From the First Mile to the Last Inch

From the First Mile to the Last Inch: Understanding Connectivity Options Frank Tulus Pan Asia Networking IDRC Regional Office for South Asia New Delhi, India ftulus@idrc. org. in

Acknowledgement Dr. Onno Purbo: n Former university professor, now a selfproclaimed ICT activist n Help build self-financed community networks in Indonesia that led to n 5000+ Wi. Fi outdoor installations n 1500+ schools connected to the Internet n 20+ publications and articles n Countless educational workshops on Wi. Fi and Vo. IP n Likes to spread his knowledge – his teaching materials are at: sandbox. bellanet. org/~onno n Leads Wi. Fi for Develoment discussion group at wifi 4 d@dgroups. org

What is Connectivity? n Content: Voice vs Data n Transmission Coding: Analog vs Digital n Medium: Wired vs Wireless n Speed: Broadband vs Narrowband

Where am I in the Internet? You “last mile” Global Network Operator 2 nd National ISP e National Exchange Point k m Te o ec l ISP Backbone International Gateway National ISP, Central Switch n bo National ISP, Local Switch c Ba Local ISP To other local ISPs

Who do I Connect to? n Internet Service Provider (local, small) n Internet Service Provider (major, national) – could be the incumbent telecom operator n Cellular Operator n Direct to Global Network Service Provider

Choosing Internet Service Providers n Quality of connection (speed and reliability) n Always conduct speed and reliability test from the ISP office as well as from your remote site n Service quality (range of services and customer support) n Network coverage n « Hidden Costs »

Pinging the Remote Server

Calculating Actual Bandwidth = Li = average round trip latency (in seconds)

Checking Bandwidth Throughput http: //www. zdnetindia. com/reviews/isp

Service Level Agreement (SLA) n An agreement between ISP and client which stipulates the quality of service, installations, and level of support n Should always try to request the ISP to guarantee the “last mile” service n Can include such things as the minimum bandwidth, latency, etc.

What Are My Options at the Last Mile? Narrowband Broadband Wired Dial-up (v. 90, v. 92) ISDN (Single Band) Internet on Cable DSL/ADSL ISDN (dual leased circuit) Wireless VHF/UHF Radio cor. DECT GPRS (2. 5 G) Satellite (VSAT, DTH, Direc. PC, RB-GAN) Wi. Fi (802. 11) LMDS/MMDS (802. 16. 3) Wi. Max (802. 16) UMTS (3 G)

Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) • Direct connectivity to a satellite – can be placed anywhere there is a satellite coverage • Can have direct international connection – bypassing infrastructure bottleneck • Ample bandwidth – one connection can be used to serve many communities • At the ground station, outdoor and indoor units are required

Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Downside: • Regulation – may disallow, allow only download but not upload, or may only allow domestic space segment • Latency – can be a problem depending on the number of signal “hop” • Equipment price – initial investment cost is still high even though the price continues to drop • Subscription price – can be very high depending on the regulations, competition and traffic routing • Complexity – maintenance requires specialized skills • Power – reliable power source needed

VSAT Frequency Band Up Link C Ku Ka Down Link Dish Size 5. 9253. 7 -4. 2 Ghz 7. 8 m 6. 425 Ghz 14 -14. 5 Ghz 10. 953. 8 m 11. 7 Ghz 25 -31 Ghz 18 -25 Ghz 0. 5 -1. 8 m

VSAT Topology – Star Configuration

VSAT Topology – Mesh Configuration

VSAT Access Method n n n n Pure and Slotted Aloha Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) Pre-assigned Multiple Access (PAMA) Single Channel per Carrier (SCPC) Frequency-time Division Multiple Access (FTDMA)

Where to Get More Information n Global VSAT Forum – www. gvf. org n http: //www. angelfire. com/electronic/vikram/ tech/vsattut. html n http: //www. fsktm. upm. edu. my/~hakim/sak 5306/present/vsat. doc n Gilat – www. gilat. com n Asia-Pacific Satellite Communication Council - http: //www. apscc. or. kr

