Network Communications News (NCN) April 2017 | Page 25

WIRELESS NETWORKS
speed, terrestrial connectivity
is not always practical, or even
possible, meaning the onus falls
on wireless network operators
to keep up with demand. In
these areas outside of the larger
towns and cities where the
market is not dominated by big-
name carriers catering for the
masses, delivering broadband
in an efficient way is a much
big ger challenge and solutions
need to be price sensitive, while
still delivering the reliability and
per formance that can provide
high speed connectivity.
So, with broadband demand
at an all-time high, are wireless
service providers’ existing networks
and hardware up to the job?
Assessing the market
In shor t, the answer to this
question is no, with some wireless
broadband operators facing a
situation where their deployed
hardware is unable to keep
pace with the growing demands
posed by a rapidly evolving UK
market and deliver the required
throughput to end users.
Over the years, wireless
broadband network operators
have selected various platforms
and 802.11n based hardware units
that have done an effective job
for both the service providers
and their customers. When many
of the current operators started
out, small networks and limited
connectivity were the norm but
as demand for high-speed access
has grown, existing networks
simply cannot scale effectively
enough to deal with it. However,
a lot of this hardware is now
reaching discapacity.
In a nutshell, the broadband
network is reaching a stage
where existing subscriber units
are no longer fit-for-purpose. The
obvious solution to this problem
is for operators to replace their
existing equipment with new
hardware but in the current
climate, this is, of course, easier
said than done. The cost and time
of traditional network migration
methods can be major pain
points, with hardware upgrades
often involving engineers
driving out to every subscriber,
physically swapping out each
piece of equipment with new gear,
and handing out ser vice credits.
The requirement to replace end
user hardware also brings other
drawbacks, such as potential
service disruption and increased
customer enquiries as they get
used to the new hardware.
Scalability and
frequency reuse
‘With a
software
based
approach,
operators
and service
providers
have a
new secret
weapon in
the battle
to meet the
ever growing
demands of
consumers.’
Other important factors for service
providers to consider when
considering network upgrades
include scalability and effective
frequency reuse. Scalability is
becoming an increasingly important
topic for operators and service
providers alike due to the variance
in population density in the UK.
Essentially, service providers
need to be able to use one base
station to connect a great number
of houses or just a few and they
need a platform which can do this
without sacrificing the performance.
Another important factor is
effective reuse of frequency.
Networks operating in unlicensed
bands are competing for space on
the spectrum with home Wi-Fi and
devices connected via the Internet
of Things, so frequency reuse and
scalability go hand-in-hand when
looking at service delivery.
Moving forward
Instead of replacing hardware,
the ideal solution would be for
operators to elevate their existing
platforms, for example, through
a soft