Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

UK Approves of 5.8GHz For Rural Broadband

Posted by Hemos on from the making-best-use-of-the-air-waves dept.

Tandoori Haggis writes "BBC News reports a major decision by UK Government to approve the use of 5.8 GHz C-band for use with wireless broadband. A prime consideration is the desire to provide broadband access for rural areas where broadband cable might be prohibitively expensive to impliment. Previously there had been resistance to freeing up 5.8GHz because it is in an area of the RF spectrum used by C-band radars."

22 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. An article with more details... by tcopeland · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...on the issues involved in deregulating this part of the spectrum can be found here.

    --
    The Army reading list
    1. Re:An article with more details... by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Informative

      ... which contradicts the slashdot headline completely.

      The real story appears to be that the frequency will *not* be deregulated - you'll still have to apply for a license. The difference is now you have a slight hope of getting one.

    2. Re:An article with more details... by tcopeland · · Score: 2, Informative

      Right, it's an older story - but it does give more details on why this was a controversial move. Good background info and all that.

      --
      The Army reading list
  2. Read up... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They should read up on hack proofing their networks, in that case.

    More info.

  3. Great last mile solution.... by micker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is great, we need to see it here in the States. This would help with Last mile issues out west or in the farmlands. Or, I could use this from my apartment and still get a signal at my favorite bar.... I like that...

    --
    Words are only yours until someone else uses them...
    1. Re:Great last mile solution.... by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 3, Interesting

      802.16 will handle the last mile, it will go 22 miles and be ratified next year.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
  4. C Band Radar for Defense? by nharmon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From the article:

    [i]"The Ministry of Defence had resisted opening up the spectrum because it has radar systems operating in Band C of the 5GHz part of the spectrum."[/i]

    Perhaps the UK should stop using C band radars for military purposes, and get with the times by upgrading to L-band or X-band radar.

    C-band is acceptabe for weather radar, but even then, you would be more worried about weather radar obstructing broadband connections...not the other way around.

    1. Re:C Band Radar for Defense? by Gumshoe · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Perhaps the UK should stop using C band radars for military purposes, and get with the times by upgrading to L-band or X-band radar.
      The UK does use X and L band radar, it just happens to use C band radar as well; and I would bet dollars to doughnuts that the US Government still uses C band somewhere in its infrastructure.
    2. Re:C Band Radar for Defense? by billsf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sure, why not? Modern radar is not that likely to be affected by low-power communication devices however, due to special techniques such as spreading which is coming to datacom, like it or not.

      L-band (1.7 - 4.2 GHz) offers longer range.

      X-band (8.0 - 12.4 GHz) has much finer resolution which certainly gets better for Ku, K and Ka band systems. The higher frequency systems are more prone to weather however.

      C-band (4.2 - 8.0GHz) is a good compromise between range and target resolution.

  5. line of sight by Uma+Thurman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wouldn't that be line-of-sight communication? This sort of thing would need a big tower to cover a big area. The solar-powered airplane hovering over the area would be a nice solution to that problem.

    Anyway, how well would this work if the line-of-sight to the base station was through a neighbor's brick house? Not well I would think.

    --
    This is America, damnit. Speak Spanish!
    1. Re:line of sight by PPGMD · · Score: 2, Funny
      The solar-powered airplane hovering over the area would be a nice solution to that problem.

      Until the first thunderstorm pops up and knocks it down like the Helios.

      Theres an old saying in flying:
      A thunderstorm is natures way of saying up yours.

    2. Re:line of sight by thedillybar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure, the transmitting antenna should be very high. To establish line-of-sight though, you'd probably be fine with your antenna being 10 or 20 feet above your roof.

      FM radio is line-of-sight too...and you don't lose everything when you're parked next to a brick house. Don't expect tree branches blowing across to severely affect your signal strength.

    3. Re:line of sight by wass · · Score: 3, Informative
      FM radio is line-of-sight too...and you don't lose everything when you're parked next to a brick house.

      You're ignoring diffraction, which of course is more obvious at larger wavelengths. FM radio seems more line-of-sight than AM because the smaller wavelength bends around properly-sized objects (read people-sized houses and small hills) less well.

