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Multi-gigabit 4G Backhaul with 80 GHz Bands
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Traditional backhaul technologies consist predominantly of copper circuits running up to 45 Mbps and 6-38 GHz microwave radio links that can provide up to 350 Mbps in a single radio channel. As dense urban 4G LTE and WiMAX deployments become main-stream, wired backhaul must transition to fiber to provide sufficient, scalable capacity to base station sites; wireless backhaul will move largely to the new 80 GHz spectrum band that can provide up to 10 Gbps of full-duplex bandwidth using a cost-effective single radio channel design. Here's the pitch
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Mobile Applications: Killer App vs. Killer Environment
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High-growth applications will be worth $66bn by 2010, projects an INSIGHT Research report. So with economic incentives in place and IMS architecture readily available, it begs the question. Why has the killer environment taken so long to develop?
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4G Wireless Location Services will Drive Powerful, Content-Rich Applications
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Location-based services are already available on today's 3G networks—most notably on the Apple iPhone 3G—however, these applications are primarily centered on basic turn-by-turn navigation tools. More pervasive and interactive mobile social networks, multiplayer gaming, geo-fencing based coupon advertising promotions and asset tracking will drive the need for high-accuracy, high-yield and low-latency location-based services on 4G networks. And it is the all-IP 4G networks that will act as an enabling platform for these “beyond navigation” applications.
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All Things Connected: Usability in a Connected World
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With mobile devices, the number of the entities involved in delivering new services—and the complexity of the associations among these entities—is increasing rapidly. So one good metric for determining the usability of a new service is how much twiddling is required during the lifecycle of that service.
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Femtocells -- Picking up where the Macro Network Left Off
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Dropped calls, spotty reception or the dreaded no service zone -- are femtocells the answer? Femtocells are low-power, wireless access points that operate in the home or small office to connect standard mobile devices to a wireless operator's network using the broadband connecction.
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Improving the Business Case for IPTV
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Despite delays introduced by technological uncertainty (need I mention the MPEG4 AVC set-top box false starts?), content challenges, and a business case burdened by big up-front investment, we now see a clear maturation in the IPTV industry. This maturation is marked by a myriad of high-profile commercial successes, lower costs of equipment and deployment, and the emergence of new deployment models optimized for the unique requirements of distinct market segments. Let's take a close look at these changes, the new alternatives that they spawn, and how they affect the continued maturation of the IPTV industry technologically, operationally, and financially.
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The Rationale for RFoG
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The HFC-DOCSIS network continues to serve as the access mechanism. However, network operators are beginning to look for the next generation of access technology as service demands stretch the limits of HFC/DOCSIS systems. Most agree that an optical network is key to their strategy, but getting from HFC to an optical infrastructure is the challenge. One option is RF over Glass (RFoG).
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Prime Time for MPLS
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In the beginning, MPLS was driven by the need to scale the public Internet and large corporate intranets. Remember "Tag Switching"? The migration to converged service networks is real and accelerating. Service Providers have selected MPLS to power the any-play services of voice, video, data, and mobility.
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The Converged Edge for Fixed and Mobile Networks
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Current trends affecting service providers' networks include the consolidation of fixed and mobile network assets and the increasing sophistication of mobile devices. Fixed and mobile operators have many differences, both in access networks—mobile operators focus on radio spectrum management and often rely on fixed operators' facilities for backhaul and interconnects—and in network architectures. Fixed and mobile networks require different technologies and deployment architectures. However, operators now realize that IP can enable consolidation of fixed and mobile networks, leading to new service possibilities and the need for end-to-end IP services across the converged network. At the same time, mobile devices are becoming more complex.
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Network Planning and Forecasting – Past, Present and Future
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The networks of yesterday were dominated by voice and low-bandwidth data services, such as e-mail and basic Internet connectivity. They have been planned in the same way for the last one hundred years, with the marketing organization and the planning organization working together in a time-honored dance. Fast-forward to the present day. Standard forecasting and data trending was sufficient for planning yesterday's networks, but is no longer adequate for introducing next generation network architectures, or new bandwidth-hungry services, as there is no historical data to use for trending purposes.
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The Dawning of the Era of Application Service Level Agreements
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The WAN optimization market has delivered a variety of key technologies to help enterprises and service providers extract maximum network performance. Network visibility, advanced compression, quality of service and acceleration techniques are among the more prominent developments. Now the table stakes are being raised yet again…
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Delivering Carrier Ethernet Solutions
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It is clear that Ethernet has become the technology of choice for packet transport networks. However, service providers require carrier-grade capabilities to deploy the technology in their networks to provide reliable services. For that, the industry has defined standards for carrier-class Ethernet, which includes recommendations for scalability, resiliency, reliability, multiservice capabilities, TDM support, quality of service (QoS) and manageability.
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WiMAX Won’t Go Far Without Backhaul Scalability
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The introduction of WiMAX appliances (whether mobile or fixed) at the edge of the network creates the opportunity to deliver exciting new services such as personal broadband, streaming video and interactive gaming. Although the WiMAX radio access network can deliver the required connectivity, we need to rethink the backhaul network or these new services will starve for bandwidth and the entire ecosystem will be endangered.
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Mobile WiMAX Won’t Go Far Without In-Building Coverage
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Wireless carriers are starting to bet on WiMAX. Most are focused on making their outdoor mobile infrastructure efficient and cost-effective, but another piece of the puzzle is in-building coverage. In this article, we'll look at the challenge of delivering WiMAX inside buildings.
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Building Migration-Ready Mobile Backhaul Networks with High-capacity Microwave
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Mobile networks, which today are based almost entirely on TDM, will gradually become all-IP/Ethernet. But what is the best migration strategy for getting there? Can Point-to-Point Microwave support this migration path?
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