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U.S. University Creates WiMAX Environment Model to Replicate

February 2, 2010 – 1:47 pm

I was excited to see that several higher ed institutions have recently hopped on the WiMAX bandwagon - a logical implementation to help schools increase productivity and decrease wireless costs. According to a recent article on Wimax.com, Ball State University (BSU) spearheaded a wireless research and innovation initiative by partnering with our friends at Alvarion and Digital Bridge Communications. Under a 6-month experimental license issued by the FCC, BSU’s Office of Wireless Research and Mapping conducted thorough field tests of WiMAX equipment in 2006, and then built a campus mobile WiMAX network in 2008. Although the network began with a single WiMAX base station and 120 degree sector antenna, it now consists of 6 Cisco base stations. In addition, BSU is recognized as a Cisco Network Academy, providing Cisco with certified wireless engineering training.

The implementation has been so successful that BSU’s expansive WiMAX program inspired neighboringuniversity, University of Wisconsin at Madison, to invoke BSU’s implementation and consulting services. BSUforecasts that they could similarly build out other university WiMAX networks and offer relevant services. It seems to me that one of the most valuable outcomes is the impetus for BSU students to learn about and participate in WiMAX engineering and network operations. I certainly would’ve enjoyed, and benefited from, getting involved with a similar program at UMass during my college days. My prediction is that by providing universities with the knowledge to reproduce the model, BSU introduces a self-sufficient strategy that could push forward widespread WiMAX implementation across many U.S. campuses.

BSU Students Installing WiMAX Antenna, Credit: Wimax.com

BSU Students Installing WiMAX Antenna, Credit: Wimax.com

Another significant achievement of this model involves solving a fundamental challenge experienced by campuses that own Educational Broadband Services (EBS) spectrum, but lack the expertise to develop their spectrum real estate. According to the FCC, holders of EBS Spectrum must prove significant usage by May 2011 in order to maintain ownership. Distributed to colleges, universities, school boards, and other non-profit organizations in the 1960s, EBS Spectrum, especially with BSU leadership, provides a compelling opportunity to leverage wireless broadband services.

At Towerstream, we’ve always embraced facilitating reliable wireless access to educational institutions. For example, we installed connectivity at Brooklyn College in New York City to increase bandwidth and ensure a disaster recovery plan. Towerstream commends BSU’s efforts to launch a domino effect in the pursuit of extending WiMAX to academic communities.

I’m interested to hear additional views - Do you think this is a full-proof strategy to increase campus wireless access?

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Stimulus Funding Begins to Roll Out

December 18, 2009 – 4:18 pm

“One key to strengthening education, entrepreneurship, and innovation in communities.is to harness the full power of the Internet, and that means faster and more widely available broadband,” said President Barack Obama on September 21, 2009.  It’s great to see this vision continuing to move forward with great momentum. 

 

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden announced an initial $183 million investment in 18 broadband projects benefiting 17 states including Georgia, Maine, New York, Massachusetts and Washington, among others.  The awards were split up into four different categories including: Middle Mile Awards designed to build and improve connections to communities lacking sufficient broadband access; Last Mile Awards designed to connect users to the communities broadband infrastructure (the middle mile); Public Computing Awards designed to expand computer center capacity for public use in libraries, community colleges and other such public venues; and Sustainable Adoption Awards designed to fund innovative projects that promote broadband demand.  This initial investment has already been matched by over $46 million in public and private funding.

 

Those projects who will receive funding are of course the first in the $7.2 billion total program split between the Department of Commerce’s NTIA (4.7 billion) and the Department of Agriculture’s RUS (2.5 billion).  Today’s awards are expected to ‘help bridge the digital divide’ and boost economic development for communities with little or no broadband access as well as provide significant job opportunities in infrastructure and manufacturing. 

 

We continue to applaud the work of the NTIA and RUS as they diligently work to ensure American communities have both a pipeline to job creation and access to the world’s most promising technologies. 

 

In other news, there was an extremely interesting story in this week’s Wireless Week titled, “Wi-Fi Helps Operators Manage Data Hogs.”  In the story, reporter Maisie Ramsay takes a look at how and why mobile providers are increasingly giving away WiFi for free - especially to users of their mobile broadband offerings. 

 

Obviously because of iPhones and the like, current mobile networks have never been more congested as they are today.  Just ask anyone with an iPhone in New York City.  Add to that the idea of net neutrality and what would happen if the FCC decides to make it difficult or illegal for carriers to block bandwidth-intensive applications, like video streaming. The answer seems to be embrace Wifi like never before.  I see lots of interesting business models spurring from this very theme.

 

Can you think of any such business models?  I’m interested to hear what you think!

 

Happy Holidays.

