subject: Rt Nl Gets Up To Speed With Licensed Wireless Broadband [print this page] RT NL , the operator that carries television and radio signals for broadcasters including RT, needed to give one of its remotest studios a new lease on life by dramatically increasing its bandwidth. Licensed wireless was the answer.
These days there are few places in Ireland, or indeed the world, that are totally inaccessible to communications. In even the remotest areas, wireless and satellite technologies can be used to get a signal, make a call or check e-mail. But as user demands grow, just having a connection isn't enough. Without LAN speed broadband, any business with remote operations cannot operate effectively -- and its users face unnecessary delays, costs and frustration as narrowband technologies fail to meet their rising expectations of what a company network should do.
That's the predicament RT NL found itself in with its remote studio in Ballydavid, a small radio-only outpost broadcasting from the Dingle peninsula. RT NL's existing connection to the site was only 2Mbps, using older licensed wireless equipment installed in the 1990s. As RT NL contemplated an upgrade, it was keen to offer Ballydavid users much higher bandwidth.
"There's a demand for capacity from the studios that's increasing all the time, especially for Ethernet type data transfer capacity," explained Ciaran Sinclair, Project Manager for RT NL. "Producers at Ballydavid have a huge desire to scan our archives in Limerick or Donnybrook and browse or download content. Ballydavid does a lot of programming with Irish traditional music, culture and folk tales -- material recorded from the 1930s to the 1950s on all kinds of devices. All that content is stored remotely."
An issue of cost -- and quality Pressure on the 2Mbps link meant slow service for Ballydavid producers, who often had to resort to ordering physical tapes to be delivered by courier. A truly high bandwidth solution would help eliminate network delays and unnecessary shipping costs, and dramatically improve the network experience for all Ballydavid users.
After considering its options, RT NL decided to replace its older generation equipment with an updated licensed wireless service based on the new and more powerful generation of microwave radio technology:
* Truly high bandwidth, to Ballydavid and back: The upgraded network is successfully pushing 20Mbps out to Ballydavid, following establishment of a four-hop licensed wireless link using microwave radio. The link, designed and managed by AirSpeed Telecom, spans 140km, connecting Ballydavid to its Cork city studio. The broadcast-quality network will carry some hours of radio transmission, plus all LAN traffic, including remote access to content archives in Limerick and Dublin.
* Long distance, strong signal: "One hop of the link is a long, 90km over-sea path, which is very demanding on microwave radio technology. The existing link we have is reliable, but it's narrow at 2Mbps. With 20Mbps, the signal is more prone to fading, especially over water, and this is a big over-water path," Ciaran said. "But we have had no problems with the link. The local engineers say it's holding up fine, and we're delighted that it seems to be working so well."
* VoIP ahead: The new network will allow RT NL to deliver Ballydavid users with voice over IP for the first time, thus cutting communication costs further.
Licensed wireless has some way to go before it gathers enough mindshare to challenge the pre-eminence of fibre-based wide area network services. But with budget concerns pressing ever harder on enterprises -- and with licensed wireless networks now delivering the kind of speeds never before possible with earlier generations of the technology -- this is one networking option that may be about to have its day in the sun.
