New Ruckus Wireless Network: Just Like WiMAX, But Without the Cost

Ruckus Wireless has introduced a complete, end-to-end managed, wireless broadband access solution that provides a “build-as-you-grow” model for broadband access in developing market urban environments at a fraction of the cost of alternative approaches.

The Ruckus Wireless system is designed to operate using unlicensed spectrum, with carrier-class reliability, at initial capital investment that is as much as five timex cheaper than a WiMAX alternative, the company says. For full deployment, replicating WiMAX across a larger urban area, the Ruckus Wireless solution can be built for 30 times less capital than a comparable WiMAX network, the company says.

The business model for providing broadband access for billions of new users in developing markets requires matching investment with average revenue per user of a "a few dollars to five dollars a month," says Steven Glapa, Ruckus Wireless director.

The solution includes low cost customer terminals, access links, backhaul and network management able to handle equipment possibly provided by different suppliers, or even from a single provider, says Glapa.

The new element is the 802.11 backhaul system that auto-provisions and features a 30-degree beamwidth that allows trunking bandwidth of 60 Mbps at 12 km. The radios cost $2,000 a pair for backhaul and will reach 180 Mbps at 1 km.

A service provider can manage tens of thousands of access points in multiple cities from one network operating center.

Coverage of one square kilometer might cost $485,000 for base stations, antennas, backhaul gear, base stations and then capacity to the site, using a standard WiMAX platform

Using a WiMAX approach, a service provider would require $75,000 for base stations, of which the operator would need five, $6,000 for each antenna, of which six are required. Backhaul is $5,000, says Glapa.

In our case, an operator would spend $2000 for access point and the operator would need 41 access points to cover one square kilometer, he adds. Then there is an investment of $300 for backhaul per access point, amounting to $97,000 to cover a square kilometer.

Ruckus initially got its start using smart antenna technology to shuttle video signals around inside a subscriber's home, and now supplies about 100 service providers with such technology.

The point is that Ruckus Wireless was used to extreme cost pressures for end point technology, and simply has adapted all of its access, trunking and network management for such price-optimized environments. Along the way Ruckus also expanded into the enterprise segment for coverage of campus environments.

The addition of the trunking product obviously extends the range from office, home or campus to neighborhoods, while the auto-provisioning and auto-discovery features ease management chores.

EarthLink Pays Houston Fine; Might Be Off the Hook

EarthLink is paying the city of Houston a $5 million penalty fee for missing its first deadline in building the city's municipal Wi-Fi network. The payment might ultimately let EarthLink off the hook for the entire network build, though technically the payment buys about nine months to begin construction. The contract calls for complete construction time of two years.

Of course, EarthLink already has said it is no longer interested in continuing under the original contract terms, so unless the contract is renegotiated in some way, the network won't be built, at least not by EarthLink. It might not be the last fine EarthLink pays.

The city of Houston is also free to take proposals from other vendors during the nine-month period, and could award the contract to another company, observers say.

Considering that at&t offers Houston residents a $15 Digital Subscriber Line service running at 768 kilobits a second, it's hard to see how much share EarthLink might get for a service that will wholesale to retailers at $12 a month for a 1 Mbps service. The retail price then likely will have to be set at $15 or more.