The Last Mile: Fixed Wireless

By Ben Worthen

Fri, February 15, 2002CIO Good CIOs have gone mad trying to find cheap and effective last-mile connections between their corporate LANs and WANs. The pipes most companies have in place don’t offer the performance companies need to handle media-rich communications, and getting a new T1 or fiber-optic cable put in the ground takes time and money?usually lots of both. Wireless companies promise an alternative: high-speed service at a fraction of the cost.

The word wireless usually conjures images of cell phones, handheld computers or other personal communication devices rather than the information moving among them. The gadget mind-set, however, is a recent phenomenon that disregards the history and evolution of the wireless medium. For the first hundred years after Guglielmo Marconi’s early radio experiments in 1895, wireless simply meant a way to transmit electrical signals without (duh) a wire. Wireless first entered the mainstream telecommunications space in 1969 when the FCC approved a plan by MCI (Microwave Communication Inc.) to provide long-distance telephone service with wireless radio signals. And despite the nation’s obsession with gadgets and gizmos, the wireless-way-to-deliver-information continues to evolve. (For a look at other wireless technologies, see "Wireless that Works," Page 60.)

To differentiate themselves from the mobile device world, companies using radio waves and stationary antennae have adopted the label "fixed wireless." Because there is no need for mobility, these companies can use relatively large transmitters (compared with mobile devices that need to be portable) and consequently achieve transmission rates comparable to or higher than T1 and DS-3. Since there is no cable to run, fixed wireless can be a significantly cheaper way to span the fabled last mile.

There are two different approaches to fixed wireless: point-to-point, which allows for large broadcasts between two points; and point-to-multipoint, which essentially creates a high-speed wireless network. Each is used in different situations and has distinct benefits and challenges.

Point-to-Point

Point-to-point is the basic form of fixed wireless: a small dish antenna transmits data over a distance to another dish. The range is limited by line-of-sight. Under ideal conditions, a signal can travel 30 miles, but if anything gets in the way, you don’t get your signal.

For the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), its 100Mbps antenna delivers data only a fifth of that distance, but it spans two countries. UTEP is a Gigapop (access point) for the Internet2 project, one of about 30 such points in the world that provide connections to the high-speed next-generation Internet being used by a handful of universities to share media-rich applications. Keeping with its close relationship with the University of Juarez just over the U.S.-Mexico border, UTEP decided to lay a dedicated Internet2 line to the Mexican school, which could, in turn, use existing landlines to share Internet2-based research with other schools in Mexico and Central America.

$firstKeyword

Loading...
Mobile MarketSpace
Making Consumer TwoFactor Authentication Cost-Effective
Offering your customers the security of two-factor authentication can help you boost your online business. Learn more »
Solve Five Key IT Security Challenges
Get a high level of security with minimal user impact. Learn more »
Tokenless Two-Factor Authentication In Action
Learn how this technology works, how to implement it, and compare it to other two-factor authentication solutions available on the market today. Learn more »
Mobile Security Landscape
This paper examines the current mobile security landscape, including myths surrounding the risks and threats, and how organizations can establish a solid mobile security strategy. Learn more »
Research: Microsoft Mobile Solutions
This paper compares the Research In Motion BlackBerry solution with the Microsoft(R) mobile solution by analyzing features of the user experience and the administrator experience. Learn more »
Five-Step Mobility Management Plan
This complimentary Aberdeen report details how best-in-class companies are using a 5-Step Mobility Management approach to take control of their burgeoning mobile infrastructures. A must read for IT executives looking to cut mobility TCO and support costs, reduce security risks and increase mobile user productivity Learn more »
Getting Started with LogMeIn Rescue
In this brief demo, you will see LogMeIn Rescue's key features and discover how they can help you support more users on PCs, Macs and smartphones, and solve more issues than ever before. Learn more »
Legacy Tools: Not Built for the Helpdesk
This paper explores the challenges of supporting this workforce with legacy tools such as RDP" and VNC" and identifies best practices that you can use to choose helpdesk tools. Learn more »
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Mobile Security: The Essential Ingredient for Today's Enterprise

White Paper: Legacy Tools: Not Built for the Helpdesk

Learn how to maximize the mobile web opportunity

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back

Cut Costs & Green Your IT Operations with PC Power Management

White Paper: 4 Customer Service Myths

White Paper: Managed Security for a Not-So-Secure World

Global Research: CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

5 Key Virtualization Management Challenges

Secure Email and Web-Based Communication from Evolving Attacks

WagerWorks Takes Fraudsters Out of the Game using iovation

Seven Design Requirements for Web 2.0 Threat Protection

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

Learn how advanced forecasting tools can deliver significant business results for global corporations.

Lower IT Costs with Oracle Database 11g Release 2

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Tips for successful virtualization management.

Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussion

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

A new fleet of PCs with a total ROI in 10 months. Find your ROI.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

White Paper: 5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support

Five-Step Mobility Management Plan

White Paper: Visibility and the New Normal of Mobile Work

Maximizing website Return on Information with high-quality search

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

White Paper: Improve Agility with Operational Responsiveness

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

White Paper: Next Generation Remote Infrastructure Management

Keeping Your Members Safe from Online Scams and Predators

The Total Economic Impact of Network Security Intrusion Prevention

Generation Remote Infrastructure Management - Changing the Paradigm

Cloud-Based Email Management: Opinion Shifts In Favor

eBook: How Can You Make Your People Productive Anywhere?

Achieving Business Agility with Application Grid

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Learn about The Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

Top Five CIO Challenges

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Webcast: Looking to the Cloud for Email and Collaboration Services

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Keep your IT expertise up to date. Join the Intel Premier IT Professionals.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

 
 
RESOURCE CENTER