Re: BBC News: 5G researchers achieve record speed

[Nathan Borson]

Hi Mike,

Interesting article about 5G wireless; thanks for sharing. But I don't think this applies to Gustavus.

• The article said nothing about 5G increasing the range of wireless, which is what matters in Gustavus. In fact, it uses higher frequencies, more susceptible to absorption by our foliage, so can be expected to have significantly less coverage from each cell site than today's wireless technologies, requiring more towers.
• For our purposes, the most promising upcoming wireless technology is "white spaces," a.k.a. WhiteFi or 802.22. I have been watching developments with that but do not expect it to match wireline communications (how well do you receive ARCS -- which uses those frequencies -- at your house?).
• We don't need to wait for 5G; LTE can deliver the 100 Mbps wireless speeds we require today, given a sufficiently strong signal. 
  
• According to the study conducted by ICF International, wireless would cost more than wired in Gustavus due to our low density and foliage.

"Each Gustavus-based cell site can be expected to have a range of approximately one mile. To provide the coverage described, approximately eight tower sites would be required: Six towers providing service in and around Gustavus, and two additional towers to provide service along the roadways to Glacier Bay National Park.

"The coverage range of the cell sites will be constrained by the abundant coniferous trees which work to absorb radio signal energy. Unfortunately, then, a broadband wireless deployment of any kind will require more cell sites than the “average area” to assure complete and reliable coverage.

A first-order approximation is around 8 sites divided into 24 sectors for a full-coverage LTE network in Gustavus. Based on similar LTE deployments elsewhere in Alaska, a rough-order-of-magnitude estimate for this would most likely be between $2M and $3M." --page 42-44, Gustavus Broadband Plan

I stand by my assertion that there is nothing like a wired connection for performance, reliability, and longevity.

Nate

On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 12:18 PM, Michael Taylor <mikean...@shizendou.net> wrote:

I saw this story on the BBC News

Suppose we were to wait 5 years for 5g. Could we then have a broadband system covering Gustavus entirely wirelessly?  No expensive fiber optic cable, etc?  We may need a tower at the hydro site or multiple towers within the community but it would still be cheaper and easier to scale up for pop growth in future.

See article below.
Mike

5G researchers achieve record speed

Scientists researching 5G at the University of Surrey achieve data connection many thousands of times faster than the average 4G.

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31622297


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