The Industry

White Paper: Evolving Public Safety Networks

Public Safety networks are changing and becoming more advanced in terms of applications and services that are required by its users. Networks that were initially deployed to carry low capacity voice circuits are now faced with the challenges of being increasingly adaptive, elastic and intelligent to accommodate the constantly evolving traffic it carries.

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- April 12, 2018
Capacity Planning for Next Generation Utility Networks (Part 2)

Capacity planning guidelines for utility transport networks

In PART 1 of this blog, we provided an analysis of utility applications and expected capacity demands. Applications, especially security and surveillance, are rapidly increasing capacity requirements for utility networks. In this blog, we will outline an approach for performing capacity planning for a sample utility network in light of the applications traffic requirements.

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- September 19, 2017
Ensuring Reliable Emergency Communications During Natural Disasters

For many, Labor Day marks the end of summer vacations and children heading back to school. But this time of the year also includes potential severe weather threats for many states in the South and along the east coast of the United States.

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- September 8, 2017
FCC Rule Changes and the Future for Unlicensed 5.8Ghz PTP Backhaul Links

The tragedy of the commons happens when people sharing a common resource are inclined to overuse it, degrading it so much that becomes useless. An example is a field open to all in which cattle, have grazed for generations. At some point, a cattleman increases the number of animals of his herd to maximize profit.

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- August 16, 2017
Four Recommendations for FirstNet Backhaul

Opt-in or opt-out of the FirstNet plan is the biggest decision states will make about public safety in the coming years. Costs are critical, but states must ensure a sound architecture for mission critical communications. Whatever the opt-in/out decision, the advantages of microwave will play a huge part in the FirstNet network, and states will do well to follow these four recommendations:

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- June 23, 2017
State-Wide Public Safety Networks: Brief Update from Aviat

Aviat: The American Microwave Company and The Trusted Choice for State-Wide Microwave Networks

Aviat is the #1 provider of microwave and microwave routing systems to state/local government networks nationwide with 25 of 50 state-wide networks running Aviat equipment.

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- March 10, 2017
State-Wide Microwave Network Case Study: Extra High Power Radios

This large western US state had a longtime relationship with a microwave radio vendor and would have continued buying from them if their radios and support evolved with the State’s needs. However, over time its needs changed and it had to have more capabilities from its communications network. But it did not want to unnecessarily build new sites and erect costly new towers.

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- February 24, 2017
Getting it Done! Aviat & Australia Public Safety Networks

The public safety market has relied for many years on Aviat Networks to be a supplier of mission-critical microwave backhaul equipment. For example, since the introduction of the Eclipse microwave radio a few years ago, it has been received very successfully in the Australia public safety market. In the last five years, Aviat has sold and deployed thousands of radios (i.e., TRs) in the public safety and life critical radio ecosystem.

“The cutting-edge Gigabit Ethernet and IP capabilities of Eclipse were critical for Australia government agencies,” says Raj Kumar, vice president, sales and services, Asia Pacific, Aviat Networks. “As radio sites rolled out across Australia, Eclipse has enabled efficient deployment of multiple radio carriers in a single chassis—a mission-critical advantage for the simulcast trunking sites.”

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- May 31, 2016
3 Facts that Simplify Backhaul Procurement for Government

U.S. based state and local government backhaul buyers face a dilemma. Their microwave networks require continuous upgrades—now with the expectation that they become broadband capable—but their funding apparatus remains stagnant or even atrophies under fiscal pressures from citizens and policymakers. How can they obtain the next generation of wireless backhaul equipment vital to public safety and other purposes while doing so on a reality-based budget? The answer lies partly in an ongoing program that Aviat Networks can offer its government customers.

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- February 12, 2016
AT&T, T-Mobile Agree on the Future of Small Cell

AT&T and T-Mobile recently filed comments with the FCC that will enable small cell backhaul in urban cores for greater subscriber connectivity.

In the last few weeks, the future prospects of small cell antennas got brighter and shrank at the same time. AT&T and T-Mobile both filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of an industry-wide waiver of rules against flat-panel antennas for backhaul radios in the 70-80GHz bands. Currently, out-of-date FCC regulations about antenna radiation patterns hold back development and deployment of this type of equipment that urban dwellers will find acceptable in big city cores.

The current rules effectively call for the use of parabolic antennas that will be unsightly and would violate the aesthetics considerations and zoning regulations in many city core locations—precisely the type of environment that 70-80GHz radios exist to service. While the FCC regulations seem to necessitate parabolic antennas to keep radio beams focused and from interfering with equipment in the vicinity that uses the same wavelengths, mobile subscribers prefer more visually friendly solutions.

How to get from here to there
For the last few years, Aviat Networks has been working with the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition and others to get the FCC to update its regulations in the 70-80GHz bands. The problem: when the FCC promulgated these rules, the idea had never occurred to anyone that these bands would ever service small cell applications. And the applications that the FCC’s 70-80GHz rules were designed to support never materialized, with only 5,500 links registered in this spectrum since 2005, according to T-Mobile.

However, with this breakthrough in support from Tier 1 operators like AT&T and T-Mobile, the FCC should feel reassured that granting the waiver to the antenna rules for 70-80GHz bands is in the best interest of all the wireless industry service providers. And with OEMs in addition to Aviat asking for the waiver, no specific vendor will be favored. We urge other wireless service providers, communications equipment OEMs, subscribers and anyone else interested in moving forward as fast as the technology can go to also contact the FCC about granting this industry-wide waiver.

In the meantime, to learn more about urbanized small cell backhaul in the 70-80GHz bands, download this white paper.

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- December 18, 2015