      An FM radio signal (about 100 MHz) has a wavelength of roughly 3 meters. Some brick houses aren't that much larger than this, so you'll can get some diffraction around the house.

      A 5.8 GHz signal has a wavelength of about 1/60 this, or roughly 5 cm. So yes, expect much smaller objects to significantly obscure your receival of the transmission.

      Finally, what really matters is the index of refraction of whatever material is 'obscuring' the signal. I'm not really sure, but I would guess that wood and brick would be more opaque at 5.8 GHz C band than at 100 MHz.

      --

      make world, not war

  6. Cheap? by dave1g · · Score: 4, Insightful
    "Opening this band is expected to boost the development of fixed wireless access services, such as low cost internet access in areas not currently reached by broadband services," said the DTI in a statement. "

    Isn't fixed wireless in the states actually pretty expensive? How are they going to do it cheaply in the UK?

    I thought the real selling point of fixed wireless was that these rural areas finally get to have access, and, being deprived of anything near as fast, would pay a relatively high price for it.

  7. military by powlow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    crazy to share the band with the military...it realy does seem like licensing without guarantee of service...

    The military can shut you down and creat exclusion zones, you have to pay and there is no gurantee of service and they could theoretically raise the licensing fee at a later date. Seems like shaky ground to me.

    1. Re:military by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 4, Insightful
      crazy to share the band with the military...

      'Sfunny that's true of GPS too. GPS is still a useful system; yes, you can theoretically get stomped on.

      it realy does seem like licensing without guarantee of service...

      Yes, well, neither does the internet.

      The military can shut you down and creat exclusion zones

      Yes, well, that's life. If it is really bad you complain to your politician.

      and they could theoretically raise the licensing fee at a later date

      Yes. Death and Taxes.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  8. Re:Impliment? by Aardpig · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is that some weird Brit misspelling, like flavour or neighbour?

    Potatoe? Is our children learning?

    --
    Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
  9. Re:Already done by VaderPi · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The problem is that there needs to be incentive (read profit more than cost) for them to implement it since they are private companies.
    It is situations like this where local governments (or even, gasp, the federal government) should provide infrastructure for its constituents. If interstate highway development were left to private companies, I bet that it would be much more difficult to get orders from the West to East coast via ground transportation in seven days. As soon as governments recognize that Internet access is a form of infrastructure for communication and commerce things might improve here in the US.
  10. Hills and valleys in the back and beyond by webtoe · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This would be great for my Grandad who can't get xDSL (BT won't upgrade the telephone exchange) or cable (too remote). He lives in Lancashire, on the snow line of a hill where the telephone line is abysmal. I sure as hell know that he'd love to get away from AOL.

    The only thing is, will this be a practical solution? In the hills and valleys will the signal be strong enough? Will it reach down into the valleys? I barely get mobile reception when I'm there!

    Alex

    --
    "There is no beast as dangerous an enemy to mankind as christians are to one another" - Ammianus Marcellinus
  11. if you can get Sky TV you can get satellite bb by DrSkwid · · Score: 2, Informative

    Satellite broadband for 19.99 per month

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
  12. Re:question by The+One+KEA · · Score: 2, Informative

    It depends on the signal encoding and protocols transmitted on that band. In this case, 5.8GHz is an additional signal band being added to the group of signal bands utilized by the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g standards. The encoding used by those standards (Orthogonal Frequency Divison Multiplexing, link) allows for a maximum clean-room EM-free speed of 54Mbps. In reality, once you factor in interference, equipment quality and distance, you can only really reach approxmiately 20Mbps, which will still outstrip most consumer-level broadband options.

    IANASS.

    --
    SCREW THE ADS! http://adblock.mozdev.org/ Proud user of teh Fox of Fire - Registered Linux User #289618
  13. giant dish? by cloudmaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hooray! I knew that if I kept that 8 foot C-band dish up in the backyard, it'd someday come back into style! All those neighbors who've laughed at my giant dish will again be envious, just like in the 80's...