I'd say it's probably little fault with the company and a lot of fault with people promoting or expecting more out of it than it can technically deliver (indoor install at 2 miles).
---------- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jenco Wireless" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 12:51 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Australian WiMAX pioneer trashes technologyas"miserablefailure" >I have a local competitor who uses Wi-Max equipment - maybe even the brand > you mentioned (sorry - I don't want sued) - I have had calls from a > customer > or two of theirs who are looking for something better. I have no way of > knowing all of the details (signal strength, etc.), but at one of their > customers homes I did some testing and it really did look like crap > (500-600 > ms lag times). I have been saying to myself for a long time, self - it's > all just hype until you see differently for yourself. I may have been > right. I like it when I'm right :-) > > > Brad H > > > > > On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 12:13 AM, Gino Villarini <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > >> Well, It still amazes me how well cell 3g is working. >> >> Currently Im on a Cruise Ship sailing out of San Juan towards Aruba, we >> are bordering the north coast of Puerto Rico ... about 3 miles out and I >> have 3 out of 5 bars in my AT&T Hsdpa Card, inside my stateroom ...not >> that bad, AT&T will eventually migrate to LTE which promises more speed >> ... >> >> Gino A. Villarini >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Aeronet Wireless Broadband Corp. >> tel 787.273.4143 fax 787.273.4145 >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On >> Behalf Of Brian Webster >> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 5:58 PM >> To: WISPA General List >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Australian WiMAX pioneer trashes technology >> as"miserablefailure" >> >> This does not surprise me. I have never thought that any type of >> indoor CPE >> business plan would do well for wireless internet. There are just too >> many >> unknown factors when it comes to placing a low power CPE without an >> external >> antenna in the hands of customers. They do not understand the >> limitations of >> wireless. Things like aluminum siding and stucco with wire mesh are just >> a >> couple of the big problems that you will run in to. Other items like >> metallic mirror film on windows and too many interior walls between the >> CPE >> and tower site are others. From an RF perspective it is always >> preferable to >> be above all of that (i.e. Rooftop) with the radio/antenna. If most of >> the >> buildings in the neighborhood are of the same height, building losses >> are a >> non-issue because you are now above them. The only thing left to worry >> about >> is the trees. Using outdoor antenna/CPE combinations should also allow >> you >> higher EIRP since the maximum permissible exposure rules would change >> with >> the unit being away from the general public. >> While you can make the case for customer self installs, you >> would need to >> have many more base stations so that you would have plenty of signal to >> overcome the building losses. This may work in a densely populated area >> where you can justify the numbers (but you also have more competition). >> In >> rural markets I would suggest to anyone making a business plan, figure >> on >> doing fixed outdoor CPE installations. With a properly equipped WIMAX >> base >> station costing around $40,000, a small WISP would be able to conduct >> many >> truck rolls for that price. The low housing density markets just don't >> justify the cost of a properly engineered indoor CPE wireless network >> (meaning it would take many more towers to work correctly). There would >> never be the return on the invested dollar. >> That is just my opinion, I am sure others will disagree with me. >> If you >> want a good way to think about it, how many times have you run around a >> building with your cell phone in a weak coverage area to keep a good >> call >> going? WIMAX indoor CPE's will be no different. The bigger problem will >> be >> that the customer will not want to move their computer in the house just >> to >> get a better broadband signal. This will easily create an unhappy >> consumer, >> and then an unhappy investor (and also clueless management). I read some >> commissioned market studies (can't tell you where, but they were good >> ones) >> about the average customer expectation of how and where wireless >> internet >> should work. The scary thing was that they honestly believed that they >> should be able to run around the house ANYWHERE with their laptop and >> their >> broadband should just work. This was how they perceived "wireless >> internet" >> working and they did not believe that they would have to install their >> own >> wireless AP in the house to achieve this. This basic perception by the >> consumer is far different than we all understand these networks to work. >> It >> sets a business up to get a black eye in the minds of users (which will >> also >> stress out the folks who sold the idea to investors). >> Bottom line to me