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Growing WiMAX

December 4, 2009 – 1:35 pm

As many of you might have seen, this week saw the continued expansion of WiMAX technology across the country, through network launches by Clearwire, Towerstream and Time Warner.

Clearwire announced two new markets – Honolulu and Seattle.  As Kevin Fitchard from Telephony notes in an article, this marks the end of the company’s 2009 rollout and the fulfillment of its plans to cover 30 million people with WiMAX by the end of the year.     

 

It’s great to see Clearwire has reached its goal for the year – especially this early in the month.  According to Kevin, this means the company has “all of December to pave the way for an even larger rollout in 2010 that will see its footprint expand by a factor of four and bring some of the largest metro areas in the U.S. under its umbrella.” 

Time Warner also began leveraging its relationship with Clearwire to launch its own service in several markets. 

 

Over at Towerstream, we launched our 10th market in Philadelphia.  As you may recall, it’s been a while - more than a year and half, in fact – since Towerstream launched its ninth market in Dallas-Fort Worth.  The reason is simple.  Given the recession, we kept our focus on building our presence and customer base in our existing nine markets.  This has proven to be a successful strategy in terms of revenue and customer installations, despite the tough economic environment. 

 

With several strong quarters under our belt, we wanted to end on a high note by adding a new market to our roster.  We’ve had our eye on Philly for quite some time.  As the fifth most populated metropolitan area in the U.S., it was a natural next step as we already offer service in the top four (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas-Ft Worth). 

 

Like Clearwire, we have our sights set on growth in 2010 and look forward to playing our role to expand WiMAX’s footprint and bring wireless broadband service to more businesses across the country. 

 

What markets would you like to see get WiMAX service in next year? 

 

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Going Green with the Cloud

November 19, 2009 – 5:02 pm

Cloud computing is something we talk about a lot here in the Towerstream offices.  Although it’s not directly a part of our business, we’re very much aware of the future potential it offers our customers – and all businesses, in fact.  The technology will enable businesses to adopt intelligent online services that will benefit both their business models and business operations.  As a wireless provider, we always strive to look as far into the future as possible to ensure each of our networks can not only handle today’s business demands but are prepared for what businesses will need in the future.

Joe Weinman from GigaOM recently wrote a great article on cloud computing that makes some great points for businesses to consider called “Compelling Cases for Cloud Computing.”

Joe’s piece brings me to my next point.  One of the main arguments for cloud computing, aside from the business benefits, is that it’s environmentally sound.  Creating central servers can lower the carbon footprint drastically while enhancing productivity.  As a wireless company, the green movement is always top of our mind.  By the very the nature of our wireless model, we play a part in the green movement by not placing wires into the ground or digging on a massive scale to lay fiber.  In fact, we even make a point when evaluating vendors to ensure they share our commitment to being more environmentally friendly.

Wireless Week’s Maisie Ramsay wrote a related piece this week taking a look at an initiative by the GSMA and the private sector arm of the World Bank to launch a program designed to power off-grid wireless networks with renewable energy.  We commend this action and look forward to hearing more about it in the coming months.

Of course, the move to cloud computing requires added network bandwidth as more and more of an organization’s employees are accessing more and more data online.  Towerstream has worked with many businesses across the country, bringing them to the cloud in a cost effective AND green way!

I would be interested to hear additional views on cloud computing and the wireless industry’s commitment to being more green.

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A Streamlined Stimulus

November 11, 2009 – 11:58 am

Yesterday, the government announced that the broadband stimulus process would be shortened to two rounds of funding rather than the initially planned three.  According to a WSJ article by Amy Schatz, this was a “response to criticism from applicants and lawmakers that the program isn’t getting money out quickly enough.”

 

I am very pleased to see the government’s continued willingness to be flexible with this program.  I see this as another proof point of the NTIA and RUS’ dedication to making the stimulus as effective and efficient as possible for all involved – from applicants and government officials to the businesses and consumers in underserved/unserved areas across the country. 

 

In fact, per a Washington Post article by Cecilia Kang, Jonathan Adelstein, administrator of the RUS noted, “We are listening to applicants, reviewing applications received, and all indications suggest a need to revisit the application process.  We will consider changes … to make the process more ‘applicant friendly’ — from beginning to end.”

 

I think the streamlined process will accomplish three key goals:

 

  • Getting the funds out to grant winners more quickly
  • Enabling the winners to roll out networks and create jobs to support the projects sooner
  • Speeding up the delivery of broadband connectivity to the underserved/unserved areas 

For the next two weeks, applicants will also be able to offer suggestions to the NTIA and RUS to further simplify the next (and now final!) round through the agencies’ Request for Information (RFI).  The streamlined process will also require us all to focus on ways to provide broadband to the greatest number of underserved – especially the urban underserved where significant job creation opportunities exist.  I am encouraged that the RFI process will allow for greater awareness on this issue and intend to provide feedback.