Direc. PC/Direct to Home (DTH) n A service offered by Hughes Network Systems (Direc. PC) a few other companies that provides Internet access through private satellite dishes n Requests for Web pages normally go through an analog modem connection, but pages are delivered through the satellite link at up to 400 Kbps (Direc. PC). DTH can have both uplink and downlink via the satellite (if regulation permits) n Easier to install and much cheaper than conventional VSAT n Service not widely available at the moment

Wireless Fidelity (Wi. Fi) • Based on IEEE 802. 11 wireless standard • 3 variants: • 802. 11 b – up to 11 Mb/sec, 2. 4 Ghz, up to 200 feet outdoors • 802. 11 a – up to 54 Mb/sec, 5. 8 Ghz, up to 50 feet outdoors • 802. 11 g – up to 54 Mb/sec, 2. 4 Ghz, up to 200 feet outdoors • 2. 4 Ghz is a “non-licensed” band • Spectrum allocation regulation not set in many countries

Main Advantages of Wi. Fi • Relatively low-cost, commercially available equipment • Easy to install and setup • High bandwidth available (enable sharing of resources) • Low power requirement (depending on distance) • No royalty charges for spectrum use • Allows greater mobility for the users

Using Wi. Fi to Bypass the Telco Infrastructure Wi. Fi Connectivity Dial-up/ISDN/DSL/Cable

Using Wi. Fi to Build a Wireless Community Area Network

Setting-up Wi. Fi for Outdoor Use Equipment Needed: n n n n n Access Point/Router – (at client and host) Outdoor Antenna “Pigtail” Coaxial Cable UTP Ethernet Patch Cable UTP Hub for LAN Lightning Arrester Tower (optional) Wireless Adapters (optional) Alternate Power Supply (optional)

Setting-up Wi. Fi for Outdoor Use Pigtail Cable (coaxial) for connecting to outdoor antenna

Setting-up Wi. Fi for Outdoor Use Outdoor Wi. Fi Antennae Omni Sectoral Directional (Yagi) Directional (Parabolic)

Radiation Pattern of Various Antennae 1 1. 2. 2 Sectoral 3. 3 Omni Directional

Making Your Own Antenna 2. 6 cm metal soldered to N-type male connector

Physical Setup of Antenna 1. Need to conduct radio link calculation n Onno’s tutorial on radio concepts www. bellanet. org/~onno/the-guide/wifi Formula for online calculation is available at www. ydi. com Onno’s excel template is also available 2. Need to conduct free space loss calculation n Again, Onno’s tutorial and template are available as well as from www. ydi. com 3. Line of sight determination n Optical line of sight and radio line of sight (fresnel zone) n Measuring margin for signal fade 4. Aiming the antenna and determining tilt angle 5. System operating margin calculation

Physical Setup of Antenna

How Much Does It Cost? Professional Grade Equipment At the Host Site: n n n Access Point - US$62 -130 Pigtail - US$30 Coax - US$90 -130 Sector Antenna - US$500 -800 Omni Antenna - US$150 -240 Total Investment - US$330 -1100 At the Client Site: n n n PCI Card- US$50 -105 Pig Tail - US$30 Coax - US$90 -130 Directional Ant - US$100 -250 Total Investment - US$280480

Where to Buy Equipment? Check the Internet First: http: //pcmag. pricegrabber. com http: //www. streetprices. com For Pro Outdoor Equipment: http: //www. cirronet. com http: //www. cisco. com http: //www. orthogonsystems. com http: //www. smartbridges. com http: //www. wavelan. com http: //www. waverider. com

Where to Buy Equipment? Radio Equipment: http: //www. ydi. com For Wi. Fi Tower: http: //www. arrl. org/tisfind. html http: //www. glenmarin. com.

Up and Coming Connectivity Solution

cor. DECT Wireless

Satellite Modem - RBGAN • Direct to satellite connection from your notebook computer • No need for expensive parabolic transponder/antenna • Coverage available in South Asia (as well as Europe, Middle East and Africa) • Service to be provided by Immarsat

RBGAN Coverage Area

Wi. Max (802. 16) n Similar to Wi. Fi but has a larger coverage and bandwidth compared to Wi. Fi n Resolves the line-of-sight problem – Wi. Max speed not affected by physical obstruction n Standard is still loosely defined (equipment tend to use proprietary technology) n Can be adapted for point-to-point communication (Red. Line Communications or Wi-Lan Inc. )

THANK YOU!