Category: Networked Society

COWs – Cruising Cells Complement Classic Celltowers

Peter LinderLeave a comment

Cellular-on-wheels-465x300Mobile networks are built around a fine-tuned grid of towers that host base stations. These serve the basic mobile voice and data service needs of society. However, now and then the demands on the network peak temporarily and the current network capacity is inadequate.  Since the need is temporary, a permanent densification solution would be an overkill.

The solution is to make the mobile network itself mobile!

A Cell on Wheels, a “COW” is a complete mobile base station including radio antennas and backhaul placed on a truck. They are used to support major events requiring a temporary mobile solution. Multiple COWs can be deployed to boost network capacity extensively. COW’s are today primarily deployed in the events of natural disasters and at premium sports events, both of which require quick and temporary high network capacity.

NASCAR is one example of a sporting event requiring COW’s. In order to support the 39 annual NASCAR events, 10 COWs are on tour with the race teams. Without these COWs and crews, the mobile screens of fans would be dark for both tailgating and possibly the race event itself. Check out this NASCAR video to get a hint of the benefits.

Another alternative solution to COW’s are the installation of a permanent antenna solution at the venue, known as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). DOW’s or “DAS on Wheels” systems are marvels as they eliminate the engineering needs for antenna design and deployment – the solution complexity is now reduced to radio and transmission equipment.

There is an emerging third tier for even smaller configurations. These are COLT’s or “Cell on Light Trucks” which enable even faster capacity augmentation at sporting venues and disaster recovery support.  Because they can be deployed in larger volumes and much closer to potential disaster zones, they are extremely economical as well.

My predictions of the future are: * Mobile units are becoming an integrated part of the densification strategy for a mobile network. * The evolution and diversification of the original COW into DOWs and COLTs make it possible to support a variety of deployment scenarios. * As Sandy recently proved, Mobile units play a key role in disaster recovery situations given the primary need to bring up mobile communications first. * Future concert and sports venues without voice and data coverage will struggle to attract fans as the future of live events is about the integration and access of live and multimedia coverage

Retail revolution Require Reliable Radios

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Retail Revolution BW

 

Transformation to a fully networked retail concept requires a fundamental rethinking of the network needed to support new retail processes and consumer behaviors.

The retail industry is exploring new areas such as the store of the future, how smart shelves can improve the supply chain, and in transforming the buying experience. The main focus so far has been on achieving a tighter integration between mobile payment systems and consumer behaviors but what role will heterogeneous networks play in creating the networked retail experience of the future?

The first wave of networked stores has eliminated checkout cashiers, introduced product specialists in the back, and enabled staff to focus on helping consumers buy the right products. The backroom store of the internet already attracts knowledgeable customers and serves as a warehouse carrying the full product portfolio with all possible configurations and variations. The networks that support this are often based are leased lines to the store and traditional wireless LANs on the premises.

It is easy to pull this off with a couple of network wizards in the back of the store, but this is not always the case. Expansion into a fully networked retail concept requires a fundamental rethinking of the network needed to support this transformation. The network must support busy weekend hours and must work smoothly without support from on-site staff.

Reliability and the zero-support of a networked retail experience are driving the development of heterogeneous networks in shopping malls in a new direction – away from best effort wireless and legacy copper backhaul infrastructure to small, ultra-reliable WiFi/3G/4G cells with fiber backhaul.

This is only just the beginning so my predictions for the future are the following: * There will be a shift in focus, especially for shopping mall developers, from networks that primarily support the buying experience to networks that optimize the selling process as well as the buying experience. * Store owners and mobile network operators will form partnerships in order to realize their networked retail visions. * Mobile offload solutions for in-mall traffic will be replaced by in-store revenue securing mobile network environments for multiple radio technologies. * Paper-based retail tools such as in-store promotions, credit card slip management, etc., will lose traction to large digital promotional screens and more extensive use of tablets, phablets and smartphones by both sellers and buyers.

Smartphones Supporting Sandy Struggles

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Smartphones supporting Sandy strugglers BW

Smartphones and mobile broadband networks can’t protect us against natural disasters – like Hurricane Sandy, which battered the East Coast of the US on Monday night – but it can help prepare us, making citizens as informed as possible before, during and after a crisis situation. Here are a few innovative examples of how these technologies are helping citizens on the East Coast get through one of the worst hurricanes in history.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is among many city, state and national agencies providing continuous advice and alerts to citizens via their Twitter feed (@FEMA). Citizens, who have been asked to save valuable network capacity by limiting mobile voice calls and staying in contact with loved ones through social media and SMS messages, can also use FEMA’s smartphone app, which offers safety tips, emergency meeting location information, and a map with open shelters. The Red Cross has its own Hurricane App, which offers preparedness tips, updates citizens on conditions in their area and allows them to find help.

Other mobile sites are illustrating the simple ways in which mobile technology can help citizens by offering preparatory tips, like ensuring that mobile phones were fully charged before the hurricane hit, and using flashlight apps that would help users affected by power outages. Other sites recommended forwarding landlines to cell phones, downloading weather and news apps ahead of the storm, and backing up vital data in the cloud. All of this advice is valuable but perhaps the biggest benefit provided by these mobile technologies is that we are well prepared and informed before a natural disaster hits. The most dangerous situation is one in which citizens do not heed advice and mandates from government agencies.

