OGCWG-V1.03

A Guide to Wireless Broadband for Public Sector Procurers

OGCWG-V1.03

© Crown Copyright 2003 This is a Value Added product outside the scope of the HMSO Core Licence. Applications to reuse, reproduce or republish material in this publication should be sent to HMSO, Licensing Division, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich, NR3 1BQ, Tel No (01603) 621000 Fax No (01603) 723000, E-mail: hmsolicensing@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk or complete the application form on the HMSO website http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licences/valueadded/appform.htm . HMSO may then prepare a Value Added Licence based on standard terms tailored to your particular requirements including payment terms. The UK Broadband Taskforce accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Inclusion of a link to the website of another organisation does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of that organisation, site, or its content, by the UK Broadband Taskforce.

OGCWG-V1.03

Authors

Janette Dobson and Philip Handley of Mason Communications Ltd.

Paul Weiser and Graham Burrell of the Office of Government Commerce.

Acknowledgements and thanks

The document was produced by the Office of Government Commerce on behalf of the UK Broadband Task Force, based on original material from Mason Communications Ltd.

Analysys Consulting Ltd conducted a thorough review of the final draft and contributed additional material.

Special thanks are due to the following:

Bill Jones of broadband wireless consultancy Global Village for conducting a thorough review and providing many constructive comments and suggestions.

Joe Sonke, Jacqui O’Mahoney, Peter Joyce and Cliff Mason of the Radiocommunications Agency for comprehensive review and comment.

Chris Ulliott and Ivor Keates of Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) for reviewing Security sections.

Tim Cooper and Simon Mann of National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) for reviewing Health and Safety sections.

Brian Wilson of the Countryside Agency for permission to incorporate material forming the basis of the project list in Appendix 3.

Keith Bartlett of Networks by Wireless Ltd, and Justin Fielder of Easynet Ltd for contributions to cost models.

Dave Palmer of the Broadband Wireless Association for contributing and reviewing FWA standards.

Revision History

This is Version 1.03, issued 18/07/03.

Changes from previous versions

From V1: – Additional supplier information in Annex 2; – Additional project information in Annex 3.

From V1.01: – Entry in Annex 2 for Cambridge Broadband corrected to: FWA manufacturer From V1.02: – Links updated.

Comments and suggestions will be welcomed by the Task Force and will be taken into account in future issues. Please email broadband@ogc.gsi.gov.uk.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 4

CONTENTS

1. MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ......................................................................................................7 1.1 Background ...........................................................................................................................7 1.2 The UK Broadband Task Force ............................................................................................7 1.3 Broadband Market Overview................................................................................................7 1.4 Wireless Technologies ..........................................................................................................8

1.4.1 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) .................................................................................8 1.4.2 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)...................................................................8 1.4.3 Higher Bandwidth Mobile Access............................................................................9 1.4.4 Broadband Satellite Access ......................................................................................9 1.4.5 Other Wireless Infrastructures................................................................................10

1.5 Generic Wireless Issues ......................................................................................................10 1.5.1 Regulatory Issues....................................................................................................10 1.5.2 Wireless Equipment Standards...............................................................................10 1.5.3 Health and Safety ...................................................................................................10 1.5.4 Security...................................................................................................................11 1.5.5 Planning Considerations .........................................................................................11 1.5.6 Procurement Issues.................................................................................................11

2. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................12 2.1 Purpose of the Guidance .....................................................................................................12 2.2 Scope...................................................................................................................................12 2.3 What is Wireless? ...............................................................................................................12 2.4 Benefits of Broadband ........................................................................................................13 2.5 Socio-Economic Factors .....................................................................................................14 2.6 Value Propositions ..............................................................................................................14 2.7 Related Infrastructures (excluded from this guidance) .......................................................15

3. BROADBAND MARKET OVERVIEW .....................................................................................17 3.1 Summary .............................................................................................................................17 3.2 Broadband Infrastructures...................................................................................................18

3.2.1 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) ...............................................................................18 3.2.2 Cable Modem .........................................................................................................19 3.2.3 Wireless ..................................................................................................................20

4. WIRELESS ISSUES.....................................................................................................................21 4.1 Regulatory Framework .......................................................................................................21 4.2 Wireless Equipment Standards Bodies ...............................................................................26 4.3 Health and Safety................................................................................................................28 4.4 Security ...............................................................................................................................30 4.5 Planning Considerations .....................................................................................................32

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 5

5. WIRELESS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURES...................................................................34 5.1 Where Broadband Wireless fits in the Network .................................................................34 5.2 Key characteristics of Wireless Broadband systems...........................................................36 5.3 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)............................................................................................36

5.3.1 Overview ................................................................................................................36 5.3.2 Application Characteristics.....................................................................................37 5.3.3 Technical Profile ....................................................................................................38 5.3.4 FWA Regulatory Profile.........................................................................................41 5.3.5 Planning Considerations .........................................................................................43 5.3.6 User Prices..............................................................................................................43 5.3.7 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience...............................................44 5.3.8 Advantages and Disadvantages ..............................................................................44 5.3.9 Case Study ..............................................................................................................45 5.3.10 Checklist................................................................................................................46

5.4 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)............................................................................46 5.4.1 Overview ................................................................................................................46 5.4.2 Application Characteristics.....................................................................................47 5.4.3 Technical Profile ....................................................................................................48 5.4.4 WLAN Regulatory Profile .....................................................................................53 5.4.5 Planning Considerations .........................................................................................54 5.4.6 Health and Safety Issues.........................................................................................55 5.4.7 User Costs...............................................................................................................57 5.4.8 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience...............................................57 5.4.9 Advantages and Disadvantages ..............................................................................58 5.4.10 Case Studies ..........................................................................................................59 5.4.11 Checklist................................................................................................................61

5.5 Higher Bandwidth Mobile Access ......................................................................................61 5.5.1 Overview ................................................................................................................61 5.5.2 Application Characteristics.....................................................................................62 5.5.3 Technical Profile converge.....................................................................................63 5.5.4 Mobile Regulatory Profile ......................................................................................66 5.5.5 User Costs...............................................................................................................67 5.5.6 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience...............................................67 5.5.7 Advantages and Disadvantages ..............................................................................67 5.5.8 Checklist .................................................................................................................68

5.6 Broadband Satellite Access.................................................................................................68 5.6.1 Overview ................................................................................................................68 5.6.2 Application Characteristics.....................................................................................69 5.6.3 Technical Profile ....................................................................................................70 5.6.4 Satellite Regulatory Profile ....................................................................................72 5.6.5 User Costs...............................................................................................................72 5.6.6 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience...............................................73 5.6.7 Advantages and Disadvantages ..............................................................................73 5.6.8 Checklist .................................................................................................................74

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 6

5.7 Other Wireless Infrastructures ............................................................................................74 5.7.1 Free Space Optics ...................................................................................................74 5.7.2 Millimetre Wave.....................................................................................................75

5.8 Future Developments ..........................................................................................................75 5.8.1 40GHz Fixed Wireless Access ...............................................................................75 5.8.2 UMTS TDD Mode .................................................................................................76 5.8.3 WirelessMAN.........................................................................................................77 5.8.4 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) ......................................................78

6. ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN PROCUREMENT ..........................................................................79 6.1 EC Public-Sector Procurement ...........................................................................................79 6.2 Management Issues .............................................................................................................80 6.3 Service Levels.....................................................................................................................81 6.4 Backhaul .............................................................................................................................83 6.5 Cost Considerations ............................................................................................................83 6.6 Financial Stability ...............................................................................................................86 6.7 Demand Aggregation ..........................................................................................................86 6.8 Checklist .............................................................................................................................89

7. COST COMPARISONS ...............................................................................................................91 7.1 5-year price scenarios .........................................................................................................91 7.2 Examples of Services ..........................................................................................................94 7.3 Fixed Wireless Access ........................................................................................................94

7.3.1 Firstnet....................................................................................................................94 7.3.2 Your Communications............................................................................................95

7.4 Wireless LAN .....................................................................................................................96 7.4.1 Invisible Networks..................................................................................................96

7.5 Broadband Satellite .............................................................................................................97 7.5.1 Bridge Broadband...................................................................................................97 7.5.2 BT Openworld ........................................................................................................97 7.5.3 Aramiska ................................................................................................................98

ANNEX 1: GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................99

ANNEX 2: WIRELESS SUPPLIERS ...............................................................................................101

ANNEX 3: BROADBAND WIRELESS PROJECTS.......................................................................104

ANNEX 4: FURTHER INFORMATION .........................................................................................112

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 7

1. MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

1.1 Background

Broadband is important for encouraging regional development, assisting regeneration of local communities, facilitating e-commerce and delivering e-Government. The Government is therefore focused on extending availability as quickly as possible, with the objective of the UK having the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G8 by 2005.

