Fixed wireless connection is a method of transmitting high-speed data traffic over a wireless connection between two fixed points. The subscriber service consists of a microwave antenna and a radio on the customer’s rooftop to transmit and receive RF signals. The customer’s antenna is pointed at the service provider’s RF transceiver (access point) located on the radio tower or a tall building. The fixed wireless connection to the client has a clear line of sight (LOS) to the access point that can reach a distance of up to 50 miles and a data rate of up to hundreds of Mbps.
Fixed Wireless has two configurations, point-to-point (PtP) or point-to-multipoint (PtMP). The PtP network connects two locations by using two radios and two antennas dedicated only to each other. PtMP network refers to communications between an access point and multiple client radios. The fixed wireless connection can use the frequency in the licensed band or in the unlicensed band. The license-free band frequencies of 900 MHz (902-928), 2.4 GHz, 5.3 GHz, 5.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 24 GHz, and 60 GHz are exempt from the FCC license requirement. Unlicensed wireless systems, while quick to implement, do not promise exclusive use of the band and are susceptible to potential interference. Licensed microwave wireless systems operate within portions of the radio spectrum (VHF, 900 MHz, 2 GHz, 3.65 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 6 GHz, 7 GHz, 11 GHz, 13 GHz, 18 GHz, 23 GHz and 80 GHz) designated by the FCC. To operate a licensed microwave fixed wireless radio system, an FCC license must be applied for. Licensed operators are allowed exclusive use of part of the band over an assigned geographic area.
Fixed wireless broadband is designed to emulate a coaxial cable connection and support both TDM and packet traffic such as T1, T3, frame relay, Ethernet, and ATM. Carrier-grade high-capacity wireless radio backhaul combines TDM with Ethernet to provide a seamless evolution to advanced packet-based radio performance and facilitate a risk-free and cost-effective migration to IP/Ethernet. Enhanced Fixed Wireless can offer Internet, voice and MPLS, all with guaranteed service level agreements. The advantages of fixed wireless technology include lower costs, greater flexibility, and faster deployment. Reliability is on par with wired networks and can be designed to achieve 99.999% availability. Service operators go to great lengths to ensure secure data transmission by using high-gain directional antennas that focus the signal and direct it precisely to the customer’s CPE. Fixed wireless broadband transmits and receives encrypted signals only from specific authenticated devices. It uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which is the standard adopted by the US government to protect your data. Therefore, fixed wireless data transmission using AES is as secure as any other transmission in the world.
The latest technological innovation has made fixed wireless technology a competitive mode of broadband delivery in increasingly dense environments such as suburban, urban and enterprise customers. Multiple input/multiple output MIMO technology has enabled rapid growth in bandwidth capacity by continually improving spectrum efficiency with the addition of more and more MIMO streams and smart antenna array technologies. Antenna beamforming is a crucial technology that allows the spectrum used by an access point to be reused by multiple clients simultaneously. Beamforming uses precise geoposition information from each wireless client to focus wireless antenna transmission signals to each unique client, achieving improved focused wireless signals and significantly reducing spectrum interference. Because beamforming isolates client signals, it creates spatial opportunities in the spectrum for additional MIMO streams to be used simultaneously via SDMA (Space Division Multiple Access). This is called multi-user MIMO (MU-). When downstream traffic arrives for multiple clients, the access point identifies geolocation-based beamforming opportunities to serve those clients simultaneously, dramatically improving the capacity of the radios. MU-MINO enables fixed wireless to deliver fiber-like broadband connectivity at a fraction of the cost of traditional wired solutions, in any environment, from low-density rural broadband to high-capacity, high-reliability commercial connectivity for the company.