In a hurricane as large as Sandy, mobile networks are vulnerable because of their dependence on outdoor antennas and a continuous power supply. Let us hope that the networks will be able to withstand the harsh conditions and continue to provide support to affected citizens.

Cool Communication & Collaboration Change Corporations Completely

Peter Linder2 Comments

cool communication

Large global corporations are using video communication between their main sites on a large scale today to cut back on global travel. Meetings that would have required a four-day between the US and Sweden just five years ago can today by conducted over a two-to-three-hour video conference. So what can we predict about our near future learning from teams that are using video conferencing between “executive phone booths” every day?

Phone conferences still play a vital business role, but the value decreases with the number of participants. A video conference is far superior for connecting two management teams. Both teams stay more alert, and can address a large number of topics in a 60-minute window. Face-to-face meetings previously conducted on a quarterly basis can now be held every month via video conferences, speeding up business progress. Innovations allowing more than two sites to be connected and the ability in multiscreen setups to dedicate one screen to shared material have proven valuable.

As video communication expands from expensive executive video rooms into regular conference rooms, so do the use cases. Use shifts from pure business review meetings to include small and mid-size team collaborations, mirroring the way we meet in real life. The video communication screen is becoming the alternative collaboration board. Seeing all team members’ contributions and sketches as well as seeing each other’s faces are both important to high-quality collaborations. The simultaneous deployment of social media and collaboration tools is pushing us all towards a more collaborative organization.

Just a few years ago we had a vision of taking this video evolution into every room and to every employee’s desk but things might turn out differently. The move towards flexible work environments and mobile devices is likely to turn tablets and phablets into the new personal-video communication/collaboration workhorses.

My predictions for the future of video communication and collaboration:

    ● Big rooms and large-team video communications remain in use for brief business progress meetings.
    ● Small rooms and small-team video collaborations become commonplace for business innovation meetings.
    ● Zero support and high availability are essential factors for expansion beyond one supported room per site. Session initialization needs to be as easy as with phone conference calls.
    ● All whiteboards can and will be replaced by “communication and collaboration boards” in all types of meeting rooms.
    ● “Executive phone booths” for video communication save time and reduce costs. Video collaboration solutions are the primary infrastructure for inter/intra-company, innovative value-creation efforts.

Coverage & Capacity Creates Carrier Cred, Cool Complements Coming!

Peter LinderLeave a comment

 

22. Urban Usecases Uncovered - 1610 Edited

Network performance is the most important criteria considered when purchasing broadband services. Coverage and capacity have traditionally been the main factors for measuring this performance, but now this is not enough. New requirements for Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE), premium data and video over mobile broadband are also becoming vital network design criteria.

Good network coverage and capacity are achieved with multiple technologies, for example 3G for national mobile broadband coverage, 4G in urban areas, and Wi-Fi in hotspots. This will become more complex in the future, where 3G and 4G in multiple spectrum bands will be combined with Wi-Fi to enhance the user experience. This has great potential for success.

The 4G networks are the first generation of mobile networks not relying on circuit-switched voice for the basic communication service. VoLTE has rapidly become the target technology for voice over 4G, and for the evolution into multimedia communication services. The performance expectations for VoLTE are defined by 2G/3G voice, and require traffic prioritization to work in fully loaded networks.

Best effort data services, with service restriction as the primary differentiation method, will not be sufficient. Mobile data services aimed at professional users are quickly becoming an attractive proposition for boosting revenue. Prioritization of premium data services, with similar mechanisms applied to 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, has the potential to gain acceptance as the second data standard.

So while coverage and capacity will remain critical when it comes to purchasing broadband services, the increased performance requirements represent a new challenge for the industry. I expect over the next three years, we will see a holistic approach emerge, which will be solutions with multiple network technologies working together.

 

Mobile Multimedia Makes Mail Marketing Mediocre

Peter Linder4 Comments

24. Mobile Multimedia Makes Mail Marketing Mediocre - 1610 edited

Householders’ physical mailboxes still receive large volumes of mass-marketing material. However, as mobile and online marketing rapidly develops, the value of the paper pushed into the mailbox comes in to question.

Online marketing offers a number of valuable new options. The marketing can be targeted to your personal interests, or even your physical whereabouts through the use of location-based applications. New marketing business models, where advertisers pay per actual reader, are also critical in advancing online consumer marketing. Some consumer brands representing premium products and services have already abandoned paper marketing. The last bastion in paper marketing to mailboxes seems to be discount coupons. Coupons have played an important role in offering discounts to consumers, especially in grocery stores. But in many markets, coupons have already vanished, and in the remaining markets it is highly likely that they will become networked through apps like Yowza, Coupon Sherpa, Grocery iQ and CoupSmart. With smartphone penetration in advanced markets widespread, networked-only coupons could soon be a reality. Another step in e-marketing is through an onslaught of e-mails, triggering your interest to re-visit a store you’ve already been to. If you are on the mailing list, new messages seem to come at two-to-four week intervals. Some stores introduce a few new products in each newsletter to attract customers’ attention. Others are repeating general store discounts at their outlet branch, week after week. My predictions for online/mobile marketing: * Innovative companies are embracing online/mobile marketing, eliminating the need for them to deliver marketing material to a physical mailbox. * Mobile coupon marketing is gaining traction and is being applied to new business scenarios, where coupons have been limited to date. * Staying away from networked marketing is not an option. The question today is for how long you run paper marketing in parallel.