Broadband services can be delivered over a range of infrastructures including copper telephone wires, cable TV networks and various wireless systems including satellite. Most broadband services in the UK are provided over wires or cables, but wireless solutions are increasingly adopted for the benefits they offer in terms of geographic coverage, speed of rollout, flexibility, bandwidth and mobility. Wireless offers innovative alternatives to wired networks, assists the extension of broadband into rural and remote areas, and can provide high-speed data access for people on the move.

This document describes the principal wireless technologies used for broadband, and explains the positioning and benefits of each. It explores and provides guidance on security, health and safety, planning requirements, the regulatory framework and other essential procurement considerations, in order that the purchaser can work with the supplier to ensure that an optimum solution is achieved.

1.2 The UK Broadband Task Force

The Broadband Task Force was set up at the end of 2002 by the Government (Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of Government Commerce) with the aim of increasing the take up and availability of broadband throughout the UK. Specific goals include:

• Promoting greater take-up and availability of broadband • Ensuring that public sector expenditure on broadband has maximum impact on regional

economic development • Ensuring that public sector procurement of broadband achieves value for money.

This document aims to ensure that the options and issues are sufficiently well understood to enable wireless-based solutions to play a significant role in supporting these objectives.

1.3 Broadband Market Overview

UK broadband penetration figures show the dominance in the market of ADSL and cable for the delivery of broadband services – in mid-2003 around 71% of UK homes were able to receive broadband via ADSL, and about 45% via cable modem. The penetration map (Figure3-2 on page 18) shows large areas not currently thus covered, though BT stated in April 2003 its intention to extend ADSL coverage to 90% of UK homes within a year or two.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 8

However, a combination of satellite and other forms of wireless can potentially deliver broadband to virtually the entire country.

1.4 Wireless Technologies

The key technologies are:

• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) • Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) • Higher Bandwidth Mobile networks (GPRS, HSCSD and UMTS/3G) • Broadband satellite.

1.4.1 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

Fixed Wireless Access can be used to provide local access network services, using microwave links to provide ‘last mile’ connectivity to subscribers’ premises. It can offer a less expensive and quicker means of providing connectivity to a community than laying new copper or fibre cable. FWA uses licensed wireless bands, with licences issued on a geographic basis to cover a specific area. Two common network topologies are deployed – Point to Multipoint (PMP), and Mesh. Advantages include short installation time, low connection costs, scalability and support of multiple services.

Several operators provide commercial services in the UK using FWA systems, each with its own coverage area, using a variety of spectrum ranges and network topologies. Issues specific to FWA include line of sight to the antenna and, in the case of Mesh, relay equipment sited on other users’ premises. New FWA-based service offerings are expected in the near future following recent spectrum auctions. Details in Section 5.3.

1.4.2 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

Wireless LAN technology has until recently been used mainly to create small local networks in areas difficult or expensive to cable, or for extensions to wired LANs. Since July 2002, following relaxation of commercial restrictions, WLANs have been used extensively to provide high-bandwidth Internet connection in public area ‘hotspots’ and community broadband network schemes. Good performance can be achieved, and direct line-of-sight is not necessary. Some service providers are pursuing harmonised tariffs for mobile and hotspot services, ideally with seamless roaming, so that users can benefit from high-performance hotspots where available, falling back to lower-speed mobile connection otherwise.

As equipment is cheap, entry costs for such services on a small scale can be low. Business-quality services, however, require a robust operational model capable of delivering the required performance reliably and continuously. As WLAN bandwidth is licence-exempt and

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 9

spectrum is finite, new service providers can enter any given area without restriction, potentially impacting performance levels.

Various measures can be put in place to ensure that communications over wireless LANs meet an organisation’s required security levels. Security issues with early WLAN standards are currently being addressed, and significant enhancements are due from mid-2003. Wireless security is covered in Section 4.4, with additional WLAN-specific issues in Section 5.4.

1.4.3 Higher Bandwidth Mobile Access

Initially used for voice services, the mobile telecoms networks have been developed to support high data rate connections. There are currently three higher bandwidth mobile systems operating in the UK:

• High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD) • General Packet Radio Service (GPRS; 2.5G) • Third Generation Mobile (UMTS; 3G).

HSCSD is the oldest and slowest of these, requiring the user to dial up to gain access. GPRS offers higher connection speeds, and is an ‘always on’ service. Third generation services are also ‘always on’ with even greater connection speed, but do not yet have the geographical coverage of the older mobile data systems.

Mobile access can be achieved in most populated areas of the UK, and offers full mobility and flexibility, ideal for users on the move or away from their base. However, in comparison with other wireless infrastructures it is expensive and is primarily intended for intermittent use rather than permanent connection. Details in Section 5.5.

1.4.4 Broadband Satellite Access

Satellite systems have been used for many years to broadcast television and radio signals and to provide specialist communications, and recent advances have enabled broadband Internet services. One-way and two-way services are offered, the former combining a high-speed inbound satellite channel with a dial-up outbound connection (PSTN or ISDN). One-way systems are cheaper than two-way, but have obvious performance limitations that may be significant for business users (and some domestic applications).

The key advantage of satellite communications is near-universal reach – satellite footprint covers 99% of the UK. Satellite communication is ideally suited for broadcast, e.g. educational content distributed to many schools at the same time. There are some issues resulting from latency – the time it takes for radio signals to travel to the satellite and back – which can limit suitability for time-dependent applications such as telephony, video-conferencing and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). Equipment and service costs are

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 10

generally high compared to other broadband connectivity methods; financial assistance is available in many cases to assist take-up in rural areas.

Satellite services have special security considerations – as a service is available anywhere within the line of sight of the satellite, the signal can be intercepted or jammed from anywhere within that range, including from outside UK. Details in Section 5.6.

1.4.5 Other Wireless Infrastructures

This guidance focuses on the predominant wireless infrastructures likely to be of interest to public sector procurers. However these are not the only wireless options; other technologies such as Free Space Optics and Millimetre Wave are also available, and Section 5.7 addresses these and other potential future wireless broadband technologies.

1.5 Generic Wireless Issues

1.5.1 Regulatory Issues

Wireless Communications in the UK require a licence unless they operate in licence-exempt spectrum – which is generally the case with wireless LANs. In addition, telecommunications services require a telecommunications licence, regardless of the medium over which they operate. In the UK, telecommunications and radio regulation is undertaken by the DTI, Oftel, and the Radiocommunications Agency. However, these responsibilities are due to transfer, towards the end of 2003, to a single, unified, telecoms regulator – Ofcom – under the provisions of a new Communications Bill, due to come into force on 26th July 2003. This is intended to simplify the regulatory framework towards ‘light touch’ regulation, technology neutrality, and greater consistency across Europe. Details in Section 4.1.

1.5.2 Wireless Equipment Standards

These are usually developed at European or international level, and several organisations influence or control the way in which wireless systems operate. They include bodies that set requirements for the wireless equipment; develop harmonised standards; and advise on safe levels of exposure to radio waves. Details in Section 4.2.

