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Broadband Wireless Internet Access / WiMAX News
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It's been a long time since I've gotten excited enough about a new Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) system to write a dedicated article, but Redline Communications just tripped that threshold with their new version of their AN-80i radio that now operates in the "new" 255 MHz of license-exempt spectrum at 5.470 - 5.725 GHz. I heard about this new system in a session by Kevin Suitor, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, while attending WISPCON 2007. I think that this product is a real "game changer" product, especially for the smaller, rural, entrepreneurial Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) that are prepared to take advantage of its capabilities and the new business models it enables.
I wrote this brief blurb about the AN-80i in Wireless Internet Service Provider News (WISPNews):
Product Anouncement: AN-80i - FCC certified for operation in new 255
MHz of 5.4 GHz band, 9 Mbps - 90 Mbps upgradeable with software keys,
10/20/40 MHz cnannels, PMP is in beta, Power Over Ethernet (all
outdoor), simple mounting - starts at under $2000 per end. Specifically
designed to be a good match for Wi-Fi mesh systems.
Links: Press Release Product Information
First things first. While this product was supposed to be formally certified by the press release date of Wednesday, February 21, 2007... the FCC hasn't completed its work, so as of this writing, this product isn't (quite) certified and thus not formally available for sale in the US.
Second... this article isn't based on any direct, hands-on experience in real-world field conditions.
OK, that said...
To me, this is a really exciting product for a number of reasons:
- It's one of the first... perhaps the first certified (we'll have to wait to see what "pops out" of the FCC certification process first) product for outdoor use in the US 5.4 GHz band. This "new" 255 MHz of spectrum can provide Broadband Wireless Internet Access Service Providers a lot of new options. Even though the range is somewhat restricted - 3-5 miles, you can capture a lot of customers in that kind of short radius, and so doing, conserve "long range" 5.8 GHz spectrum.
- The stated (list) price point - under $2000 per unit, is impressive considering that "upgrade in place" software keys enable the same installed hardware to increase from "stock" configuration (from memory - Redline's literature doesn't seem to state this) link speed of 9 Mbps up to (in steps of speed and channel size) 90 Mbps. Service Providers can install these units to provide fast (much better than even bonded T-1s) connections to businesses, and then upsell those businesses to higher speeds without ever physically touching the radios again (assuming no hardware failures, of course.)
- The hardware is impressive! It's all one unit; the radio lives on the tower within a few feet of the antenna or even on the back of a panel antenna. Base and client units are exactly the same device - just different software (multipoint base functionality is a future software option). Unlike a lot of similar units that use proprietary Power Over Ethernet, the AN-80i uses 802.3af standard Power Over Ethernet; it's impressive that they could get the power demands of the radio low enough for 802.3af to be adequate.
One of the most notable things about this announcement is that the AN-80i products are proprietary, not WiMAX! That's a very calculated, careful, sober business decision on Redline's part, all the more remarkable because the AN-80i products were developed after the rapid acceptance of certified fixed WiMAX systems... unlike other vendors who are continuing proprietary product lines that were developed prior to the rise of fixed WiMAX. Paraphrased from a brief conversation with Kevin Suitor: "With WiMAX, we couldn't do as good a job emulating E1s and T1s, handling of video couldn't be done as well, WiMAX precludes large channels, and if we stuck strictly to WiMAX we couldn't come out with products for emerging "non-WiMAX" bands. So we decided to reinvest in, and reinvent the RedCONNEX product line."
Planned enhancements include Point to Multipoint (PMP) capability, encryption up to 256-bit AES, and a third unit that will operate in the US Public Safety 4.9 GHz band and the license-exempt 5,2 GHz band that is now subject to Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) requirements like the 5.4 GHz band.
One minor criticism of Redline about the AN-80i is that in Redline's marketing material, AN-80i specifications are stated interchangably (the all-too-painfully familiar "up to..." disclaimer) between the 5.4 GHz AN-80i and the 5.8 GHz AN-80i... whichever unit's specs are more impressive.
Lastly, I love this Unstrung article that gets the 5.4 GHz RedCONNEX AN-80i announcement exactly wrong (at least in their original posting; they may correct the article)- the entire point of the RedCONNEX line, and especially the AN-80i products, is that they are deliberately not WiMAX; the point of the RedCONNEX product line is that it's able to do things that aren't currently possible with WiMAX systems.
By Steve Stroh
This article is Copyright © 2007 by Steve Stroh
