[opendtv] Re: WiFi Supplanting Broadcasting? Get Real!
- From: Bob Miller <bob@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 10:30:34 -0400
Kon Wilms wrote:
>>>Well the one I am talking about could be the backhaul for a Wi-Fi
>>>
>>>
>metro-spot if that is what they call it. One friend wants to use it to
>backhaul from APs on 600 buildings in Manhattan so I think my point is
>on target. I am not arguing that Wi-Fi by itself can supplant cable and
>satellite. But wireless can.
>
>Backhaul is backhaul. So your meshnet MAN is really A/B/G APs @ 1~25Mbits
>tops, hooked to maybe WiMAX or microwave P2P, and then into some GigE wired
>backbone -- not WiFi @ GigE.
>
>Nothing special there though, since TMobile and others are/have been
>thinking about migrating to 802.16a WiMAX from their costly T1 backhauls.
>But that's 120Mbits max and usually realistically around the 45Mbit range. A
>WiMAX ISP AP 'in a box' generally costs around 15k, and if you're meshing
>these, it can get costly.
>
>Plus, WiMAX doesn't scale beyond a few hundred simultaneous connections, if
>even that.
>
>WiFi still a replacement for broadcast, huh? Methinks not -- unless you
>populate the hell out of every square foot of building space with APs and do
>some inventive frequency mapping / inter-floor-shielding and hard-wiring
>between segments to stop them squelching each other.
>
>Also I'm confused - broadcast is wireless. :)
>
>There are indeed good uses for WiFi related to broadcast, and I'm not
>against it at all. A lot of places have put it to good use for small areas
>to replace low-power stations. No license needed, and one can multicast
>audio and video streams in the pipe. Seattle wireless, people in SD, LA,
>Boston, and SF are putting this to good use where there are concentrations
>of folks sharing an interest in a area suitable for coverage, such as those
>where boosted APs are not really needed - apartment complexes, downtown
>environments, or LOS meshnets funded by volounteers. But this is still a
>geek thing, unfortunately.
>
>However, there is always those who ruin the party, i.e. those from Intel et
>al who do marketing speak just to hype the impossible, while stepping on
>broadcasting like its going away tomorrow. These folks need to get a clue or
>just plain STFU.
>
>Cheers
>Kon
>
>
>
>
>>>A multiGbps meshnet MAN will be in place by the end of the year in
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>Manhattan. I don't think it will be cost prohibited.
>>
>>Towerstream, Invision, and others in that area are/have implemented MAN
>>point2point fixed wireless meshes. But none of these are using WiFi, and
>>that's what is under discussion in this thread -- so your point is moot.
>>
>>
You pick a couple of examples then say that since they don't use Wi-Fi
my point is moot?:)
My point is that current broadcasters and the current broadcast model,
remember I am advocating a mobile broadcast network myself, are at risk
from the wireless technology and ideas that are becoming more prevalent.
Wi-Fi is a tool that can be used in the last link to the viewer. Will it
be the only wireless last link to the viewer, no. And I am not just
talking about what is currently available. There are thousands of eager
new engineers that have been stimulated by the success of Wi-Fi, the FCC
is in the mood to find more spectrum to fuel this fire, it is
politically correct etc.
Wi-Fi is just a wedge that has gotten the ball rolling for wireless. I
expect that in five years 50 to 100 Mbps wireless connections will be
common in many homes in major cities. Couple that with the media
players, ease of use and lower prices that will come over that same
period and I for one don't expect to be watching cable, satellite or OTA
broadcasting by then. I think the models are all broken. Now these
monopolies may adjust and even use the new technology but I didn't hear
it in the cable panel I watched the other day. They all were saying as
one that they possessed a long term lock on the home and that there was
no competitor or technology that would phase them.
I disagree, I think that there is an opportunity right now to duplicate
their plant at a low cost using wireless. At the same time broadcasting
has a market for mobile/portable.
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