1.5.3 Health and Safety

Research to date has produced no evidence to suggest that the infrastructure used for mobile telephony or wireless data communication is putting the health of the general population at risk. Nevertheless a precautionary approach is recommended, and the matter is still under review. Legislation has been enacted at an EU level to ensure that emissions of wireless devices are contained well within safe limits. Details in Section 4.3.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 11

1.5.4 Security

The nature of wireless devices means it is possible for anyone within line of sight of the transmitting device to intercept or jam the signal. In recognition of this, continually improving security measures are incorporated into wireless standards to maximise security of the information transmitted within the signals. In addition, most service providers offer stringent security provisions in their wireless services. Procurers are advised to specify, subject to their organisation’s overall security policy, services and equipment incorporating the highest levels of security available, upgradeable to encompass future developments. Measures such as strong authentication and encryption, and the use of firewalls, should be standard practice to maximise security of the end-to-end service, and attention should also be given to the general security implications of mobile devices, such as susceptibility to loss and theft, and overhearing or overseeing of communications in public places. Details in Section 4.4.

1.5.5 Planning Considerations

For most wireless infrastructures, the customer will require some form of antenna mounted on the outside of the building to send/receive the signal. Existing regulations make provisions for this, subject to certain restrictions such as limits on the number of antennas to be installed, or whether the property is listed or located in a national park. In early 2003 the Government published proposals concerning relaxing the existing antenna restrictions to facilitate connection to wireless broadband. Details in Section 4.5.

1.5.6 Procurement Issues

Broadband wireless solutions and services may be purchased by public sector organisations through the OGCbuying.solutions Broadband Framework Agreements, or by undertaking a full supplier selection process through OJEU in accordance with EU rules. The S-CAT services catalogue may also be useful for consultancy and services in association with a wireless solution. Use of the Framework Agreements or S-CAT gives significant process savings and contractual benefits – wireless services may be procured through the Broadband Framework Agreements as customer-specific solutions using a mini-competition procedure, introducing an element of competition without invoking the full OJEU process.

Suppliers of wireless services and products are encouraged to work in partnership with the Framework suppliers to enable customers to benefit from specialised local or technological focus, while still obtaining the benefits of the Framework Agreements. Further details are provided in Section 6.1, along with additional issues relating to suppliers and contracts including management, service levels, cost considerations, financial stability, demand aggregation and funding. A detailed checklist is provided in Section 6.8.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 12

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 Purpose of the Guidance

This guidance addresses topics relevant to public sector organisations considering solutions including wireless infrastructure to provide broadband connectivity. Issues covered include:

• UK regulatory framework • Health and safety • Standards • Security • Planning issues • Technological capabilities • Procurement issues including value for money and demand aggregation • Cost comparisons

The intended audience for this guidance is primarily public sector purchasing managers and their advisors. However, it is expected also to be useful for suppliers of broadband wireless infrastructure services to the public sector; operators of community broadband schemes; and public and private sector organisations with a vested interest in obtaining or expanding broadband services in rural communities.

2.2 Scope

While broadband services can be delivered over a range of platforms, there is increasing interest in the specific benefits of wireless infrastructures, both in areas such as rural communities not covered by asymmetric DSL (ADSL) or cable, or, where those are available, to offer alternatives. Wireless infrastructures can play an important part in achieving full realisation of the Government’s e-business and broadband objectives to enable e-commerce and deliver services on-line.

Wireless infrastructures to communicate data have been evolving for decades, and there is currently an array of options for broadband connectivity. These infrastructures range from the nascent to the established, each with characteristics best suited to a particular set of requirements.

2.3 What is Wireless?

All wireless technologies operate in fundamentally the same manner, in that data is transmitted between devices in the form of electromagnetic waves consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. The number of times per second that these waves oscillate is termed the frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz), MegaHertz (MHz, 1 million Hz), and GigaHertz (GHz, one billion Hertz). The frequency determines the range and capacity of the

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 13

signal; at higher frequencies there is more available bandwidth so capacity increases, but the effective range decreases. A section of the electromagnetic spectrum as relevant to wireless communication is shown in Figure 2.1. Broadband Wireless communication uses the Microwave section of the spectrum, between 2 and 40GHz, in common with a variety of applications such as radar, telematics, amateur and maritime radio, and short-range applications such as car key remote controls and Bluetooth – as well as microwave ovens.

Figure 2-1 Section of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

2.4 Benefits of Broadband

‘Broadband’ is the term used to describe a variety of high capacity Internet access services. One definition of what data rates constitute a broadband service comes from the telecommunications regulator, Oftel1:

The Director currently considers that it is appropriate to define broadband internet access at speeds in excess of 256kbit/s since the products currently available above this speed will allow different content such as streaming video to be delivered.

Services can include a mixture of voice and data, with applications including:

• High-capacity data transfer • Video conferencing • Interactive education • Telemedecine • Business intranet access • Internet access

The Government sees broadband Internet as having a key role both in transforming the way in which public services are delivered and as a platform for the delivery of a knowledge-based economy. Consequently it has set a number of specific targets in relation to extending the reach and competitiveness of the UK market for broadband connectivity, working towards the overall goal for the UK to have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G82 by 2005. The Government sees this target as being vital for UK businesses and for

1 Oftel Review of the Wholesale Broadband Access Market: http://www.Oftel.gov.uk/publications/date_order/2003_pubs.htm 2 G8 – the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations - comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA and Russia (added in June 2002 to the original G7).

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 14

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consumers, as well as for ensuring public sector organisations have the required platforms in place to deliver e-Government.

There are therefore currently many initiatives within Government Departments, Regional Development Agencies, Local Authorities, the EC and other groups that aim to encourage the rollout of broadband services. One such initiative, the UK Broadband Task Force was established in 2002 with the aim of increasing the take-up and availability of broadband throughout the UK. Its goals are:

• Promoting greater take-up and availability of broadband • Ensuring that public sector expenditure on broadband has maximum impact on regional

economic development • Ensuring that public sector procurement of broadband achieves value for money.

2.5 Socio-Economic Factors

The availability of affordable broadband services to rural communities is seen as important for a number of reasons, including:

• Encouraging inward investment in the region • Assisting regeneration of local communities • Delivering e-Government • Supporting local business • Supporting community projects • Ensuring equality of educational provision across the UK • Promoting e-learning and remote learning • Providing on-line access to information.

The current fixed-access media for affordable broadband in the UK (xDSL and cable) serve only a portion of the available market, typically focused on urban and suburban areas. Given this, there is concern that businesses and consumers in rural areas of the UK will be disadvantaged in comparison to those in urban areas.

Tackling this issue has, therefore, become a key Government objective, as recognised by the Government’s ‘Broadband Britain’ initiative. A key element of this is using more effective procurement and provision of the public sector's own requirements for bandwidth to catalyse the roll-out of broadband services to domestic and business users in areas which the market might otherwise find not commercially viable to serve.

2.6 Value Propositions

Wireless solutions can offer many different types of value proposition for broadband, ranging from coverage in remote areas via satellite, through high-bandwidth alternatives to wired

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 15

solutions, to hotspots in stations and airports using WLANs, and truly mobile access with 3rd generation (3G) cellular technology.

Application Value Proposition Rural Areas Wireless solutions can provide broadband access to areas that are outside

the current and planned coverage area of wired/fibred broadband technologies. Satellite coverage can reach 99% of the UK population, compared with 71% current wired/fibred coverage, and BT’s target of 80% ADSL coverage in 2003 and 90% “potential”.1

Community broadband schemes are being established, some using wireless LAN or Fixed Wireless Access technologies, enabling communities to communicate at high speeds locally, and (in conjunction with other technologies) with corporate networks and the Internet.

Performance For certain levels of demand density, wireless solutions can offer better value for money (more bandwidth for a given price) than wired solutions in a given price range. For example in WLAN–based community broadband schemes, or wireless Mesh systems.

Mobility Functionality that no wired technology can provide – access to corporate networks, Internet services and email while on the move, through higher bandwidth mobile networks: 2.5G (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS). In addition, WLAN technology is being used to create local “hotspots” at stations, airports, pubs, cafés etc, enabling high-speed Internet access from laptops/PDAs fitted with wireless adaptors. Whilst not “mobility”, this is almost equivalent if the hot-spots are in the right places.

