they need to provide a long-range, carrier-grade service. Being able to operate at 5.8GHz also opens up the market to provide other services such as ATM and voice over wireless.

Its probably of less use to groups like Irishwan - although 5.8GHz equipment is available off the shelf, it is usually expensive (relative to 802.1X) and really only sold to carriers and WISPs.

timod

The title of the doc is "Permitted Short Range Devices in Ireland"
They talk about 802.11a. All the WANS are talking about 802.11b

Covers stuff like Baby Monitors, Alarms, cordless phones

And in the Annex:

Equipment may only be used INDOORS.

BTW, the capitilisation was the ODTR's emphasis.

hudson806

Originally posted by timod
The title of the doc is "Permitted Short Range Devices in Ireland"
They talk about 802.11a. All the WANS are talking about 802.11b

Well, 802.11b is already permitted. It would have been nice if they had raised the maximum output above 100mW though....

Equipment may only be used INDOORS.
BTW, the capitilisation was the ODTR's emphasis.

I think that's because 802.11a doesn't coexist with HiperLAN2, a European standard similar to 802.11a. Until Dynamic channel selection (DCS) and transmit power control (TPC) are added to 802.11a, the ODTR wants it to only be used indoors to minimise interference.

This is a good deal more enlightened than in some EU countries where 802.11a is just banned, full stop, until the interence problem is resolved.

crawler

All good points here - I just threw it out so people actually give it some thought....Sorry if this is a bit "fluffy" but people who would serious consider this as an option will know why I am saying it!

There are 5.8ghz bridges out there that will work up to OC-3 level over 8 miles....given the cost of fibre backhaul from Eircom , the list cost of this kit per radio is $23k ( knock off chunks if you are an ISP) e.g. http://www.isp-planet.com/fixed_wireless/equipment/2002/lynxoc3.html

There is lots of 802.x stuff out there that works at the 5.8Ghz level - and it is NOT that expensive.

Other stuff worth a read is http://www.internetindustry.com/mag/01_03fa/15ghz/index.shtml

5.8Ghz decision from the ODTR is significant. How significant will depend on where the opportunities lie and who capitalises on them

SkepticOne

Originally posted by crawler
There is lots of 802.x stuff out there that works at the 5.8Ghz level - and it is NOT that expensive.

I think the consumer level 802.x stuff is mainly around the 5.3Ghz level.

SkepticOne

Originally posted by SkepticOne
I think the consumer level 802.x stuff is mainly around the 5.3Ghz level.

802.11a covers the 5.150 to 5.350 range.

crawler

Well spotted SkepticOne! You are right.

The way I was thinking was a developed ISP network using 5.8Ghz for backhaul and transmission on the carrier side and then local loop consumer stuff at 802.11b standard using standard licence exempt kit....The biggest cost in a metro network such as this is either fibre and/or licenced spectrum on the carrier side , for example what would you pay for you STM-1 links?

I'll think about it a bit more.....head is not great today.

Fallschirmjager

ok, this is all bit mastabatory for me.....


does it mean anything to those of us who doent own 4 soldering irons and make our our processors...

am i correct in saying...

i will be able to get broadband coverage over a wider area and it will be cheaper. i understood it to mean this..

am i correct?

crawler

in theory , YES , in practice who knows!

Xian

So the consensus is that we are sure we are entitled to use our remote control speedboat, but only in the bath?
For the crumbs that fall from your table, Ms. Doyle, we are humbly grateful.

timod

yah....

What we want is an increase in power for 802.11b to 250mw

Equipment for that power is available reasonably cheaply. However, it's limited to 100mw by European Legislation. The only way to get it up is by lobbying the EU I think.

Meanwhile, we'll struggle on...

crawler

Well said Timod...

Or we could knock down the building , flatten the landscapes , and live underground.....surely a small price to pay

This offering is crumbs......as to limiting it to indoor use....stale crumbs....still though it is SOMETHING.