With VL, you still run into the issue of self interference in a cellular
deployment(many tower sites in a region). The only products I'm aware of
that cooperate properly in a cellular deployment are minimally GPS
capable, and the advanced products that support things like hand-off or
N:1 deployment go beyond that with 2-way base station to base station
communication. Technologies such as wimax, 3G, fiber networks, etc. all
use GPS to to improve efficiency and operation. IMO VL may still be a
good product to deploy, but just not in a cellular or "colocated"
deployment.
Jon Langeler
Michwave Tech.
Tom DeReggi wrote:
Charles,
Although your comment is true, and you left out on the fly flexibilty,
what people want is not always the best value, at the end of the day
with all things considered.
The value of consistent availability and right out of the box
deployment is PRICELIST! This doesn't only save cost of installer
labor, but also management labor in purchasing and aquisition.
I'll share something from my experience that I find is Ironic as heck.
I always looked at Alvarion as the high end market gear, but its being
a stronger residential play. I recently have done a lot with
War/StarV3 for high end business, mostly Point to Point links, because
I can get good speed, flexibilty to reach the neighboring building,
and great testing tools with things like Iperf BUILT-IN able to test
Ethernet connections as well as RF conclusively link by link, as hops
increase as the backbone mesh grows. Alvarion is also a great product
for high end business, which I'm also using in some cases, but I have
a higher cost to accomplish that, since StarOS has dual radio slots.
Where Alvarion has now shown undisputable advantage based on its new
low price, is in its residential application. The difference between
$185 and $285, is almost nothing compared to my time savings in
operations. The ease of opening the box and installing a VL is
unmatched. What VL does for me, is that it gives me confidence in
using subcontractors to isntall. Because I know they'll take the time
to make sure they get the best signal. With my other gear, its such a
pain to get best signal, I was afraid to use contractors and only do
installs with employees by the hour, so their income did not deter
them from doing their best job. I gladly pay $100 more for a complete
ready to go product. The only thing that keeps me from going 100%
Alvarion for residential is that, I already have 100 APs installed of
another manufacturer, and I need to focus on revenue not re-build
out. Its not just the cost to replace the AP, its the cost to replace
the consumers without downtime, all at once, when there is little free
spectrum left to just install a new AP. To install a new AP, and
existing AP must be removed first, in many cases. From a
performance/reliabilty point of view, there is nothing wrong with the
gear I previously preferred to use, but from an operations and
installation point of view, my operations can scale much easier using
the VL. Low marging residential is where that matters most. Its
important to be able to have consistent install time and meet
schedules. The other day I ran out of pigtail. The other day I ran
out of thin thread stand offs. The other day I ran out of J-Arms. The
other day I ran out of antennas that came with mounts that support
2-3/8" pole. Everyday there is a barrier that delays operations. Sure
an easy barrier to fix, but still a delay. Instead of focussing on
sales, I'm focusing on making sure I have enough Gold standoffs in
stock (5 cent parts). There is something to be said for what Alvarion
has offered through the Commnet program, probably one of the strongest
value propositions offered to date. Its going to really make the
competition work. Just my 2 cents.
The competitions, just better hope that Alvarion doesn't offer an AP
trade-up program, to help conversion.
Tom DeReggi
RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc
IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband
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