 

Both Schatz and Kang’s articles also noted the first round of grants announcements are on track to start in December.  I will, of course, continue to keep a close eye on the program and look forward to seeing the results in a few weeks.

 

What do you think about the newly streamlined program?  Do you have any suggestions for the government for the next phase?

 

 

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Score One More for WiMAX - Clearwire Secures Additional Funding

November 9, 2009 – 2:28 pm

The WSJ’s Jeffrey McCracken and Don Clark reported yesterday that Clearwire has secured an additional $1.5 billion in financing to build out its nationwide WiMAX network.

The article noted, “Sprint would invest $1 billion and its Clearwire joint venture partners, a group which includes Comcast Corp., Intel Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks LLC, would kick in another $500 million.”

I find this announcement extremely interesting – and at the same time, not very surprising.  It’s interesting because it underscores the value of having an efficient, nationwide, high-speed wireless network that can handle the ever increasing demand for data that’s happening today.  Just by looking at the venture partners, one can quickly see how a network of this magnitude is key to numerous business models.  I commend these companies for continuing to back the commitment they started.

However, I find the news not surprising because we at Towerstream know how difficult it is to build out a network in major cities.  Dense wireless network coverage of this magnitude doesn’t just pop up over night.  There are many logistical challenges involved that can be costly if not done properly – and sometimes even when done properly.

Towerstream’s business model from day one has been not to rush into every major market but rather to be selective and strategic in the cities we service.  Our engineers spend a lot of time evaluating each city, its buildings, its challenges, etc.  We only begin to roll-out a network after deciding we can make it profitable for Towerstream.

This has proven to be an extremely successful model and, in fact, last week we announced that Towerstream has reached EBITDA profitability in Seattle, making it the eighth of our nine markets to reach this milestone.

We also announced Q309 earnings last week, which included our highest number of customer installations.  We continue to feel Towerstream moves in an extremely positive direction quarter-over-quarter and are genuinely excited about the days and weeks ahead as well as the overall direction of our company.

I am curious to hear other thoughts and perspectives on Clearwire’s latest funding round?  Do you think another $1.5 billion will be enough?

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On the Ground at SUPERCOMM

October 22, 2009 – 11:21 am

Hello from Chicago!  I’m at SUPERCOMM today and wanted to write a quick post between meetings on what I’ve seen and heard so far.

 

As with CTIA just a few weeks ago, net neutrality has been creating a lot of buzz on the show floor and in the headlines.  However, if CTIA was the FCC’s “soapbox” – with Chairman Genachowski’s keynote addressing net neutrality, amongst other things – SUPERCOMM gave Verizon and AT&T a chance to rebut. 

 

Before I continue, I want to reiterate that Towerstream is a supporter of net neutrality – both in concept and technology – and think Chairman Genachowski is making some important strides on the matter.  With that said, back to SUPERCOMM.

 

In his keynote address yesterday, Verizon Chairman Ivan Seidenberg had, according to the WSJ’s Fawn Johnson, “some harsh words for the FCC a day ahead of its planned vote on open Internet rules.”

 

Johnson went on, noting, “Seidenberg said it would be a ‘mistake, pure and simple’ for the FCC to impose a ‘burdensome regime’ of regulation on the Internet.”

 

Representing AT&T yesterday at the show was Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs at AT&T.  In a panel on national broadband policy, Cicconi addressed why AT&T didn’t apply for broadband stimulus funding.  Why?  As Carol Wilson from Telephony noted in an article, “AT&T did not apply for broadband stimulus funding because of what it considered the overly restrictive regulatory strings attached.” 

 

Wilson’s went on to quote Cicconi. “They put regulatory strings on this money and requirements that are very akin to some of the Net Neutrality requirements being pushed currently.  We considered them overly constraining and that was absolutely a major factor in AT&T‘s decision not to apply.” 

 

In closing, I wanted to quickly plug my panel, being held this afternoon at 2:15 p.m. CT. 
My co-panelist and I will be discussing “Broadband Wireless in Business” – if you’re at the show and have some time, swing by room W183C to listen and, of course, ask some questions!

 

What news from SUPERCOMM have you found most interesting?  What topics did you want to hear more about?  What do you think will happen with today’s FCC vote?

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Putin WiMAX in Russia

October 12, 2009 – 6:18 pm

Hello everyone and Happy Columbus Day.

 

There was some interesting WiMAX news recently out of Russia that I wanted to take a closer look at today.  According to FierceTelecom, Russian WiMAX carrier, Yota, said it will be offering WiMAX devices that can make VoIP calls and allow users to roam onto GSM networks when the user is out of range of the WiMAX network.  I thought this was another good example of how WiMAX not only has major commitments from many countries around the world.

