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Sam Benzacar of Anatech Electronics, an RF and microwave filter company, has published
his August 2023 newsletter that features his short op-ed entitled "LMDS is Back
as 5G Fixed Wireless Access." In it, Sam discusses how Fixed Wireless Access
(FWA) is fundamentally a remake of the 1990s scheme called Local Multipoint
Distribution Service (LMDS). I remember when it was considered a big deal,
coming at the beginning of the wireless access era, concurrent with affordable
cell phone service. LMDS was eventually abandoned due to technical difficulties
(lack of sufficient range at available power levels), and then the bursting of
the tech bubble in 1999 was the final blow. As always, Sam's knowledge of all
facets of the communications industry is apparent, having been acquired
first-hand as an active participant along the way.
A Word from Sam Benzacar - LMDS is Back as 5G Fixed Wireless
Access
 By Sam Benzacar
Fixed wireless access (FWA) is a major focus of broadband providers, and although
this sounds highly innovative, it's now new. The same basic approach, called Local
Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS), operated between 28 and 31 GHz and was tried
in the 1990s. While the latest iteration of FWA mostly targets consumers, LMDS was
conceived to serve high-rise office buildings in urban environments where access
to Ethernet, especially fiber, was relatively rare at the time.
LMDS was a big deal for a few years, and many prominent names in the telecommunications
industry got on board with cash in hand. As Wired wrote in 1999, “In New York and
other urban areas across America, finally there's a fast track to the broadband
connectivity that copper wires, coaxial cable, and even fiber have failed to deliver.”
Unfortunately, after investing enormous sums of money in LMDS, most of the companies
deploying it filed for bankruptcy or were acquired. The problems were that the required
technology wasn't ready, what was available was too expensive, and the well-known
propagation problems at these frequencies weren't effectively solved. In short,
technology just wasn't ready back then to cost-effectively deploy millimeter-wave
systems to consumers and make a profit.
Winstar Communications, the originator of LMDS, sold its FWA spectrum holdings
for $42.5 million after Winstar went bankrupt in 2001. In 2006, GVC Networks bought
Winstar's subsidiaries and continued to operate telephone, video, and broadband
services in 18 metropolitan markets under the name GVCwinstar until it too went
dark. Winstar wasn't the only company that tried its luck with LMDS. Nextlink Communications
was formed as a subsidiary of XO Holdings in 2006, whose subsidiary XO Communications
had earlier attempted but failed to launch an LMDS service under the name Nextlink.
Nextlink changed its name to XO Communications and had a considerable presence
but failed to make a profit. Verizon eventually acquired XO Communications in 2016,
purchasing its fiber-optic network business for about $1.8 billion. It continues
to offer various services within Verizon today. Other companies in this business
include WNP Communications (acquired by Nextlink in 1999 for $595 million) and Telligent
(went bankrupt; its assets were sold).
Now LDMS has returned in the form of 5G FWA that is growing like weed and overtaking
all other technologies for delivering high-speed broadband to the home, including
fiber. Since the era of LMDS, most of the problems associated with making FWA viable
as a fiber or cable replacement have been solved. The technology is now available,
although still a bit expensive, and can be installed in a home by a subscriber,
which saves providers from truck rolls, as is the case with fiber solutions like
Verizon's FiOS, which can take the better part of a day. So, although the first
attempt at using millimeter-wave frequencies for broadband delivery was a flop,
this time it looks like it will be a winner.
Private 5G in a Box
 Virgin Media O2
has developed a plug-and-play private 5G network product that only needs power and
an internet connection and is housed in a portable enclosure slightly larger than
a carry-on airline bag and allows a 5G Standalone private network to be activated
without the need for complicated installation. Although 5G private networks aren't
new, they're typically dedicated to fixed installations such as ports, hospitals,
and industrial facilities. In contrast, the VMO2 device is a self-contained portable
solution that can provide temporary coverage. It can be used indoors or outdoors.
Satellite-Based Aircraft Tracking System
 The European Space Agency
has contracted Global to develop a satellite-based aircraft monitoring system that
can track aircraft in real time for air traffic management and doesn't rely on existing
systems. The project will track aircraft by determining their position in real-time
based on the timing of signals detected by multiple satellites. The signals must
be those already broadcast by aircraft, and rather than replacing current systems,
the system would feed location data to them for integration. It could also be used
to track aircraft from takeoff to landing anywhere in the world and could more speedily
locate aircraft in the event of an emergency.
FCC Finally Redefines Minimum Acceptable Broadband Speed
 It's been eight years since
the FCC last defined what it considers to be acceptable broadband performance, but
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says it's time to update this obsolete definition
from its current of 25 Mb/s in the downlink and 3Mb/s in the uplink to 100Mbps down
and 20Mbps up, with a goal reaching 1Gb/s down and 500 Mb/s up in the future.
The proposed upgrade coincides with the recently approved Enhanced Alternative
Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM), a voluntary program that provides financial
incentives to ISPs deploying broadband service in under-served regions that comes
with $13.5 billion in funding. ISPs will also be required to achieve speeds of at
least 100/20 Mb/s to qualify for funding under the Biden administration's Broadband
Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was introduced as part of the
bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law in 2021.
Anatech Electronics Introduces a New Line of Suspended
Stripline and Waveguide Type RF Filters
Check out Our Filter Products
Cavity Band Pass Filters
LC Band Pass Filters Cavity Bandstop/Notch Filter
About Anatech Electronics
Anatech Electronics, Inc. (AEI) specializes in the design and manufacture of
standard and custom RF and microwave filters and other passive components and subsystems
employed in commercial, industrial, and aerospace and applications. Products are
available from an operating frequency range of 10 kHz to 30 GHz and include cavity,
ceramic, crystal, LC, and surface acoustic wave (SAW), as well as power combiners/dividers,
duplexers and diplexers, directional couplers, terminations, attenuators, circulators,
EMI filters, and lightning arrestors. The company's custom products and capabilities
are available at www.anatechelectronics.com.
Contact:
Anatech Electronics, Inc.
70 Outwater Lane
Garfield, NJ 07026
(973)
772-4242
sales@anatechelectronics.com
Posted August 17, 2023
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