REGION A WIRELESS PROPAGATION STUDY SOUTHWEST COMMISSION, NC| - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

REGION A WIRELESS PROPAGATION STUDY

SOUTHWEST COMMISSION, NC| OCTOBER 2019

Agenda

❑Your Presenter ❑Scope of Study ❑Current Results ❑Work in Process ❑Conclusions

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Your Presenter

▪ Education

▪ ECU BSBA Accounting/Computer Sci. | NCSU MS Economics

▪ Professional

▪ Ernst & Whinney ▪ Sequent Computer Systems (IPO / IBM) [Large computer sys] ▪ Vanguard Cellular (IP) / ATT) [Original cellular provider] ▪ The Southern Company [Fortune 50 energy company] ▪ GTE (pre-Verizon) [Wireless data – CDPD and 1G] ▪ BellSouth (ATT) [Strategic planning, e-biz, large biz] ▪ ITO [Start up wholesaler of comms. circuits] ▪ ECC Technologies

▪ Selected Consulting

▪ Charlotte Hornets ▪ Water Systems, Inc. ▪ East Tennessee Brain & Spine ▪ Palmetto Behavioral Health ▪ Waste Industries

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▪ ECC Selected Clients

▪ The Southwest Commission ▪ The Albemarle Commission ▪ State of Georgia ▪ Carroll EMC ▪ Madison County, NY ▪ Harnett County, NC ▪ Roanoke EMC ▪ Piedmont EMC ▪ Tidewater EMC ▪ EnergyUnited ▪ Flint Energies ▪ Cowetta Fayetta EMC ▪ MCNC Network ▪ Lumbee River EMC ▪ The Southern Tier Network

Scope Items

▪ Identify areas of need using Phase 1 info ▪ Inventory vertical assets, map and identify ▪ Identify and map known fiber assets ▪ Conduct drive-by and visits on publicly owned vertical assets ▪ Contact asset owners ▪ Examine county tower ordinance s ▪ Identify RF frequencies in use ▪ Develop strategies for potential projects ▪ Present findings

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ECC’s Responsibilities

❑ Execute to support the goals of the

SouthWest Commission, which, in turn, aid each of the Counties.

❑ Support all viable, proven technologies. ❑ Support all proven, service providers. ❑ Support all voices in the community

working together for broadband.

❑ Ensure focus is on information which is

relevant, valuable and actionable.

❑ Continually ensure cost/value are parts of

discussions.

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Identify Areas of Need - 2017 BAAT

▪ Broadband Assessment &

Aggregation Tool

▪ 4,689 residential responses ▪ 154 commercial responses

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Selected Download Rates 0 – 4 Mbps 4 – 10 Mbps 10 – 25 Mbps 25 – 50 Mbps

Identify Areas of Need

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Residential Commercial

2019 GREAT Grant Awards in SW NC

❑Sky Wave

▪ Swain County ▪ Macon County

❑Sky-Fi

▪ Jackson County

❑Morris Broadband

▪ Macon County

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Connect America Fund (CAF II)

❑ Shaded Blue Area is

the eligible area

❑ Dark Blue is the

funded areas

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Fiber Advantages and Providers

❑ Unlimited Bandwidth

❑ Telecom Standard for Backbone

Infrastructure between cities and communications towers

❑ Discrete / Independent Networks ❑ Multiple Users – both service providers, public

• rganizations, enterprise and others

❑ Metro, Regional and Long haul ❑ Ring Redundancy

❑ Regional Fiber Providers

❑ BalsaamWest / MCNC ❑ North Georgia Network (NGN) ❑ Morris Broadband, Zito Media, Murphy CATV,

Cablevision and Northland

❑ Incumbents

• AT&T
• Charter
• Frontier
• Windstream

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Fiber Routes in SW North Carolina

❑ Sources of Information

• GeoTel
• Fiber Locator
• ECC Field Study in

Cherokee and Swain Counties

• Provider websites

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Inventory and Map Vertical Assets

Over 400 records identified from 5 sources – with some duplications

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Sources County Information State FirstNet Database American Tower Crown Castle FCC Registration

Radio Propagation Samples

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❑Map is based on 477 Info and 2017 BAAT Survey ❑Compare data and look for areas in need ❑Towers were selected as examples

Propagation Mapping – Baseline

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❑ Only Wireless Towers

▪ 70% height (approx. 40M) ▪ Various Tower Owners ▪ Attempted to evaluate other structures – tanks et al

❑ Radio

▪ Cambium PMP 450i ▪ Quality parameters – standard

❑ Antenna

▪ Gain 35 dbi ▪ Frequency 5,700 Mhz ▪ Tilt 4 degrees

Cherokee County – Sample Site 01

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Fain Mtn Tower (Bill Forsyth) – Murphy, NC

Clay County – Sample Site 02

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SBA Towers – Hayesville, NC

Graham County – Sample Site 03

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Crown Castle – Robbinsville, NC

Haywood County – Sample Site 04

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SBA Towers – Waynesville, NC

Jackson County – Sample Site 05

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Crown Atlantic – Savannah, NC

Macon County – Sample Site 06

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Crown Castle – Bryson City, NC

Swain County – Sample Site 07

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SBA Towers – Nantahala, NC

Who Owns Towers in Western NC?

