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Wireless       Ethernet-based Access in Fiber-to-the-Home The fiber access build-out tsunami is swelling. Today more than 750 million households connect over copper and only 20 million over fiber. While it will take years to make a full transition to a fiber-based infrastructure, a rapid transition is in progress. There will be a mix of several technologies (EPON, GPON, 10G PON, WDN-PON, Active Ethernet, LTE, HFC) fighting for Ethernet-based access deployments. Thomas Eklund       Wireless Backhaul Addresses the Broadband Stimulus Challenge The economic stimulus funding for RUS and NTIA will drive tremendous broadband service deployment to rural and underserved areas in the next few years. Delivering broadband services will create a huge backhaul challenge, especially in the RUS case which is targeted at rural areas, with limited backhaul infrastructure. Microwave backhaul is expected to deliver a solution for this backhaul, but there are many considerations that will be important to delivering a successful Microwave backhaul network for this application Greg Friesen       Next Generation Wireless and 802.11n: Enabling the Video Experience While 802.11a/b/g networks face capacity constraints when it comes to video, next generation wireless networks alleviate this constraint. Based on the new 802.11n protocol, the capacity of next generation wireless networks increases to up to 200Mbps with a data rate of 300Mbps. This addition of up to 9x in capacity easily provides the additional capacity for video applications. However, 802.11n presents additional benefits beyond client throughput and network capacity. Here's a look. Sean Ginevan       Building Migration-Ready Mobile Backhaul Networks with High-capacity Microwave The major change in mobile operators’ current service mix is that data services do not generate the same revenue-per-bit as voice. Today, service revenue increase can no longer offset the cost of deploying additional TDM-based systems. In other words, TDM can no longer match demand and capacity bit-for-bit in an economically viable manner. But there’s an up side too. Aviv Ronai       Environmentally Friendly Wireless Backhaul for WiMAX and LTE As we plan for next-generation WiMAX and LTE services, how does the backhaul radio systems relate to "environmental friendliness"? Although, many positive environmental impacts are obvious (i.e. reduced power consumption), many of them are not so obvious or secondary in nature. In this latter category, among other things, are factors such as the use of safe and/or recyclable materials, ability/option to use solar (or other) powering and reductions in the consumption of earth minerals, minimization of the disruption of natural habitats during network build-outs. Erik Boch       Defining the Layers of Wireless Ethernet -- also known as Mobile Broadband Wireless Ethernet, or Mobile Broadband is a term often associated with the deployment of next generation mobile networks -- so called 4G mobile networks. Such networks are typically designed in "layers," each of which must be equally broadband capable. Erik Boch       The Standards-based Case for IMS Most carriers recognize that IMS provides the golden path to telecom nirvana because its advanced multimedia services enable differentiation and revenue generation. Often not as well understood is the most affordable, simple and seamless path to getting there. Michael H. Cooper       Multi-gigabit 4G Backhaul with 80 GHz Bands 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 GreggLevin       Mobile Applications: Killer App vs. Killer Environment 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? Patrick Fitzgerald       4G Wireless Location Services will Drive Powerful, Content-Rich Applications 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.  Dr. Martin Feuerstein       All Things Connected: Usability in a Connected World 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. Dr. Badri Nath       Femtocells -- Picking up where the Macro Network Left Off 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. Alan Lefkof       Improving the Business Case for IPTV 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. Geoff Burke       The Rationale for RFoG 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). Shane Eleniak       Prime Time for MPLS 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. Stephen Liu       The Converged Edge for Fixed and Mobile Networks 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. Sridhar Ramachandran and Natasha Tamaskar       Network Planning and Forecasting – Past, Present and Future 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. Ross Munro and Mark Mortensen       The Dawning of the Era of Application Service Level Agreements 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… Mike Morford       Delivering Carrier Ethernet Solutions 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.  Alon Livne       WiMAX Won’t Go Far Without Backhaul Scalability 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. Alan Solheim [1/3] Send us your response to this article.