Why Licensed Microwave?
Posted on May 28, 2019 by Darren Keogh
Wireless service providers have surfaced in almost every geographical location throughout South Africa. The plus side of this is that more rural as well as urban geographical locations have a host of providers and options to consider when in need of internet services. The problem with this is that the majority of these vendors are not operating with licensed spectrum.
What does this mean?
Basically, vendors in the open access or unlicensed spectrum range are operating in a shared range utilised by a host of other service providers. Furthermore, there are only a certain number of channels that can be operated in, leading to an increased chance of service disruption. For example, a client signs up for a service through an unlicensed vendor. The vendor then comes to site to complete the installation and scans for other services within the area. The provider identifies a channel for use that is not occupied by another vendor to reduce the risk of interference on the service. Weeks or months later, another vendor may not complete a scan and just install within the channel already being used by your service. All of a sudden your service becomes erratic and performs intermittently whilst you are ‘fighting’ for availability with another provider’s connection. Normally, techs will then be dispatched to site to provision the service in another channel, and so the cycle continues. It is for this reason that Open Access providers are more ideally suited to remote and rural areas where competition for capacity and channels is limited.
Open Access providers also battle to uphold service levels as the high sites to which they are connecting you are often unmanaged. This high site could be a silo, building or even some random individual’s garage roof. These service providers pay nominal rentals to these individuals or building owners to ‘rent’ roof space. An example of this gone wrong is an individual unplugging the wireless equipment in his garage in order to plug in his drill without completely understanding the impact of his actions. Access to these high sites is also a massive problem because in order to provide a great service, providers require 24/7 365 access to the high site in order to meet the criteria outlined in the service level agreement. This is often not the case as the individual may be on holiday at the time or at work, etc.
Licensed Microwave providers, on the other hand, have a more regulated and controlled methodology of deploying high sites and require stringent documentation to be completed in order to set up an additional high site. This ensures that service levels are seldom compromised. This does however delay the installation process but I would rather wait for a solid service than rush to get a service up in a week that gives me an endless headache down the line.
The rentals offered by licensed providers to building owners, etc. are also usually higher as they cater for 24/7 365 access, redundant power, etc. which also pushes up the pricing on a licensed microwave service, never mind the licensing fees that need to be paid to ICASA for dedicated spectrum. Dedicated spectrum, however, is essential in ensuring the delivery of a reliable wireless service. Although a lot more expensive, the risk of disruptions to business far outweigh the additional costs of implementing a licensed solution.
There are only a few providers in South Africa with licensed spectrum, among these include:
These vendors typically provide the necessary layer two connections back to Teraco in order to connect to the ISP for internet breakout.What’s interesting in the market is that a lot of Open Access providers market their services as licensed. This is extremely common and is something that a consumer must be aware of. The provider may have a few licensed backhaul links which they ‘rent’ from the licensed carriers and hence market their services as licensed. The fact that the equipment on your roof is not licensed and this ‘hop’ to their high site is Open Access is where the issues lie. This is the component often not disclosed and uneducated salesmen push their service offering and mislead their clients, ultimately leading to a failed service offering and a disgruntled customer.
In my opinion, Licensed Microwave is a great solution for a failover link and for clients who are not feasible for a solid fibre connection.
Although a lot more expensive, worth every cent.