Evaluating Fixed

May 8, 2018 Today’s Sponsor

http://finleyusa.com Our Goals for Today

• Outline and discuss fixed wireless technology and its applications

• Provide insight on spectrum options and uses

• Share some lessons learned from real world fixed wireless deployments

Chris Konechne Bernie Arnason (Moderator) Project Engineer Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Finley Engineering Telecompetitor A little background….

01 Rich fixed wireless history

02 CAF/CAF-II Auction Impact

03 Lots of interest beyond CAF

04 promise? Evaluating Fixed Wireless

Chris Konechne, Project Engineer Finley Engineering May 8, 2018

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Lismore Cooperative Company Company History 1907 Established 1973 2010 cooperative Private All Fiber with 107 lines Optic members introduced Network

1958 1985 Upgraded Digital to dial Switching telephone service

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company 2010 – FTTH Buildout - 319 Subscribers Growth Customers 1800

2015 – First fixed wireless 1600 deployment – 100 wireless 1400 customers 1200 2016 – Wireless coverage expands 1000 2017 – Nobles County Fiber and Wireless Project begins 800 Subscribers construction. Over 2,000 600

new passings added 400

200

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Wireless Fiber Total

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 What is fixed ? • High speed broadband services utilizing radio waves instead of copper or fiber optic connections. • Not mobile or satellite • 2 major architectures types • Point-to-Multipoint (PTMP) • Point-to-Point (PTP) PTMP PTP

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Technological Improvements in Wireless • Movement towards standards based tech such as LTE and WiFi. • Lower prices, faster improvements • Not locked into one manufacturer • Interference Mitigation = Better Spectral Efficiency • Software • Beamforming • MIMO • Multiple In Multiple Out

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 What is 5G? • 5G is an evolution of the Radio Access Network (RAN) through the application of software and hardware developments to create the next generation fixed and mobile • Key performance targets: – High Speed - 20Gbps downlink / 10Gbps uplink – High Density - 1 million devices / km2 – Mobile – Energy Efficient – Low Latency - <1ms

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 What is 5G?

• Specified by the yet to be released ITU standard, IMT-2020 • We define 5G by a combination of: – Draft specifications – Use case scenarios driving innovation – Technologies behind the new networks • 5G networks will include: – Enhanced network architectures – New capabilities – New licensed and unlicensed spectrums for 5G – Higher speeds and capacity – Low Latency • Release 15 RAN Approved 12/20/2017 • Release 16 due yet this summer

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Keys to a Successful Wireless Network

• Cell Density • Spectrum Selection • Spectral Efficiency • Backhaul

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Selecting a Frequency Band C=B log2(1+S/N) bits/sec ΔωΔt 2π ⋅ f(t) and a>1 g(t)=f(t/a)≳ g~(ω)=∫g(t)eiωtdt=∫f(t/a)eiωtdt=a∫f(τ)eiaωtdτ=af~(aω)

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Selecting a Frequency Band • Decide if a licensed or unlicensed spectrum will be used. • Cost • Noise • Level of Service • Time to Deploy

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Selecting a Frequency Band • Unlicensed Bands Unlicensed Frequency Bands

o 900Mhz (low availability has limited the use of this band)

o 2.4 Ghz

o 5.8 Ghz • Licensed Bands

o 2.5 Ghz

o 3.65 Ghz • Coming Soon

o 5G – millimeter wavelengths

o TV White Space

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 CBRS – Citizens Broadband Radio System • LTE Based • 3.55-3.70 Ghz, 150Mhz of new spectrum • Spectrum Allocation Service (SAS) will dictate spectrum usage for all • 3 levels of access – Incumbent – Military, Government, protected by Priority Access License (PAL) – Priority – Spectrum Blocks awarded by auction to highest bidder per census tract Hwang, Y (2017, June 9) What is CBRS? Retrieved from www.leverage.com – General – No license required, some regulation

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Ways to Deploy • Towers • Water Towers • Grain Elevators • Small Cells • Rooftops • Suburban

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Strategies • Acquire customers in unserved areas outside of existing service territory. • Increase revenue from existing assets. • Retain customers inside existing service territory. • Increase level of service, redundant feeds.

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Execution Define Target Area

Identify Project Evaluate Resources

Implement Refine Plan Plan

Propagation Preliminary Study Plan

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Challenges to implementing wireless networks • Line of sight or near line of sight required (LOS, NLOS). • Terrain/Topography • Interference Levels • Subscriber Density • Antenna locations, build v. lease? • Training • Reliability, has improved but not as good as fiber in most cases • Aesthetics

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 What to expect • A fiber fed wireless network can be 3-5x cheaper than a fiber network in rural areas. • Speeds of 25Mbps and beyond can be achieved within a 6 mile radius. • Weather generally does not affect operation. • Equipment Lifespan 5-7 years • Backhaul Options • Fiber • Licensed Wireless • Unlicensed Wireless www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Case Study Rural carrier has dark fiber at existing cell tower outside of their existing service territory. They want to acquire new customers that don’t have access to broadband speeds above 10/1Mbps.

• Lease space is available on the tower for $700/yr. • Low population density • 5Ghz unlicensed network • Terrain suitable for wireless network propagation study looks promising

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Case Study

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Install $24,000 Antennas & Equipment Tower Lease $700 $700 $700 $700 $700 Customer $400/customer $400/customer $400/customer $400/customer $400/customer Equipment and (assume 1/wk, (36 new subs) (12 new subs) (6 new subs) (6 new subs) Turn-up 26 subs) Annual Costs $35,100 $15,100 $5,500 $3,100 $3,100

Total Project Cost $58,800

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Case Study Cost v. Expense $160,000

$140,000

$120,000

$100,000

$80,000

$60,000

$40,000

$20,000

$- Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year4 Year 5 $(20,000)

$(40,000) Assumes average revenue of $60/customer/month Expense Revenue Project Net www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Thank you! Finley Engineering Company

www.FinleyUSA.com Ben Humphrey,Chris Konechne Vice President [email protected]@fecinc.com @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255 Discussion and Audience Q&A

Chris Konechne, Project Engineer, Finley Engineering

Bernie Arnason, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Telecompetitor (Moderator) Contact

Chris Konechne, Project Engineer, Finley Engineering [email protected] @FinleyEng (507) 777-2255

Bernie Arnason, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Telecompetitor [email protected] @Telecompetitor (240) 450-2161