I just took a quick look at their stuff. The radio I think youre talking
about is the LMS-3000 which is a 900mhz 1.4mbit radio. The 900mhz band has
much better difraction characteristics than the 2.4ghz band (its wavelength
is around 33cm as opposed to 1.25cm) and is able to get through trees and
some obstacles more easily. However, while its doing that, it will lose some
of its effectiveness. So, your 900mhz radio might work while its looking
through a tree or something to that effect, but its not going to give you
the full throughput while its being obstructed. Though they dont really talk
about it a whole lot there, I also suspect that your effective range will be
a lot lower (probably < 5mi).
This may be better than nothing, but from a business perspective it
doesnt leave you much room to grow. If DSL or Cable did show up on the
scene, youd be screwed. Youd want to be able to get in the door first with a
wireless technology that will be able to compete with wireline broadband
even once it does show up in your market (which it probably will at some
point). So while I like the better difraction characteristics of the 900mhz
band, there really isnt enough space in it to facilitate the high-bandwidth
that youd need to compete with DSL or Cable.
In my opinion it doesnt seem like a really good solution to the problem
that Elliot outlined (the part I read anyhow.. *grin*). What I will really
be excited about (as far as wireless goes) is the new stuff that NASA is
working on with long-sortie solar-powered airplanes. Obviously that isnt
near-term (or even really relevant), but high-bandwidth microwave wireless
becomes a heck of a lot easier to sell when your access point is floating 55
thousand feet above your market.
IMHO anyhow. : - )
- Matt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Pritchard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Matt Prigge'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'Alex Brecher'"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'"Elliot Noss"'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 12:16 PM
Subject: RE: broadband issues
> Hello,
>
> Quick question....what about Waverider? (http://www.waverider.com) my
> understanding is that it uses a different frequency which does not
> require licensing. I know they have non LOS, but I'm not sure what the
> range is.
>
> Would be interested to hear what the view is of their technology. (uhm,
> ya...I'm a shareholder from a while back).
>
> Shawn Pritchard
> webexceed
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Matt Prigge
> > Sent: November 12, 2001 2:37 PM
> > To: Alex Brecher; "Elliot Noss"
> > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: broadband issues
> >
> >
> > > I think once a solution is released that does not need
> > "line of site"
> > > and
> > is
> > > easy as plug and play (not Microsoft's definition of "plug
> > and play")
> > > we would really be able to sell fixed wireless solutions.
> >
> > Personally I doubt you'll find a near-term high-bandwidth
> > solution with a range measured in miles that doesnt require
> > LOS. Plug-n-play, OTOH, is simply a matter of writing some
> > software and pretty documentation. Setting up a wireless
> > connection, if done correctly, should be no harder than
> > installing DirecTV (some people wont be able to do it, but
> > those people are usually the ones that dont mind paying
> > someone to come do it for them).
> > By the same token, if you've tried to set up DirecTV when
> > you dont have LOS, you arent going to get very far. True, DTV
> > signals are a great deal weaker and more susceptible to LOS
> > problems than the stuff we're talking about, but the concept
> > is the same. If I remember correctly, the wavelength of a
> > 2.4ghz signal is around 1.25cm (whereas DTV's 12.5ghz.signal
> > would have a wavelength of about 24mm). This in itself means
> > that pretty much anything can serve as an obstruction. From
> > my own experience I know that trees (leaves really) are a
> > huge obstacle to this kind of microwave. Home/office
> > microwave systems can function because the range is very
> > short. Generally only around 500ft. After that, obstructions
> > (especially walls) will ruin a high-bandwidth signal
> > completely. I think that the reciever technology in this area
> > will improve as time goes on, but leaves and walls are still
> > going to greatly impede that frequency band no matter what.
> > Using a higher-wavelength band would be prohibitively
> > expensive due to licensing restrictions and the amount of
> > bandwidth you'd need.
> > So, for this problem Id say that Line-Of-Sight is
> > something youre going to have to deal with one way or
> > another. I dont think theres a way to get a
> > megabit+ signal to a home that is both more than half a mile
> > or so away
> > megabit+ from
> > your Access Point and that has obstructed LOS. As reciever
> > logic improves, this may change, but I wouldnt hold my breath.
> >
> > - Matt
> >
>
>
