Blair, that is certainly a possible thing for WISPs to advocate for as a rules change, and if you feel strongly about that you should do the work with other like-minded WISPs to effect change. That's a positive thing to do and caring enough to actively effect change using the process is always something to be admired and respected, regardless of what any of us might think of the ideas themselves.
But, at the same time you should also acknowledge that in the interim the existing rules must be followed. We all don't get the luxury to pick and chose those rules we are willing to tolerate, at least not without being willing to accept whatever eventual consequence may result from flaunting the rules. As to your question, "What happens to me when the single source supplier I was using drops support and production of the equipment I was using?" I'd say that's not difficult to address, but it requires a necessary step that should be taken at the time you are planning your business. Make your technology decisions inclusive of generally accepted business due diligence. In this case it means NOT making the business decision to chose a flaky or unstable supplier. If you do not take into account such basic business questions in your question, then the hard truth is that you would might be SOL -- a simple result from a risky decision. Patrick Leary AVP WISP Markets Alvarion, Inc. o: 650.314.2628 c: 760.580.0080 Vonage: 650.641.1243 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Blair Davis Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 12:33 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Brief report from FCC visit I, for one, agree with Butch. Parts certification is the way it needs to go. Hold the part manufactures responsible for their published numbers. Allow operators to mix-n-match parts as they see fit, within the power limits. Hold operators responsible for their EIRP numbers. This would allow ongoing innovation in the field without driving the small guys out. I don't want to be locked into a single manufacturer. Quite honestly, I don't trust that what I need will still be available 6 months from now if I'm locked into one provider. Using commodity hardware I can build what I need. If, as an example only, the SR2 cards becomes unavailable, I can use a CM9 and a small amp to replace it. I'm sure others can come up with more examples... What happens to me when the single source supplier I was using drops support and production of the equipment I was using? Blair Davis West Michigan Wireless ISP 269-686-8648 Butch Evans wrote: > On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, Steve Stroh wrote: > >> When a WISP slaps together a system, do they hook it up to a spectrum >> analyzer to insure that substantially all the radiated energy is >> contained within the desired band? No, they don't. > > As odd as it may sound, I am in agreement with Mark on this one. Mark > went into detail about how it can (and should) be accomplished. For > example: > > 1. A radio (CM-9 for example) has known output power when combined > with a specific driver. It's up to the software folks to insure they > don't attempt to drive this card outside the manufacturer's given > parameters. SO, a card (combined with a specific driver/OS) could be > certified to behave in a specific manner. > > Once we have #1 done, we can use this card and OS in combination with > ANY mother board and we won't be changing the operating parameters of > the card. What is wrong with a certification that includes these 2 > parameters? > > 2. Once we know that a radio/OS combo produces a CERTIFIED, known, > behaviour in terms of power levels, we can combine THAT CERTIFIED > COMBO with a specific antenna. This antenna would have to be type > certified as well. So long as that antenna exhibits a known > (certified) behaviour, we can easily, and RELIABLY predict the EIRP, > radiation pattern and even sideband noise. > > I don't need a spectrum analyzer to know these things. So long as the > above is true, then what is the problem? I'll tell you what the > problem is...It is currently illegal to operate. > > I agree with Mark's contention that it SHOULD be the way he described > (in terms of what is legal), but it is not. I'm at a loss for how > this fact benefits Americans. Perhaps I am just slow... > >> Um, the FCC is getting innovation and advancement - look at >> Clearwire. When there weren't Clearwire, NextWave, Sprint Nextel and >> AT&T actively deploying Broadband Wireless Internet Access, the FCC >> needed WISPs. Now they've got those big players starting to deploy >> and they can point to them as a success story for Broadband Wireless >> Internet Access. > > This is somewhat telling, huh? > > As a WISP consultant, I can tell you that I am fully aware of SEVERAL > WISPs that are operating illegally. MOST of them are operating within > the parameters of the legal EIRP, but with non-certified combinations > of radio systems. I do tell those that don't know that they are > operating illegally. The fact is, the FCC wants innovation? They > have it with WISPs. They really need to work on a means to allow us > (as WISPs) to operate legally, but not dramatically limit our > choices. Allow us to provide reliable service, within the limits of > the EIRP, radiation patterns and such. Allow us to make decisions on > the combination of gear we use based on the coverage we need, so long > as we don't go outside these limitations. I just don't see what's so > wrong with this kind of request (beyond the current legal status). > -- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ ************************************************************************ ************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses(190). ************************************************************************ ************ ************************************************************************ ************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses. ************************************************************************ ************ ************************************************************************************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses. ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses(84). ************************************************************************************ -- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