Cost of Ownership Wireless solutions generally offer a different cost-of-ownership profile to wired solutions; while start-up costs may in some cases be higher, recurring costs are often lower. Start-up costs for WLAN-based community broadband schemes can be quite low, but service levels and QoS cannot be guaranteed and may deteriorate with increased usage and users.

Speed of Rollout The timescale to provide a deliverable service from scratch can be many times shorter than wired options, since there is no requirement to dig ducts or lay cables.

Technology Upgrade Enhanced services and increased bandwidth can be incrementally added as the technology evolves.

Independence from Local Loop

Fixed wireless access networks bypass the local loop, and so there is no dependence on other operators’ access networks to reach the customer (though there may be for other parts of the network).

Table 2-1: Value Propositions for Wireless Infrastructures

2.7 Related Infrastructures (excluded from this guidance)

This guidance deals exclusively with issues of which Procurers should be aware in relation to procurement of broadband services over wireless platforms, specifically FWA, WLAN, mobile higher bandwidth, and satellite.

Related infrastructures for Broadband solutions, for which procurement issues are not covered by this guidance, include:

• xDSL (hereafter referred to as DSL) and cable modem

1 http://www.btplc.com/Mediacentre/Archivenewsreleases/2003/nr0313.htm

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 16

• Dial-up connection – POTS and ISDN • Leased lines and equivalent (e.g. fibre and point to point microwave links). • Powerline: broadband access over the low-voltage mains distribution network. Currently

there are some limited commercial trials of this technology in the UK.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 17

3. BROADBAND MARKET OVERVIEW

3.1 Summary

The majority of broadband access connections in the UK are delivered over two principal types of fixed infrastructure: digital subscriber lines (DSL) and cable. Oftel figures for Internet and Broadband access are summarised below.

Internet Access3 (figures for February 2003) Small Businesses with Internet access 64% Medium Businesses with Internet access 94% Businesses using Broadband (DSL or Cable) 19%

Broadband Access4 (figures for May 2003) Total broadband subscribers 2,050,0005 Infrastructure Availability Subscribers Cable Modem To 45% of homes and business Over 1,000,000 of which NTL has

721,000 subscribers and Telewest 310,000

DSL To 71% of homes and business Over 1,000,000 based on BT’s wholesale products Around 10,000 customers of Kingston Communications in the East Yorkshire area

FWA Potential coverage of 12% of UK 2,500 Satellite Throughout UK 5,000

Table 3-1: UK Internet and Broadband Penetration (Source: Oftel 2003)

The growth in subscribers to the two predominant fixed access methods is shown below.

Figure 3-1: Increase in subscribers to DSL and Cable Modem (source Oftel 2003) 3 Business use of Internet – http://www.Oftel.gov.uk/publications/research/2003/q12intb0503.htm 4 Internet and Broadband Brief - http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/internet/internet_brief/broad0603.htm 5 Includes subscribers to ADSL, cable modem, fixed wireless, satellite services and services provided via unbundled local loops

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 18

Figure 3.2 shows current ADSL and cable coverage6. This illustrates the considerable overlapping coverage between the two technologies, highlighting the large portions of the UK that remain uncovered by either technology.

Figure 3-2: ADSL and Cable Coverage (Source: Mason Communica

There has been a general downward trend in the cost of broadband acceboosted by substantial price cuts by BT, various Oftel interventions in prices, and opening access to BT’s broadband network for other deployment of wireless technology for broadband might provide increasbetter-served areas of the UK, as well as making affordable broadbandareas that are not covered by ADSL or cable modem networks.

3.2 Broadband Infrastructures

3.2.1 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

6 The map shows NTL and Telewest franchise areas and so may overestimate actual availability, as provided across the whole franchise area (depending on areas that have been cabled for broadband coverage is mapped at 3.5 km radius from DSL-enabled exchanges.

NTL cable

Telewest cable

ADSL

tions, April 2003)

ss over the last year, relation to wholesale providers. Increased ed competition in the services available to

services may not be delivery). The ADSL

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 19

DSL is the collective term used to describe the family of digital transmission technologies that allow ordinary (unshielded twisted copper pair) phone lines to provide broadband access. The characteristics of the three main types - ADSL, SDSL and VDSL - are shown in Table 3-2 below. Actual data speed varies, depending on factors including line conditions, contention ratio (number of simultaneous users), traffic and distance from the transmitter.

DSL Variant Characteristics Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)

• Provides a lower speed in the upstream direction (i.e. from the user) than the downstream (i.e. to the user)

• Supports data rates up to 640kbit/s upstream and up to 8Mbit/s (theoretical maximum 8.448Mbit/s) downstream; the downstream data rate is limited by distance, with 8Mbit/s only available up to 1 km range, decreasing to 2Mbit/s at 5 km7.

Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL)

• Provides symmetrical data transfer (i.e. gives the same speed in the upstream direction as in the downstream). The symmetrical nature of the data transfer is potentially more attractive to businesses, as an alternative to leased lines

• Data speeds are up to 2 Mbit/s in both directions. Very high data rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL)

• Will potentially provide data speeds of 12, 25 or 51Mbit/s downstream and between 1.5 and 2.3Mbit/s upstream.

• As a result of the high data rates, transmission distance is less than that possible by using ADSL.

Table 3-2: Characteristics of three DSL Variants

BT is the major DSL provider in the UK, with services based on ADSL and trials underway using SDSL. Information from Oftel states that, at the end of May 2003, 1322 BT exchanges had been enabled to deliver ADSL. 71% of UK homes and businesses are potentially covered by ADSL enabled exchanges8.

Regulatory pressure on BT to allow other companies access to its DSL network has resulted in other companies being able to deliver products that compete with those offered by BT. Alternative ADSL providers in the UK include Kingston Communications, Bulldog, Easynet, Ednet, Thus and Tiscali. SDSL service providers, selling broadband services to the business market in the UK, include Colt Telecom, Easynet and XO Communications.

VDSL is the latest technology in the DSL family and standards are currently being finalised. BT is testing VDSL performance in cooperation with a number of other European operators.

3.2.2 Cable Modem

Cable modem (provided in the UK by NTL and Telewest) is the other predominant technology used for delivery of broadband services in the UK. This uses a coaxial cable (which is also used to provide digital television services) for the broadband access. Data rates

7 Source: ‘Access to Bandwidth: Bringing Higher Bandwidth Services to the Consumer’, Oftel 8 Although 71% (http://www.btplc.com/mediacentre/Archivenewsreleases/2003/nr0324.htm) of households are in areas served by ADSL-enabled exchanges, BT estimates that, on average, only 98% of homes in an ADSL-enabled exchange area will be close enough to the exchange to receive ADSL services. See http://www.btplc.com/Mediacentre/Archivenewsreleases/2003/nr0313.htm and http://www.oftel.gov.uk.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 20

for the cable services range from 512kbit/s downstream and 128kbit/s upstream, to 2Mbit/s downstream and 256kbit/s upstream (introduced by Telewest in May 2003).

3.2.3 Wireless

Several wireless infrastructures can provide broadband access, either to complement existing DSL or cable connectivity, as an alternative to these infrastructures, or to provide specific features such as mobility or nomadic9 access. Wireless infrastructures for broadband access range from fully mobile, through to portable/nomadic systems (i.e. WLAN), to fixed wireless replacements for local loops (FWA) and satellite. These infrastructures are discussed in detail in Section 5.

9 Nomadic access – one end of the system is capable of moving whilst still retaining broadband connectivity, however, moving at any considerable speed is not expected

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 21

4. WIRELESS ISSUES

This section provides a general overview of:

• Regulatory Framework • Wireless Equipment Standards Bodies • Health and Safety • Security • Planning Considerations

Issues specific to individual technologies are dealt with in Section 5.

