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:
 Former university professor, now a self-
proclaimed ICT activist
 Help build self-financed community networks in
Indonesia that led to
 5000+ WiFi outdoor installations
 1500+ schools connected to the Internet
 20+ publications and articles
 Countless educational workshops on WiFi and VoIP
 Likes to spread his knowledge – his teaching
materials are at: sandbox.bellanet.org/~onno
 Leads WiFi for Develoment discussion group at
wifi4d@dgroups.org
 What is Connectivity?
 Content: Voice vs Data

 Transmission Coding: Analog vs Digital

 Medium: Wired vs Wireless

 Speed: Broadband vs Narrowband

Where am I in the Internet?
You

“last mile”
Global Network
Operator 2nd National ISP
National ne
Exchange kbo
c
Point Ba Local ISP
om
l e c
Te
To other
ISP Backbone
local ISPs

National ISP, National ISP,

International Gateway Central Switch Local Switch
 Who do I Connect to?

 Internet Service Provider (local, small)

 Internet Service Provider (major, national) –

could be the incumbent telecom operator

 Cellular Operator

 Direct to Global Network Service Provider

Choosing Internet Service Providers
 Quality of connection (speed and reliability)
 Always conduct speed and reliability test from the ISP
office as well as from your remote site

 Service quality (range of services and customer

support)

 Network coverage

 « 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)
 An agreement between ISP and client
which stipulates the quality of service,
installations, and level of support
 Should always try to request the ISP to
guarantee the “last mile” service
 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) Internet on Cable
ISDN (Single Band) DSL/ADSL
Internet on Cable ISDN (dual leased
DSL/ADSL circuit)
Wireless VHF/UHF Radio Satellite (VSAT, DTH,
corDECT DirecPC, RB-GAN)
GPRS (2.5G) WiFi (802.11)
LMDS/MMDS (802.16.3)
WiMax (802.16)
UMTS (3G)
Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)

• Direct connectivity to a satellite – can be placed

anywhere where 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 Down Link Dish Size

C 5.925- 3.7-4.2Ghz 7.8m

6.425Ghz
Ku 14-14.5Ghz 10.95- 3.8m
11.7Ghz
Ka 25-31Ghz 18-25Ghz 0.5-1.8m
VSAT Topology – Star Configuration

Satellite

Outdoor Unit
Outdoor Unit

Hub Unit
VSAT Topology – Mesh Configuration

Satellite

Outdoor Unit
Outdoor Unit

Outdoor Unit
 VSAT Access Method

 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

 Global VSAT Forum – www.gvf.org

 http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/vikram/tech/v
 http://www.fsktm.upm.edu.my/~hakim/sak5306/p
 Gilat – www.gilat.com
 Asia-Pacific Satellite Communication Council
- http://www.apscc.or.kr
 DirecPC/Direct to Home (DTH)

 A service offered by Hughes Network Systems

(DirecPC) a few other companies that provides
Internet access through private satellite dishes
 Requests for Web pages normally go through an
analog modem connection, but pages are delivered
through the satellite link at up to 400 Kbps
(DirecPC). DTH can have both uplink and downlink
via the satellite (if regulation permits)
 Easier to install and much cheaper than
conventional VSAT
 Service not widely available at the moment
 Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)

• Based on IEEE 802.11 wireless standard

• 3 variants:
• 802.11b – up to 11Mb/sec, 2.4Ghz, up to 200feet outdoors
• 802.11a – up to 54Mb/sec, 5.8Ghz, up to 50feet outdoors
• 802.11g – up to 54Mb/sec, 2.4Ghz, up to 200feet outdoors
• 2.4Ghz is a “non-licensed” band
• Spectrum allocation regulation not set in many countries
 Main Advantages of WiFi

• 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 WiFi to Bypass the Telco
Infrastructure

10km
WiFi Connectivity

8k m

Comm. Tower

Comm. Tower

Router
Repeater

Comm. Tower Router

Dial-up/ISDN/DSL/Cable
56k dial-up or leased telco line
Modem Modem

Terminal server
IBM Compatible
 Using WiFi to Build a Wireless
Community Area Network

Internet

Comm. Tower
WiFi
To
IS
P

Router Hub W
iFi
Server at a Telecentre

Ethernet
Modem
Hospital

Dial-up
Primary School
High School

FD

Fire Department
Setting-up WiFi for Outdoor Use

Equipment Needed:
 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 WiFi for Outdoor Use

Pigtail Cable (coaxial) for connecting to outdoor antenna

Setting-up WiFi for Outdoor Use
Outdoor WiFi Antennae

Omni Sectoral Directional Directional

(Yagi) (Parabolic)
 Radiation Pattern of Various Antennae
1
1. Omni
2. Sectoral
3. Directional

3
2
Making Your Own Antenna

2.6cm metal soldered to N-type male connector

 Physical Setup of Antenna
1. Need to conduct radio link calculation
 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
 Again, Onno’s tutorial and template are available as well
as from www.ydi.com
3. Line of sight determination
 Optical line of sight and radio line of sight (fresnel zone)
4. Aiming the antenna and determining tilt angle
5. System operating margin calculation
 Measuring margin for signal fade
Physical Setup of Antenna
 How Much Does It Cost?
Professional Grade Equipment

At the Host Site: At the Client Site:

 Access Point - US$62-130  PCI Card- US$50-105

 Pigtail - US$30  Pig Tail - US$30
 Coax - US$90-130  Coax - US$90-130
 Sector Antenna - US$500-800  Directional Ant - US$100-250
 Omni Antenna - US$150-240  Total Investment - US$280-
 Total Investment - 480
US$330-1100
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 WiFi Tower:

http://www.arrl.org/tis/tisfind.html
http://www.glenmarin.com.
 Up and Coming
Connectivity Solution
corDECT 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
 WiMax (802.16)

 Similar to WiFi but has a larger coverage and

bandwidth compared to WiFi

 Resolves the line-of-sight problem – WiMax speed

not affected by physical obstruction

 Standard is still loosely defined (equipment tend

to use proprietary technology)

 Can be adapted for point-to-point communication

(RedLine Communications or Wi-Lan Inc.)
THANK YOU!