[1st-mile-nm] TVWS

[Mimbres Communications]

I've been watching this space (pun intended) for over a decade now.  We got
close to a trial with Adaptrum about two years back, but decided to wait
for their third-generation hardware, which was still 'coming soon' the last
time I spoke with them.

Currently available radios are far too expensive and have significant
limitations -- partly due to regulatory limits and partly from
underperforming hardware.  70 mbits/sec total throughput from a
multi-thousand dollar AP and multi-hundred dollar CPEs is just not going to
work for us and for our customers.   Some of the products look like they
were assembled in a garage, and there seems to be a bigger focus on
marketing than on engineering at certain manufacturers.

Microsoft's proposed changes to Part 15 would allow much more effective
utilization of the band, and would stimulate the kind of investment by
manufacturers needed to drive any kind of mass adoption.

I remain optimistic...




On Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 12:30 PM Doug Orr <doug.orr at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm just starting up a mailing list for broader nm tech discussions so I
> don't pollute 1st-mile so much. I'll send out pointers in a bit if anyone's
> interested.
>
> Just one last time -- as I say, I'll soon have a new place which will
> receive this sort of awesomeness.
>
> I've been looking into whitespace stuff a bit, recently. Here are some
> interesting links:
> https://www.google.com/get/spectrumdatabase/
> http://www.radiosoft.com/
> https://www.carlsonwireless.com/tv-white-space/
>
> https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/InnovationsinSpectrumManagement_March2019-EN.pdf
>
> https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/04/t-mobile-dominates-spectrum-auction-will-boost-lte-network-across-us/
> http://www.whitespacealliance.org/
> http://www.adaptrum.com/
>
> T-Mobile is getting rural mayors to support their Sprint merger on the
> basis that they'll be able to provide better service to rural customers.
> They've been buying up 600Mhz spectrum like crazy. They could offer a
> separate rural broadband product. Anything looped in with a mobile offering
> has the problem that there's a 93% cell phone penetration in this country
> so supporting rural, mostly means no new plan sales. Maybe bandwidth
> charges would be worth it but...density... they risk spending money without
> getting new revenue.
>
> I just heard back from Carlson Wireless -- they're selling base stations
> for $4k and client access stations for $460. They claim a base station
> serves "hundreds" of subscribers, 72Mbps aggregate per base, 10/1Mbps for
> up to 30 subscribers. I've attached their brochure. They'll do the
> whitespace db lookup for you to see if there is interference (I'm guessing
> NM's population of wireless mic's is one of the lower ones :)
>
> So, that's interesting, no? They say there's a two month backlog on orders.
>
>   Doug
>
> On Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 10:20 AM Mimbres Communications <mimcom at sw-ei.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Getting Internet to a moving school bus in remote rural areas presents
>> its own challenges.  Big Cellular will be happy to help (with appropriate
>> incentives, of course).
>>
>> Microsoft thinks TVWS could be the answer, and (despite the lackluster
>> performance we saw from first generation TVWS gear) I'm inclined to agree.
>> See p.13 of
>> https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1003002645838/October%202%202018%20White%20Spaces%20Ex%20Parte%20(FINAL).pdf
>>
>>
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