4.1 Regulatory Framework

Licensing Overview

Providers of wireless data services are subject to the following regulations in the UK:

• Radio transmissions require an appropriate Wireless Telegraphy Act licence unless they use wireless bands exempt from licensing. Civil radio spectrum usage within the UK is regulated by the Wireless Telegraphy (WT) Acts (issued 1949, revised 1967, 1984, 1990 and 1998), and administered by the Radiocommunications Agency (RA)10. The WT Acts require that the installation and use of radio equipment and frequencies must be either licensed or covered by a specific exemption from licensing. Different licence conditions may apply to different services, depending on various factors, including the nature of the service and the frequency band.

• A telecommunications licence is required by anyone running a telecommunication system11. Telecommunications service provision in the UK is regulated by the Telecommunications Act 1984. Where the telecommunications service is provided by wireless, the Wireless Telegraphy Act applies in addition. Telecommunications licences are issued by the DTI and enforced by Oftel10. The Telecommunications Act will be superseded in July 2003 by the Communications Bill.

Until recently (as explained below), most public wireless services have been “regulated” by licences issued to control the number of user locations and ensure that interference between users is minimised. A licence once issued permits operation in a specified band of frequencies, giving the network operator exclusive access to that band in a given geographic location or area, in line with any associated licence conditions. Licences can be classed as

10 The licence functions of DTI, Oftel and the RA will be transferred to Ofcom towards the end of 2003. 11 A licence is required to run virtually any form of modern communications from telephone services to the Internet, radio to TV, videoconferencing to CB radio. Anything that allows communications between separate premises using wires, radio, or light is a system. See http://www.dti.gov.uk/industries/telecoms/general-guidance-notes.html.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 22

“equipment” licences, whereby a specific channel is licensed for occupation by specific equipment, or as “spectrum” licences whereby a block of frequencies or channels is licensed over an area for use by a class of equipment. The former is most common for microwave point-to-point licensing, whereas the latter generally applies to multi-point wireless access architectures (where these are subject to licensing).

The number of licences available is usually limited, and for public telecommunications networks such as mobile phone networks and FWA, the Radiocommunications Agency will run some form of licence award process, commonly a competitive auction, in order to select operators. Licences are typically of 15 or 20 years duration. The Wireless Telegraphy Act Licence held by an operator will specify the radio frequencies of operation, the technical basis of operation of a system (e.g. in terms of maximum radiated power), the geographical area(s) licensed for operation and any legal obligations and constraints on the operator.

Operation in licence-exempt bands has become increasingly attractive for the provision of telecommunications services, due to ease of access to the spectrum and wide product availability. In July 2002 the UK regulatory framework was amended to allow commercial use of licence-exempt spectrum at 2.4GHz and in some bands around 5GHz for wireless LANs, resulting in proliferation of licence-exempt WLAN-based hotspots and community broadband schemes. Wireless licence exemption also applies to short-range and consumer devices such as wireless alarms and car key fobs.

Regulatory Bodies

Telecommunications and radio regulation in the UK is currently undertaken by the DTI, Oftel, and the Radiocommunications Agency; however, Oftel, the RA, and licence-issuing functions of the DTI are due to be transferred towards the end of 2003 to Ofcom. These organisations and their functions are described in the following sections.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

The Department of Trade and Industry’s Business Relations Directorate www.dti.gov.uk/industries/telecoms deals with UK telecommunications regulation and licensing, which includes administration of telecommunications licences. Under the Telecommunications Act 1984, all telecommunications service providers in the UK require an appropriate licence to run a telecommunications system. Licences are either individual operating licences or fall within ‘class licence’ categories (e.g. Telecommunications Service Licence (TSL))12. The DTI is responsible for the granting of licences, and the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) enforces them once they are issued (replaced by Ofcom towards the end of 2003).

12 Details at http://www.dti.gov.uk/industries/telecoms/general-guidance-notes.html

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 23

Office of Communications (Ofcom)

Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk is a new unified regulator responsible for the communications sector. The regulator will be independent and will act at arm's length from the Government but will work closely with the DTI, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and other relevant Departments, including on European and other international negotiations.

Ofcom will combine the existing functions of Oftel and the Radiocommunications Agency, as well as the Broadcasting Standards Commission, Independent Television Commission and Radio Authority. This will greatly simplify the regulatory framework while maintaining the ability to apply different types and levels of regulation to individual media for as long as necessary. Ofcom will incorporate the spectrum management and licensing functions of the Radiocommunications Agency, together with the regulatory functions of Oftel13.

Ofcom was set up by the Office of Communications Act 200214, and will be in place by the end of 2003. Its functions are defined in the Communications Bill.

Office of Telecommunications (Oftel)

Oftel www.oftel.gov.uk is the UK Telecommunications Regulator. The Telecommunications Act 1984 deals with issues affecting the provision of telecommunications services and, on the basis of the Act, Oftel acts as the UK telecoms regulator. Oftel is concerned with ensuring quality, value for money and competition of services for the benefit of the consumer, and for regulating the telecoms industry. Oftel is responsible for enforcing telecommunications licences once they have been issued by the DTI. Oftel’s functions will be transferred to Ofcom when the latter is established in late 2003.

Radiocommunications Agency (RA)

The Radiocommunications Agency www.radio.gov.uk is an Executive Agency of the DTI, responsible for the management of the non-military radio spectrum in the UK. This involves international representation, commissioning research, allocating spectrum and licensing its use in accordance with the Wireless Telegraphy Act, and keeping the radio spectrum clean. The RA is developing an online system where customers can apply for a licence, notification or registration. See www.radio.gov.uk/topics/ebusiness/online-index.htm. The RA’s functions will be transferred to Ofcom when the latter is established in late 2003.

Licensing Requirements by Technology

Spectrum licensing is covered in detail in Sections 5.3.4 (FWA), 5.4.4 (WLAN) and 5.5.4 (Mobile); a summary of the implications for broadband wireless services is provided below.

13 Information from http://www.communicationswhitepaper.gov.uk/by_topic/keyword9/index.html 14 The Office of Communications Act is described in http://www.olswang.com/telecoms

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 24

Wireless System General Licensing Requirements Fixed Wireless Access

An FWA radio licence will typically permit the network operator to provide services within a defined geographical region (i.e. regional rather than national operation). The underlying technology and network topology (e.g. point to (multi)point or mesh) are determined by the operator, although the RA sets certain restrictions for co-ordination purposes. This will normally take the form of a maximum limit on field strength at the border of the licence area, to prevent interference to systems in neighbouring areas.

Wireless LAN WLAN technology differs from FWA and higher bandwidth mobile services in that (with the exception of 5.8GHz Band C)* the technologies are ‘licence exempt’, and bandwidth is shared between operators. This raises issues such as increased potential for interference and variable quality of service. Despite licence exemption, WLAN technology must still meet the RA’s technical conditions for operation (referred to as ‘Interface Regulations’, available on the RA web site), which for example limit system power. *For configurations in the 5.8GHz portion of the spectrum (Band C), a form of ‘light licensing’ regime will apply, requiring pre-registration of systems to a database held by the RA.

Mobile Licences held by four UK mobile network operators are for national coverage, giving the operators an exclusive band of frequencies to provide GSM/GPRS mobile services across the UK. Separate national licences have now been issued to the operators (and new UK mobile operator, Hutchison 3G), for 3G-network rollout. Co-ordination between different mobile networks to prevent interference is built into the standards, and is generally up to the operators themselves if any specific measures are required. User devices – mobile receivers such as phones, PDAs etc. – are exempt from any individual licence requirement. The mobile device should be CE-marked for conformance to the relevant standards, including those relating to emissions and safety.

Satellite Satellite systems are co-ordinated on an international level, between the satellite operator(s) and the regulators. Satellite systems are generally proprietary and will operate in different ‘orbits’ (i.e. GEO, MEO, LEO - (geostationery, high or low, earth orbits) depending on the physical position, technology, user requirements, target market, the business strategy of the company and other considerations. The network operator will manage the co-ordination and licence requirements. In the case of two-way VSAT dishes, a network licence from the RA is required; again, the satellite provider will normally handle the licence application.

