Wireless broadband considerations

Though wireless gear makers and providers are trying to sell the simplicity of wireless broadband access, there are many considerations in rolling out high-speed networks to your users. Here are some tips for each approach.

EV-DO

When signing on to EV-DO services, it’s important to match your users’ access patterns to your provider’s coverage areas. Research where the users are logging in from, what types of network operations they are performing (e-mail, database access, file-sharing, etc.) and what the costs have been so far. Then map your findings to the services the provider offers in terms of geography, average speeds and projected buildouts.

Craig Mathias, principal at Farpoint Group, recommends doing real-life tests of the services before signing on to a contract. What providers say they can give you and what really is available are often at odds. Ask the providers what they guarantee and make sure their answer is clearly stated in your contract.

“Chances are, they aren’t going to guarantee any kind of throughput,” Mathias warns. “There are no real service-level agreements for that today.”

Mathias also says consider signing on to these services soon as providers are looking to fill up their networks and might be willing to negotiate good deals.

Wi-Max

The most critical factor in deploying Wi-Max is doing a site survey. Bruce Fleming, divisional technology officer at Verizon Federal Networks Systems, says there is no cookie-cutter approach to Wi-Max rollouts. “It’s not like the wired infrastructure,” he says.

While Wi-Max can get up to 30 miles of reach, many factors come into play. For instance, line of sight is key and environmental issues such as frequency of rainstorms and density of foliage can play an important role in where and how far apart to place antennas. Site surveys can determine what effect these factors will have on the signal distance. Many service providers offer site planning services, and Fleming says automated tools will be on the market soon – as they are for Wi-Fi site surveys.

Channel parsing is another tricky part of fixed Wi-Max rollouts. You have to know what traffic you want assigned to which channel. You’re also going to want to engineer for types of traffic – voice, video, etc. And you have to be wary of interference. Again, look to experts to help in plotting out your network.