[1st-mile-nm] Agave Broadband News

[John Brown]

I'm not sure I would call this "NEW BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY",  20 some years
ago this technology was first developed.

This technology uses the DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) frequencies but
at a terrestrial level.

The used spectrum (US / FCC) is 12.2 - 12.7 Ghz range.

The technology is UNI-DIRECTIONAL, other words its a SEND TO SUBSCRIBER
ONLY technology.  

The Internet is a BI-DIRECTIONAL technology, needing traffic in BOTH
directions.

The primary use is to deploy multi-channel VIDEO via wireless and thus
circumvent existing "Cable TV" franchise rules that municipalities
presently have and are required by FCC.

The technology was initially developed in the mid 1980's and was known
then as HyperCable.

In 2002 The FCC decided to hold a spectrum auction (Auction 53 and 63) for
the land based use of the spectrum.

The Albuquerque-Santa Fe market (Market ID  MVD049) was granted on
7/26/2004.  

It EXPIRES on 7/26/2014, there is potential for renewal, if there is
substantial service.

The licensee has a requirement to provide substantial service within five
years of the initial authorization grant.
The initial authorization grant was on 7/26/2004.  Add five years and you
get 7/26/2009.   

Permissible Operations:
MVDDS licensees may use this spectrum for any digital fixed
non-broadcast service (broadcast services are intended for reception of
the general public and not on a subscribership basis) including ONE-WAY
direct-to-home/office wireless service. Licensees are permitted to
provide ONE-WAY video programming and data services on a non-common
carrier and/or on a common carrier basis. Mobile and aeronautical
services are not authorized. Two-way services may be provided by using
other spectrum or media for the return or upstream path.

So the licensee can use the service for ONE-WAY service and MUST NOT
provide common carrier services.
This could impact "VoIP / Voice" service offerings.

To deploy this technology Agavue will need to deploy a DIFFERENT
technology to get the packets from the subscriber BACK TO THE INTERNET.
This can cause significant problems in actually achieving the bandwidth
claimed.

Further,MDS Operations SHALL NOT partition or lease any portion of its
license within the prior approval area, including Bernalillo County,
Sandoval County. There do not appear to be any FCC approval records filed.

A few technical issues:

1. The licensee is permitted a SINGLE TRANSMITTER located at Sandia Park
  35° 13' 01" North Lat. - 106° 27' 08" West Long

    Since MDS Operations can only have a SINGLE TRANSMITTER then is is a
SHARED bandwidth system.  The more customers they put
    on the system the less bandwidth will be available for each user.

2. The total amount of bandwidth will also be limited by the amount of
bandwidth they can reliably get to the top of Sandia
   Peak.
   I do not believe there is FIBER at Sandia Peak.  So they will have to
use additional wireless technologies to get up to the
   peak.   *** For 100 customers to get the 50Mb/s they will need to have
5000 Mb/s of uplink to Sandia (That¹s 5 Gigbits per
   second) ***  Unless they oversubscribe the system.

3. There is no "redundancy" in the system.  If the single FCC authorized
transmitter breaks, then all subscribers are DOWN.

4. Bandwidth will be limited by the latency and reliability of the
back-channel technology deployed.  Same problem that
   Satellite based systems have.  The latency won't be quite as bad, but
that really depends on the back-channel medium they
   use.

5. I suspect there will be NAT and other network address / routing issues
that will cause certain Internet based applications to
   break or not work very well.

6. Assume they also deploy video on this technology (Video is/was the
major driver of this technology), then the aggregate
   bandwidth available for "Internet" will be significantly less.  A
single HD video stream requires around 6 to 8 Mb/s, raw.
   That does NOT include the overhead of IP.  So a 100 channel video
service all in HD would need around 600 to 800 Mb/s of
   Bandwidth, in addition to the bandwidth consumed by Internet
applications.


We must remember that the Internet is changing from a mostly consumer
service and morphing into a "prosumer(tm)" based medium.  End users are
producing more and put more UP on the net.  This requires more symmetrical
based transport mediums.

On 12/6/11 5:20 PM, "Richard Lowenberg" <rl at 1st-mile.com> wrote:

> ALBUQUERQUE CHOSEN AS FIRST COMMERCIAL U.S. SITE FOR NEW BROADBAND
> TECHNOLOGY ROLLOUT
>
> Albuquerque is the first U.S. city selected to receive breakthrough,
> internet connection
> technology that promises up to 50Mbs, wireless internet speeds at very
> competitive pricing.
> The technology is called Multi-Channel Video and Data Distribution
> Service (MVDDS)
> and is already operating in the UAE, Ireland, France, Vietnam,
> Greenland and Serbia.
> The technology was developed by Florida based, MDS America. Deploying
> the technology in
> New Mexico is Agave Broadband, the exclusive licensee for New Mexico.
>
> ³This partnership with MDSA will provide the latest internet,
> high-speed connectivity technology
> to the Albuquerque market and outlying areas,² said Les Matthews ­
> Agave Broadband Director.
> ³This is another step in our long-term strategy to bring affordable,
> high-speed connectivity
> to both commercial and residential users in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and
> in parts of rural New Mexico.²
>
> MVDDS uses patented and patent-pending technology to take advantage of
> a licensed broadcast spectrum
> owned by Agave partner, MDS America. ³We¹ve successfully deployed this
> technology in many
> rural parts of the world,² said Kirk Kirkpatrick, MDS America,
> President and CEO.
> ³The Albuquerque market provides an excellent opportunity to deploy in
> a combination of
> rural/urban markets containing a wide variety of climatic conditions.
> New Mexico is just the beginning of our rollout of MVDDS technology
> into the United States.²
> The product is expected to be available in December, 2011.
>
> Agave recently acquired Cibola Internet Services, who had begun the
> preliminary discussions with
> MDS America. Lou Uttaro, Cibola¹s owner had for many years been on the
> forefront of bringing
> innovative internet services to New Mexico, will remain involved with
> Agave in deploying the
> MVDDS technology in the state.
>
> Agave Broadband currently provides wireless broadband internet service
> to the East Mountains
> from Edgewood to Mountainair. The partnership with MDS America will
> allow expansion of the company¹s
> current service offerings to many population centers in the State of
> New Mexico.
>
> Consumers and businesses interested in Agave Broadband services should
> call 505.369.7979 x 2406
> or sales at agavebroadband.com. Further information regarding MDS America
> can be found at MDSAmerica.com.
>
> Agave Broadband is a Member Company of the WESST Enterprise Center.
>
> Contact: Les Matthews, Director, Agave Broadband,  505.369.7979 x 2408
>
>
>
>-- 
> Richard Lowenberg
> 1st-Mile Institute
> Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
> 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
> www.1st-mile.com
> rl at 1st-mile.com
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