Posted 04/15/2001
The xchange
No Johnny-Come-Lately
Andrew Corp. VP Discusses Role in MMDS Development
By Gail Lawyer
 Jim Yard |
Two-way MMDS is now considered a key new broadband access technology for service providers who want to ramp up their services quickly, inexpensively and without leasing lines from incumbent network operators. Industry pundits expect revenues from broadband wireless at MMDS and other frequencies to exceed $17 billion by 2005, up from $800 million in 2000.
Hoping to exploit that opportunity, Andrew Corp. (www.andrew.com) recently moved into the already-crowded broadband fixed wireless equipment space.
But this company isn't just another Johnny-come-lately. The $1 billion-plus company is already a veteran in the radio frequency (RF) space. And it recruited experts in the broadband fixed wireless arena to lead its new effort.
Jim Yard, vice president of the broadband wireless systems group at Andrew, was the designer of the nation's first--and what is still the largest--commercial digital two-way broadband wireless system.
In the 1990s, he took the lead in developing a two-way MMDS system for People's Choice TV Corp. (operated by the wireless cable TV company's SpeedChoice subsidiary) under an experimental license filed with the FCC (www.fcc.gov). Sprint Corp. (www.sprint.com) bought the company shortly thereafter. In fact, the system created such interest that Sprint and MCI (now WorldCom Inc., www.worldcom.com) ultimately invested a combined $3 billion in MMDS licenses and wireless companies in 1996 after the FCC opened the spectrum for two-way use. Yard has been with Andrew's Broadband Wireless Systems Group since November 1999, and is now working out of the company's new research and development lab in Scottsdale, Ariz. xchange's executive editor Paula Bernier recently spoke to Yard about the early systems and his current work at Andrew.
X: I understand you developed the first two-way MMDS system ever available. What was the impetus for that project, and what were its results?
Yard: The impetus for that was, PC TV was in the broadcast video business, and that business model wasn't working out well financially. One of the ways to improve the business case was to offer Internet access. That was in late '95 or early '96. My task was to figure out how to offer high-speed Internet access over MMDS, which included software and hardware development.
The first test system was built in Detroit. We created an architecture for doing downstream communications over RF and upstream communications over telephone circuits.
After that architecture was fairly mature and we had some operational experience, we wanted to implement service in a two-way experience. So we picked Phoenix. In the first phase of that project, we took the Detroit architecture and put it in Phoenix. We started with a dial-up return. We did that because we needed to develop it as a business as well as an architecture--so we could put on customers, build sales structures, etc. We did upstream RF in early '97 in a test system and offered service in the fall of '97. May 1999 was the official launch date.
X: You also helped develop the first broadband wireless system with sectorization. What is sectorization, and what role does it now play in commercial networks?
Yard: Sectorization is a technique we deployed in Phoenix. It provides a mechanism to reuse the spectrum. The most valuable asset in a wireless environment is the spectrum you have access to. The system we put in place in Phoenix was originally capable of 12 sectors, a six times multiple of the frequency. Sectorization is used in cellular environments too, but cell sites are divided into three or four sectors. We do it much more granularly.
X: So now you're heading up Andrew's broadband fixed wireless equipment and services business. What does that company offer on that front?
Yard: The group functions as an OEM. We offer turnkey solutions to service providers and component parts to other companies that do integration. We provide products, services and solutions to a wide variety of wireless operators and wireless companies.
X: Nortel Networks Ltd. (www.nortelnetworks.com), Lucent Technologies Inc. (www.lucent.com) and Cisco Systems Inc. (www.cisco.com) are all offering broadband fixed wireless products as well. In addition, there is now a crowd of newcomers in this space. Why would a carrier zero-in on Andrew for broadband fixed wireless with all the noise in the marketplace?
Yard: Corporate stability. We've been around for 60 some years. We'll be here 10 years from today. A lot of those companies won't be around. We reach out and touch all the aspects of the wireless environment because that's what we do. These are basically RF networks hauling data. Those are the kinds of businesses and technology applications where Andrew uniquely excels. We also bring to bear a lot of experience with these technologies in an actual deployed environment. We understand more the real world challenges of getting customers deployed.
X: Andrew considers systems integration, experience in project management, and being an established, well-funded company as some of its differentiators. But don't your competitors ADC (www.adc.com), Nortel, Lucent and Cisco--which are also considered players in broadband fixed wireless--offer those benefits as well?
Yard: They do. They also represent some of our best customers for antennas, cables, power amps--all kinds of piece parts. We buy things from them that we integrate in our solutions as well. We see this market growing very quickly, and we see there is room for all of us.
X: Andrew alone designs and supports practically all the components of broadband fixed wireless systems end-to-end with the exception of the CPE/cable modems, while other vendors OEM many of the pieces. Why is this important?
Yard: That's true today. We also provide the glue between all those pieces. We have software--network management, element management, subscriber management tools--that glue all that together.
X: Andrew is a leader in the microwave space. How is it leveraging that expertise for this new line of business--broadband fixed wireless?
Yard: If you look at our expertise in microwave, we leverage network backhaul over microwave and Internet access where there are space segments involved. Andrew is one of largest companies that does satellite gateway services, providing a satellite link between the U.S. and other countries. If Nortel, Lucent and the others were to do a satellite gateway piece, they would probably outsource it from us.
X: A key factor in Andrew's broadband fixed wireless product line is its Ultraflex transverter/antenna system. It can work with virtually every system operating between 2 and 4 GHz. Why is that important?
Yard: We take the same basic product and change the frequency. Frequency allocations vary from country to country. It offers quick time to market because the product is easy to modify.
X: Any other new technologies on which Andrew is working?
Yard: In Prescott, Ariz., we're improving network efficiencies by utilizing in-band trunking. Typically you have to run a DS-3 to each cell, which is $10,000 to $15,000 a month for the carrier. Through our advanced sectorization techniques, we've created mechanisms to eliminate backhaul costs. The first system using this technology is under construction. The service provider is eSpeed AZ LLC [www.espeedaz.net].
X: What's next for broadband fixed wireless?
Yard: First is reduce the costs, which will be driven by economies of scale based on volume. Initial capital costs per subscriber are now north of $500. The goal is to get around $300. Second is to improve the quality of service levels available across the network. There are a lot of standardization efforts from groups including the IEEE 802.16, the Broadband Wireless Industry Forum led by Cisco, and WDSL [Wireless DSL Consortium, www.wdslconsortium.com]. And, third, reducing the requirement of line of sight.