Table 4-1: Wireless Licensing Overview

Type Approval

Standards based systems such as GSM demand that manufacturers submit their products for “type approval” testing. The manufacturers equipment (e.g. handsets) must pass these extensive (and expensive) tests for conformance with the details of the standard before they can be used in a network. Each new design must qualify. In this way, the network operators and handset purchasers are assured that system performance will be maintained when using equipment from many different suppliers (e.g. a Nokia phone and a Samsung phone will not interfere with each other while using an Ericsson network).

Who holds the licence?

When broadband services are purchased from a commercial wireless network operator, the operator will hold the relevant wireless licence (where required) and there are no regulatory obligations for the Procurer. Since most WLAN systems are licence exempt, an individual

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 25

radio licence is not required providing that the equipment conforms to the relevant technical conditions set by the RA.

New Regulatory Framework from 25 July 2003

EC legislation due to come into force in the UK from midnight on 25 July 2003 will introduce a new telecommunications and electronic regulatory framework15 across the European Community. This framework comprises the four directives outlined in Table 4.2, and is intended to reduce unnecessary regulation and promote competition.

In the UK these directives are being enacted through the Communications Bill, which will replace the Telecommunications Act, and is intended to receive Royal Assent by the same date16. The provisions of the bill affecting data communications17 include:

• Transfer of functions to the new Office of Communications (Ofcom) from the bodies and office holders which currently regulate the communications sector (which broadly speaking encompasses telecommunications, broadcasting and spectrum management);

• Replacement of the current system of licensing for telecommunications systems with a new framework for regulation of electronic communications networks and services;

• Power to develop new mechanisms to enable spectrum to be traded in accordance with regulations made by Ofcom, and a scheme of recognised spectrum access.

A fundamental change resulting from the new framework is that the current telecommunications licensing regime will disappear and service providers will no longer need to obtain a telecommunications licence in advance of operating the system. The licensing regime will be placed by a general authorisation to provide services, subject to a set of conditions18. However, Oftel has published19 a consultation document to seek the views of industry and other interested parties on proposals to continue certain licence conditions after 24 July 2003.

15 EC Information Society: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/telecoms/regulatory/new_rf/index_en.htm 16 If the Communications Bill does not receive Royal Assent by 25 July 2003, a contingency plan will be put in place; see http://www.communicationsbill.gov.uk/implementation_consultations.html 17 Summarised at http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200203/cmbills/006/en/03006x--.htm 18 Certain providers may also be subject to specific conditions, for instance, if they have Significant Market Power (SMP), or Universal Service Obligation (USO). Details at http://www.oftel.gov.uk/ind_info/eu_directives/index.htm 19 http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/licensing/2003/cont0703.htm

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 26

New Directive Effect Framework Directive

Sets the overall framework that all national regulators must take into account when making regulatory decisions. In most cases, market reviews must be carried out before regulation is imposed and regulation will only be imposed where the market is not effectively competitive. It also sets the framework for managing the radio spectrum as well as other forms of communications.

Authorisation Directive

The Authorisation Directive encourages the deregulation of the authorisation of services. It only permits individual licences to be issued in relation to scarce resources (radio spectrum, numbers and rights of access to facilities like street cabling). There will no longer be a need for Telecommunication Act licensing but there will still be a need for larger companies to register. For radio spectrum the Directive encourages general authorisations wherever possible, but where justified for spectrum management reasons Wireless Telegraphy Act licensing will continue to apply, although the Radiocommunications Agency will have to justify its application class by class.

Access and Interconnection Directive

Obliges operators to negotiate interconnection arrangements with each other and sets out responsibilities of NRAs and the limits of their discretion in imposing obligations related to access or interconnection.

Universal Service and Users Right’s Directive

Sets out a procedure for designating providers of universal service and a minimum set of services that these operators must provide.

Table 4-2: Framework for the regulation of electronic communications

According to the DTI20, the emphasis of these directives is to move towards ‘light touch’ regulation, technology neutrality and greater consistency across Europe. The Bill is intended to be deregulatory in nature, and to keep only such regulations as are needed for a competitive market to function. It is thought that there will be no immediate changes that will affect broadband procurers, but over the longer term, the implications should be beneficial, in that there should be a more competitive marketplace for broadband.

Additional technology-specific regulatory information

Additional regulatory issues specific to individual wireless infrastructures are covered in Section 5: FWA, WLAN, Mobile, Satellite.

4.2 Wireless Equipment Standards Bodies

Wireless communication standards are generally defined at European or international level. The activities and responsibilities of the relevant bodies are summarised in the table below.

BSI The British Standards Institution (BSI - www.bsi-global.com) has a coordinating role on behalf of the UK in the development and approval of European and international standards, and also acts as an ‘attestation’ body for assessing whether a particular product achieves compliance with European Directives.

CEPT European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations. Looks at radio spectrum issues on a European focused level. Has a similar function to the ITU (see below).

EC The European Commission; in Europe, requirements for placing radio equipment on the market are governed by the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Directive (R&TTE, 1999/5/EC), which came into force in 2000. This Directive stipulates essential requirements that all radio transmitting devices sold in Europe must meet, including essential requirements relating to the protection of health and

20 The new regulatory regime and Ofcom are described at http://www.communicationswhitepaper.gov.uk

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 27

safety of the user, a ‘CE’ mark is given to equipment which meets this standard. ETSI The European Telecommunications Standards Institute; ETSI is responsible for

developing harmonised standards referenced in the R&TTE Directive, to cover the essential requirements of the Directive that manufacturers must meet, which includes the protection of health and safety of the user. More information is available at www.etsi.org

ICNIRP The International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, which publish international guidelines on public exposure to radio waves. The ICNIRP is an independent group of experts established to evaluate the state of knowledge on the effects of non-ionising radiation on human health and to provide advice on limiting exposure. More information and guidelines are available on their website www.icnirp.org.

IEEE The standards body of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (a US professional institution); the IEEE is recognised as being an authority on technical areas including computer engineering and telecommunications. Formed and based in the USA, the IEEE developed the IEEE Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3kHz to 3000GHz (IEEE C95.1-1991) in 1992, following deliberations involving experts in exposure to electromagnetic fields. More information at www.ieee.org.

ITU The International Telecommunications Union, an agency of the United Nations, which manages international telecommunications standardisation and frequency allocation. See http://www.itu.int/home/index.html

NRPB The National Radiological Protection Board is an independent body with overall responsibility for advising UK government departments and others on standards and protection for exposure to ionising and non-ionising radiation, including electric and magnetic fields21. The NRPB publishes material on its web site (www.nrpb.org), including definition of what is and is not considered to be a safe level of non-ionising radiation. More information at www.nrpb.org

Table 4-3: Organisations contributing to standards for wireless communications

From a regulatory position, the ETSI group is formally recognised within the UK. ETSI produces standards for a wide variety of telecommunications products including wireless systems. Under the European Commission’s Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Directive (R&TTE, 1999/5/EC), EC member states are required to recognise ETSI-produced equipment standards within their radio spectrum allocations to the greatest extent possible, to ensure free movement of products throughout the EU. Equipment standards produced by the US-based IEEE standards group do not have the same status in the EC. The “802.xx” group of standards is produced by the IEEE group, and it is not always the case that an 802.xx standard produced by the IEEE group for wireless products can be accommodated within UK/European spectrum allocations. Such exceptions, however, are in the minority.

Additional standards specific to individual technologies are covered in Section 5: FWA, WLAN, Mobile, Satellite.

21 Electromagnetic fields arise from electric charges and the strength of a field at a point depends on the distribution and behaviour of the charges involved. Electromagnetic fields include static fields such as the Earth’s magnetic field and fields from electrostatic charges, electric and magnetic fields from the national power grid, so-called radio waves from TV, radio transmitters, mobile phones, radar and satellite, as well as light, and X-rays . Non-ionising radiation is the term given to radiation that includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible and ultraviolet radiation. (Source: NRPB)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 28

4.3 Health and Safety

Wireless devices radiate power, the output and intensity of which vary depending on: antenna orientation; frequency of transmission; and power output of the device (a summary of these power outputs is given in Table 4-4). The amount of radiation actually received by a person is dependent upon all of these factors, and in addition, the distance between that person and device and anything in the way of the signal (e.g. a car, wall or tree). Consequently the direction of the signal is a significant factor; it is highly likely that a person could be in the path of the signal emitted by a mobile handset, but much less likely that a person would be in the path of the upstream signal emitted by a two-way satellite dish.