is, you can't ignore the laws of >> physics.........no >> matter how many times the sales rep tells you it will work.......It's >> all in >> the math. >> >> >> Thank You, >> Brian Webster >> www.wirelessmapping.com <http://www.wirelessmapping.com> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Behalf Of Matt Liotta >> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 3:35 PM >> To: WISPA General List >> Subject: [WISPA] Australian WiMAX pioneer trashes technology as >> "miserablefailure" >> >> >> http://www.commsday.com/node/228 >> >> Australian WiMAX pioneer trashes technology as "miserable failure" >> March 20th, 2008 >> Australia's first WiMAX operator, Hervey Bay's Buzz Broadband, has >> closed its network, with the CEO labeling the technology as a >> "disaster" that "failed miserably." >> >> In an astonishing tirade to an international WiMAX conference audience >> in Bangkok yesterday afternoon, CEO Garth Freeman slammed the >> technology, saying its non-line of sight performance was "non- >> existent" beyond just 2 kilometres from the base station, indoor >> performance decayed at just 400m and that latency rates reached as >> high as 1000 milliseconds. Poor latency and jitter made it >> unacceptable for many Internet applications and specifically VoIP, >> which Buzz has employed as the main selling point to induce people to >> shed their use of incumbent services. >> >> Freeman highlighted his presentation with a warning to delegates, >> saying "WiMAX may not work." He said that the technology was still >> "mired in opportunistic hype," pointing to the fact most deployments >> were still in trials, that it was largely used by start-up carriers >> and was supported by "second-tier vendors", which he contrasted with >> HSPA with 154 commercial networks already in operation and support >> from top tier vendors. >> >> What made Freeman's presentation most extraordinary was that just 12 >> months ago he fronted the same event with a generally positive >> appraisal of the platform which at that stage he had deployed just a >> few months before. At the time, Freeman said that his company had >> signed 10% of its 55,000 user target market in just two months, a >> market share that rose to 25%, on the back of an advertising campaign >> that highlighted value VoIP prices. >> >> He did acknowledge at the time that the technology had indoor coverage >> issues, which he yesterday said had earned him a quick and negative >> reaction at the time from his supplier, Airspan. Other early WiMAX >> adopters have also reported issues with indoor coverage: VSNL in India >> reported indoor loss at just 200m from the base station at an IEEE >> conference last year. >> >> HORSES FOR COURSES: Freeman says Buzz has now abandoned WiMAX in >> favour of a "horses for courses" policy. This includes use of the TD- >> CDMA standard at 1.9GHz-used by operators such as New Zealand's Woosh >> Wireless-and a platform he described as wireless DOCSIS- a relatively >> little known technology that takes HFC plant and extends its >> capabilities via wireless mesh. He said wireless DOCSIS operates at up >> to 38Mbps in the 3.5GHz spectrum and its customer premises equipment >> supported two voice ports for under $A70 while it boasted "huge cell >> coverage." He also was employing more conventional wireless mesh >> platforms at 2.4GHz that support up to 10Mbps with CPE voice ports >> costing less than A$80. >> >> Despite his problems with WiMAX, Freeman is a believer that >> competitors should operate their own infrastructure and not depend on >> Telstra unbundled or wholesale offerings. Prior to Buzz he was >> involved in the rollout of regional Victorian HFC networks as an >> executive with Neighborhood Cable. He says the use of wireless is >> essential in Hervey Bay, because ADSL is blocked to 80% of the >> population because of Telstra's use of pairgain and RIMs, while what >> ADSL ports are available are now largely exhausted. But years of >> successive government policies had weakened the case for standalone >> infrastructure, beginning with restrictive policies in the pay >> television market which he said undermined independent HFC deployments. >> >> "I'm against government micromanagement of the market. Government >> should start to provide a conducive investment environment." >> >> Not all WiMAX operators are unhappy. >> >> Internode says an Airspan-supplied network is providing consistent >> average speeds of 6Mbps at distances up to 30km, with CEO Simon >> Hackett describing the platform as "proven." >> >> Freeman's frank words left many at the WiMAX event looking >> uncomfortable but none more so than his co-panelist Adrian de Brenni >> representing Opel Networks. De Brenni, standing in for an absent Jason >> Horley, said little new about Opel that hasn't already been discussed, >> except to state that QoS would be a product feature of the future Opel >> wholesale offering "including voice." >> >> by Grahame Lynch >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> ---- >> ---- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> ---- >> ---- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> -------- >> WISPA Wants You! 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