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❑Private – Tower Owners

▪ American Tower ▪ Crown Atlantic ▪ Crown Castle ▪ SBA ▪ Radio Stations

❑Public – County, City, Town

• Wireless and Water Tanks

❑State – NC State Hwy Patrol VIPER System

Local Providers

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• Incumbents –

▪ AT&T, Charter, Frontier and Windstream typically will not do anything until competition forces them to improve service.

• Alternative Providers - WISPs and others in the area
• Sky-Fi – WISP in Jackson County
• Sky Wave – WISP in Swain County
• Sky Tech – WISP in Cherokee & parts of Clay Counties (River

Street)

• Skyrunner – WISP in Ashville Haywood and Jackson Counties
• Zito Media - Corp in PA, landline provider in Graham and

Swain Counties

• Eastern Band of Cherokees Broadband – Wireless and land

line provider in Swain and Jackson Counties

• Morris Broadband – Land Line provider in Macon County, GA

based company

• BalsamWest – WISP and land line provider in Cherokee, Clay,

Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain

• NGN (BREMC) – Land line provider in Cherokee County

Understand Providers Perspective

❑Cost to provide broadband:

• Tower lease (RAD)
• Tower climber
• Cabling
• RF equipment at the tower
• Switching equipment at the tower

▪ Lease space / power

• Transport (circuit or dark fiber)
• Route to aggregation point
• Route to peering point

❑Purchase Network equipment

• Spares
• Repairs
• MTTR

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❑Network

• Network management
• Network security
• 24 x 7 availability

❑End User

• Equipment
• Installation and configuration
• Billing AND collection
• 24 x 7 network AND device support
• Dispatch if required
• Spares

❑Regulatory & Legal

• Reporting
• Frequency Management

Identify Frequencies Used

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5 GHz Unlicensed PTMP and Backhauls PTP

• LOS only
• More spectrum than 3 GHz

11 GHz & 18 GHz Licensed Backhauls PTP

• Licenses are easily obtained
• Great throughput, high reliability

24 Ghz Backhauls PTP

• Unlicensed
• High throughput
• Suffer from possible rain fade so reliability is an

issue on longer links

• Low cost

2.4 GHz Unlicensed PTMP

• Frequency is saturated and unusable in most

areas for WISPs 2.5 GHz Licensed PTMP

• Better choice for penetration, non line of sight

(NLOS)

• Best performance due to no interference
• Hardest license to get

3.65 GHz License

• Nationwide licenses not being issued by FCC
• Better than 5 GHz for NLOS
• Available product lines utilizing LTE technology

with best NLOS up to 3 miles in foliage

Fixed W/L Equipment Manufacturers

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Manufacturer Cost Provider Support Frequencies Baicells Medium Distributor 2.5, 3.5 and 5.8 (LTE) Ghz Cambium Medium Direct & Distributor 900 Mhz, 2, 3 and 5Ghz MikroTik Low Direct & Distributor 2.4 and 5 Ghz Mimosa Low Direct & Distributor 4.9 to 6.4 Ghz Radwin High Direct 2.x, 3.x, 4.9, 5.x, 6.4GHz Ubiquiti Low Distributor 900 Mhz, 2.4, 3 and 5 Ghz Telrad High Direct 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz(LTE) 5 Ghz ECC is asking each vendor to model the seven sites previously shown in this slide – preferably using their proprietary applications. This will allow a vendor, technology, topology, pricing and response comparison for the above listed companies.

Project Next Steps (WIP)

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▪Conduct drive by visits of public assets ▪Continue to identify frequencies used ▪Develop strategies for potential projects ▪Set meetings with potential alternative providers

• What are your plans for SWC?
• Use BAAT with alternate providers

▪Continue to meet with Counties and other interested parties ▪Complete Phase 2 report and present findings

Next Steps

❑ Set a stairstep project plan to advance broadband ▪ Mitigate risk to the participants ▪ Understand the financial and operating constraints of providers ▪ Understand the current deployment environment ▪ Consider potential partners ❑ Consider opportunity to partner or participate in Grant

applications

▪ County involvement only ▪ Service Provider ▪ Council of Government ▪ Golden Leaf ▪ Electric Cooperative ▪ Other entities such as an agricultural cooperative ▪ Consider the creation of a Cooperative to apply for Federal Grants from both USDA and the FCC

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Questions!

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Thank You!

SOUTHWEST COMMISSION NC | OCTOBER 2019