Deborah Strickland

For much of Wi-Fi’s history, technologists and mobile industry executives viewed it as the “poor cousin” to licensed mobile communications. Today, all that is changing with the explosive demand for mobile data, the proliferation of new and powerful devices, and shifts in customer behavior and usage.  Increasingly, Wi-Fi is seen by technologists and consumers alike as a partner to licensed mobile, enabling expanded wireless access.  Based on research and engagements with leading operators throughout the globe, the Cisco® Internet Business Solutions Group has identified six important trends that we believe are redefining this new world of Wi-Fi:   1.   Predominance of Wi-Fi for Wireless Access Almost all mobile devices, including smartphones, now have Wi-Fi as their core access technology.  And people are using these mobile devices to access increasingl... (more)

When Will Small Cells Be Deployed?

The world awaits the arrival of small cells – impatiently. When will it happen? To answer, I have to ask: what is a small cell anyway? Is it an indoor residential base station, commonly known as femtocell, or an outdoor picocell. Is it a licensed band base station or a Wi-Fi access node?  Is it a compact base station or a remote radio headend (RRH)? Or is it perhaps a distributed antenna system (DAS)? While much of the small cell hype, and waiting, has been focused on outdoor small cells, there are significant deployments of these other 'small cells' today. From this perspe... (more)

Mobile Backhaul Gets All the Attention from Asian Carriers

As more Asian carriers expand their 3G / 4G LTE footprints, one part of the network they realize cannot be ignored anymore is - mobile backhaul. This was amply evident in the recent 2-day mobile backhaul event from Beacon Events at Bangkok, Thailand. With most dominant carriers from the region present - including the likes of KDDI, Korea Telecom, Digi and most leading backhaul vendors in full attendance on both days.   Although different Asian carriers in the region are in various stages of growth and expansion, it appears that to all of them, backhaul continues to be a congest... (more)

Should Small Cells Be Deployed In Their Own Spectrum Band?

Small cells raise a number of practical implementation questions which are yet to be resolved. One such question is whether small cells should operate in the same frequency band as the macrocell layer (co-channel deployment), or on a different frequency band. The question has profound implications to operators, vendors, and to regulators alike.   To clarify, recall that in co-channel small cell operation interference between the macrocell and small cell layers limit the capacity gain of small cells. The benefit from small cells is realized when they are placed in traffic hot sp... (more)

The Cable Industry’s Machiavellian Hold on Consumers

The Cable Industry has what could be characterized as a Machiavellian hold on consumers with its massive distribution system using opportunistic methods on outdated hardware.  Yes, the technology being used, the notorious set-top-box (STB) can only be described as throw-back to what cable executives wish were the way things used to be. The STB is rudimentary at best, allowing limited functionality and connectedness with today's emerging technological innovations. Consumers Want Functionality The underlying reason for Cable's hold on a massive portion of consumers is the relative... (more)