Wireless Technology Power output (Peak EIRP per channel) Remote / customer unit

Power output (Peak EIRP per channel) Central base station / Access point

2.4GHz WLAN (802.11b) 100mW 100mW Two way Satellite (1.8 metre antenna)

Variable. Can be 100kW

(not relevant: on satellite)

Mobile Handset 1-2W Variable. Typically 100W, Max 1kW

5.8GHz WLAN Band A 200mW 200mW 5.8GHz WLAN Band B 1W 1W 5.8GHz Band C 2W 2W Fixed Wireless (3.5GHz/10GHz/28GHz/40GHz)

Variable. Typically 30-40W

Variable. Typically 30-40W

Car remote lock 10mW (typically receive only) Terrestrial TV transmitter (receive only) Variable. 1-5MW for largest

sites

Table 4-4: Power output of wireless devices (source: Analysys 2003)

The increasing use of wireless systems, in particular mobile phones, has generated public safety concerns relating both to the placement of transmitter base station and the use of handheld receivers. Concerns have focused on:

• Human exposure to radio frequency fields emanating from base stations among people living or working close to wireless base stations.

• Possible biological effects arising from the use of mobile phone handsets resulting from energy absorption by the head and neck.

To investigate these concerns, the Independent Expert Working Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) was established under the chairmanship of Sir William Stewart. The NRPB provided the secretariat, and there was also representation from key Government departments with an interest (Department of Health and Department of Trade and Industry). The terms of reference of the Expert Group were:

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 29

To consider present concerns about the possible health effects from the use of mobile phones,

base stations and transmitters, to conduct a rigorous assessment of existing research and to give advice based on the present state of knowledge. To make recommendations on further work that

should be carried out to improve the basis for sound advice. (Source: www.iegmp.org.uk).

The result of this research was The Stewart Report (published in May 2000)22, and the main conclusions are:

• The balance of evidence does not suggest mobile phone technologies put the health of the general population of the UK at risk. There is some preliminary evidence that outputs from mobile phone technologies may cause, in some cases, subtle biological effects, although, importantly, these do not necessarily mean that health is affected.

• There is also evidence that, in some cases, people’s well being may be adversely affected by the insensitive siting of base stations. New mechanisms need to be set in place to prevent that happening.

• Overall, the report proposes that a precautionary approach be adopted until more robust scientific information becomes available and that the subject be reviewed again in three years time, or before if circumstances demand it.

• The balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near base stations, on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of the guidelines.

• The balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures to RF radiation below NRPB and ICNIRP guidelines do not cause adverse health effects to the general population.

• It is not possible at present to say that exposure to RF radiation, even at levels below national guidelines, is totally without potential adverse health effects, and the gaps in knowledge are sufficient to justify a precautionary approach.

The conclusions are summarised at http://www.iegmp.org.uk/report/summary.htm

Based on the recommendations of The Stewart Report, the RA has, at the request of the Government, undertaken two significant tasks. Firstly it has produced the Sitefinder database23, which from a given postcode will display the location of mobile phone base stations in that postal area. Secondly, the RA has undertaken a series of field strength measurements on mobile telephony base stations near schools and other sensitive sites such as hospitals. The results of this study

22 The full report is available at http://www.iegmp.org.uk/report/text.htm 23 http://www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 30

demonstrated that mobile phone base station emissions are significantly lower than the ICNIRP guidelines; the highest recorded level of radiation was 1/731st of the recommended limit and the lowest was just over one ten-millionth of the limit24.

As mentioned in Section 4.2, the standards applicable to the customer devices, e,g, a mobile handset or WLAN access point are published by the relevant wireless standardisation bodies such as ETSI and IEEE. These standards include specific requirements on maximum emission levels from radio devices, this is done both for health and safety reasons and to ensure that there is compatibility with other radio services. These standards are implemented through the requirements of the R&TTE Directive, with which manufacturers of wireless devices must comply for equipment to be available in the EU. The UK regulations enacting this Directive can be found at: www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2000/20000730.htm

Base stations, transmitters, antennae and other wireless devices designed for external use may transmit higher levels of power and should be sited and deployed in accordance with NRPB guidelines, in which case they may also be considered safe. For details, see:

NRPB guidelines: http://www.nrpb.org/publications/index.htm NRPB specific limits: http://www.nrpb.org/publications/bulletin/no3/article3.htm. ICNIRP guidelines: http://www.icnirp.de/documents/philosophy.pdf.

Section 5.4.6 includes additional Health and Safety information specific to WLANs.

4.4 Security

Security is a concern often raised in relation to wireless solutions, and a number of high profile media reports have highlighted particular issues in relation to certain wireless technologies (e.g. security protocols in WLAN technology). Security may be built into the standard (e.g. GSM), may be an overlay capability, or a physical barrier such as a firewall.

In general, the following considerations should be addressed by organisations using wireless technologies, to ensure security:

Wireless Encryption

Modern wireless infrastructures will generally employ encryption over the air interface (i.e. encryption of transmitted data). The highest available encryption level should be implemented; this depends on the algorithm used and will change over time. Encryption keys should be changed regularly by the system. If the wireless network does not support encryption as standard, this functionality should be provided at a higher level as described below (end-to-end security).

24 The complete results are available on the website of the Radiocommunications Agency at http://www.radio.gov.uk/topics/mpsafety/school-audit/summary2003.htm

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 31

Authentication Mechanisms to authenticate the user should be implemented to prevent an attacker from spoofing (purporting to be an authorised user), thereby illegally accessing the subscriber’s network, eavesdropping on transmissions, and/or wasting bandwidth paid for by the subscriber. These mechanisms should be based on multi-factor (sometimes referred to as “strong”) authentication such as RSA Secure-ID

Provision of End to End Security (firewall etc.)

The developers of the various wireless infrastructures discussed in this report will have, in general, incorporated security controls in the wireless network to address the requirements for authentication and confidentiality. However, this does not provision end-to-end security. Moreover, following transmission through the ether, information is often exchanged using the Internet, and this medium also poses a significant security risk. For end to end security, therefore, the key controls required, regardless of whether they are also provided by the network provider, are:

• Firewall, configured to: − install secure VPNs (such as IPsec) − block non-business-related application and information

services − use Network Address Translation NAT) to protect the IP

naming and addressing structure from visibility to the outside world.

• Anti virus software.

Security of Mobile and Wireless Devices

Security considerations for wireless applications range far wider than the wireless technology itself, into the general culture of mobile communications. Corporate information is at risk from laptops or PDAs lost or stolen in transit, from information overseen while working or public places, or from conversations overheard on mobile phones.

Management Systems

Effective controls must be in place to restrict access to the administration/management functions in the network, to counter internal security threats. Access should be based on strong multi-factor authentication as described above.

Security issues specific to individual wireless infrastructures are covered in Section 5: FWA, WLAN, Mobile, Satellite.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 32

4.5 Planning Considerations

Use of wireless networks often requires erection of radio masts (for the transmission network) as well as the installation of a receiving antenna at customer premises – usually roof/wall mounted or elevated (the exception to this is mobile telephony for which no separate antennas are needed). The following issues should be considered with regard to broadband wireless equipment:

Permitted Development Rights

Under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO), satellite dishes are covered by a general planning permission, known as permitted development rights, subject to certain conditions. Similarly, the GPDO gives permitted development rights for the installation on a property of one ‘small antenna’ for telecommunications (e.g. fixed wireless access).

Planning Regulations

Conditions and restrictions that currently apply relate to preventing proliferation of antennas on a single property, installation of unnecessarily large antenna and poor placement. Existing planning regulations restrict the number of antennas that can be installed at any one location; currently, householders are only allowed to install one antenna or satellite dish without planning permission. Thus if sites already have a satellite antenna, for example for television reception, wireless access requiring an external antenna may not be an option.