 

In addition, I was pleased to see the interoperability here between 4G and existing mobile technology – GSM in this case.  As mobile WiMAX and other 4G technologies roll out in the coming months and years, devices will have to be compatible with both 2G, 3G and 4G to ensure users have seamless service across the country. 

 

This news is also a sign of the continued proliferation of VoIP in the wireless world.  Of course, we saw a glimpse of this in the U.S. last week when AT&T announced that it is letting 3G VoIP onto its iPhone.  Vonage also recently announced a new app for Blackberry and iPhone users that lets them place cheaper international calls from their mobile phones.  This is significant because continues to push the limits of cellular networks while showing the need for 4G technology to roll out quickly.  It seems it won’t be long now till all calling is VoIP-based, whether you’re at work, at home or on your mobile phone.

 

Have you had any experiences with mobile VoIP?  If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the quality of the call, both as compared to traditional VoIP and regular mobile calls.

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On the Road to CTIA 2009

October 7, 2009 – 6:12 pm

This week kicks off the International CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2009 show, being held in San Diego.  I love this time of year.  CTIA never fails to bring together a who’s who of the wireless world, discussing their company’s news and product launches as well as the industry’s latest and greatest. 

 

Over the past few days, the media has reported on several company announcements worth noting.  A few stood out as particularly interesting for me:

 

  • AT&T’s decision on Tuesday to allow VoIP applications on the iPhone 
  • Verizon and Google’s partnernship for Android devices and apps designed to support Google Voice – Kevin Fitchard from Telephony had a great article on the news 
  • Microsoft’s announcement that it will back 30 phones with their new Windows Mobile 6.5  

I also want to highlight the FCC’s involvement in the show.  Chairman Genachowski gave an opening-day keynote address today and tomorrow will moderate more than three hours of field hearings on emerging mobile applications and possible shortages of wireless spectrum. 

According to Stacey Higginbotham from GigaOM, he addressed 4G in his address, saying “We’ll act promptly to process license and other requests to keep 4G roll-outs on track.  We’ll do our part to help clear spectrum that has already been allocated and licensed for 4G.”   

 

With Genachowski at its helm, the FCC continues its commitment to high-speed wireless broadband technologies.  The two sessions happening tomorrow will also include FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker and feature panel discussions with industry representatives, academics and activists.  Stephen Lawson from IDG News Service did a nice write up on this.  It will be interesting to see the feedback the FCC receives at the show and how that impacts future issues including spectrum and net neutrality. 

 

Finally, I’d like to end this week’s post with a quick plug on Towerstream’s involvement at the show.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend but Mel Yarbrough, Towerstream’s Chief Revenue Officer, will be on site.  Mel’s speaking in the session “Stimulus: Getting in on Taxpayer Money” on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. PT. For more information on CTIA’s Educational Sessions you can click here.

 

I look forward to hearing other thoughts on this year’s conference and the key themes that emerge. 

 

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Please Pass the Spectrum

September 28, 2009 – 11:28 am

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the FCC and its chairman, Julius Genachowski. I think the issues they are examining and decisions they are making are very important to the communications industry – especially for wireless – so I wanted to take a few minutes to review and discuss the latest.      

 

Last week, the FCC opened a “request for comments” on broadband spectrum that will be used for the broadband stimulus.  The FCC is looking to examine “the sufficiency of current spectrum allocations in spectrum bands, including but not limited to the prime spectrum bands below 3.7 GHz.”  Basically, they want to know if there is enough spectrum available to support the broadband stimulus programs. 

 

Stacey Higginbotham from GigaOM, as always, did a nice job examining the issues at hand in her recent article.  In the article, Stacey addresses concerns across the wireless industry that there is just not enough spectrum free and available for this program.  She notes, “Various estimates suggest that the U.S. needs 150-400 MHz more of spectrum within the next year. Right now, we have about 409 MHz available and about 50 MHz in the pipeline, according to the CTIA.”

 

There is a lot of great spectrum out there that can help support the broadband stimulus programs – and I hope that through this “request for comments,” the FCC is able to open more of them. 

 

The FCC has a great track record in past dealings with spectrum.  For example, the first PSC spectrum that was released years ago has lead to almost all Americans having mobile phones. 

 

Fast forward a few years to when the FCC got very creative and released unlicensed spectrum that was used to create a multi-billion dollar industry – WiFi.  Today, WiFi makes countless devices easier and better to use. 

 

On a somewhat related note, I am also glad to see the FCC has been keeping its followers up to date on the spectrum issue and others through its blog, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. 

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