Local Authority Restrictions

In recent years, opposition to erection of visible antennas has increased and a growing number of local authorities have objected or prevented development of radio masts, particularly mobile phone masts, in their area. Procurers will, therefore, need to be aware of any planning restrictions imposed by local authorities, since planning regulations may call for a limit on the number of antennas on properties, which could present a barrier to deployment of a wireless access solution.

2003 Government Consultation on Planning Regulations

The Government published proposals in early 2003 in relation to relaxation of some existing restrictions on wireless antenna, with the intention of making it easier for users to get connected to several wireless broadband technologies and giving greater freedom to install broadband satellite dishes and other antenna (PTP or PMP). More information and the consultation document can be found at http://www.planning.odpm.gov.uk/consult/satothan/01.htm.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 33

Listed buildings, national parks or conservation areas

Further restrictions may apply if it is proposed to add wireless equipment to a listed building and/or one in a national park or conservation area. In these instances it will be necessary to seek further guidance from the local authority as to what is permissible.

Premises not owned by the organisation

If the building to which the wireless equipment is to be attached is not owned by the organisation requiring the broadband access, it may be necessary to seek the permission of the landlord before proceeding with affixing the equipment.

Additional planning issues are covered for FWA in Section 5.3.5 and WLAN in Section 5.4.5.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 34

5. WIRELESS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURES

Broadband services can be delivered over several types of wireless infrastructure, the predominant systems being:

• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) • Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) • Higher Bandwidth Mobile Access (GPRS, HSCSD and 3G) • Broadband Satellite Access

5.1 Where Broadband Wireless fits in the Network

Scenario 1: Conventional cabled network

“Last mile” connection to users is conventionally provided via copper cables, interfacing at a “Point of Presence” (PoP) – a local exchange or similar building or space – to a “backhaul” optical fibre link to the Wide Area Network (organisation’s intranet and/or the Internet). [In urban areas there may also be a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) optical ring between backhaul and WAN, or the PoP might be directly on the MAN].

Wireless technologies, either WLAN or FWA, can provide high-speed data local access services direct to end-users instead of copper cable:

Scenario 2: Wireless Access (FWA or WLAN), cabled backhaul

If a PoP is not conveniently sited within the required range, an additional broadband link is needed between the wireless access point and the PoP. The wireless access point with its broadband connection to the backbone network is sited at a convenient “node” such as a school, Post Office, library or other suitable building that can share its broadband connection with the local community:

Local Access

Users

PoP

Fibre Backhaul

Wide Area Network

Local Access

Users

PoP

Fibre Backhaul

Wide Area Network

Fibre Backhaul

Wide Area NetworkUsers

Wireless Local Access

PoP /AccessPoint

Fibre Backhaul

Wide Area NetworkUsers

Wireless Local Access

PoP /AccessPoint

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 35

Scenario 3: Wireless Access, Cabled Broadband link and Backhaul

The local connection to the PoP may itself be a wireless link, in which case the PoP will contain a wireless “hub” interfacing to the backhaul. This link may be WLAN or FWA; the access network could be WLAN and the ongoing connection FWA. [The backhaul could be a wireless point-to-point link instead of optical fibre.]

Scenario 4: Wireless Access and local connection, fibre backhaul

Alternatively, a satellite connection can be used to link from the backbone network to a local access point from which users can be served by WLAN or FWA, or the satellite connection could go directly to the end-user premises:

Scenario 5: Wireless Access (FWA or WLAN), Satellite Backhaul

Users

Wireless Access

Wide Area Network

Access Point

Satellite

Satellite backhaul

Satellite direct to end-user

Users

Wireless Access

Wide Area Network

Access Point

SatelliteSatellite

Satellite backhaul

Satellite direct to end-user

Users Fibre Backhaul

Wireless Access

Access Point

Wide Area Network

ADSL Local Connection

PoP

Users Fibre Backhaul

Wireless Access

Access Point

Wide Area Network

ADSL Local Connection

PoP

Users

Wireless Access

Wide Area Network

Access Point

Wireless Local

Connection

PoP

Fibre Backhaul

Users

Wireless Access

Wide Area Network

Access Point

Wireless Local

Connection

PoP

Fibre Backhaul

Fibre Backhaul

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 36

5.2 Key characteristics of Wireless Broadband systems

Whereas DSL and cable infrastructures have a separate physical link to each individual user, the air interface used by wireless infrastructures to transmit signals is always shared. Therefore, as is also the case with most DSL or cabled services (except where a dedicated service is offered), the speed of the wireless broadband connection available to a user may decrease as the number of simultaneous users increases. However, for FWA and satellite, as with DSL or cable, the service provider can control the maximum number of users sharing any given service (contention ratio), thereby limiting the performance degradation.

Key characteristics of broadband wireless infrastructures are shown in the table below.

Data Rate25 Range Latency Service Guarantees

Network Security

Spectrum Licensing

FWA Medium/High Limited None Yes Secure Spectrum licensed to operators

WLAN High Very limited None No Insecure Spectrum licence-exempt

Mobile Low/Medium Wide area Medium No Secure Spectrum licensed to operators

Satellite Medium/High Universal High Yes Secure Spectrum licensed to operators

Table 5-1: Summary of Broadband Wireless Characteristics

Prices vary according to service characteristics and are generally competitive with equivalent wire or cable-based offerings. As with all new technologies, equipment costs are falling, helping to reduce prices. Also, additional spectrum is being released to increase the total available bandwidth, thereby improving the service qualities that providers can offer. Two-way satellite connectivity is generally more expensive than other solutions, but has the unique value proposition of being available virtually throughout the entire country.

Further detailed information about the specific infrastructures mentioned above is provided in Section 5, together with an overview of some wireless infrastructures either still being developed or yet to be widely deployed on a commercial basis.

5.3 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

5.3.1 Overview

Fixed Wireless Access uses microwave radio links to provide ‘last mile’ connectivity to subscribers’ premises. The technology offers a possible solution for extending the reach of

25 Data rates Low – Less than 250 kbit/s Medium – Approx 250 kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s High – In excess of 1Mbit/s

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 37

broadband networks by emulating wired connections. FWA can offer a less expensive and quicker means of providing connectivity to a community than burying new copper or fibre cable (or upgrading an existing physical infrastructure).

In the UK, several telecoms operators provide commercial services using FWA systems. However, each operator’s technology, network configuration, coverage area and service definition are unique.

5.3.2 Application Characteristics

The applications supported by FWA vary significantly according to the operating frequency of the system. Applications and target markets for the principal UK frequency bands are summarised in Table 5.2 below.

Band (GHz)

Target customer Typical target applications Typical bandwidth for end user

Typical Range

3.4 Residential/SOHO/ SME

Voice (up to BR-ISDN), affordable broadband (512kbit/s, 50:1 contention)

128kbit/s to 512kbit/s

10km

3.6-4.2 Residential/SOHO /SME

Voice (up to BR-ISDN), affordable broadband (512kbit/s, 50:1 contention)

128kbit/s to 512kbit/s

10km

5.8 (Band C)

SME, Medium and Large Business Sites

Broadband, data network access.

Up to 20Mbit/s but dependent upon number of users

Figures not available as technology not yet deployed

10 Medium and Large Business sites

Voice (up to PR-ISDN), Leased lines, data network access (Ethernet, FR, ATM, IP), Internet access at up to 2Mbit/s

1-2Mbit/s 10km

28 Medium and Large Business sites

Voice (up to PR-ISDN), Leased lines, data network access (Ethernet, FR, ATM, IP), Internet access at up to 2Mbit/s

1-2Mbit/s 5km

40 Residential Voice, TV, Internet, VoD quadruple play (but note: business model unproven)

128kbit/s-10Mbit/s

3km

40 Medium and Large Business sites

Voice (up to PR-ISDN), Leased lines, data network access (Ethernet, FR, ATM, IP), Internet access at up to 10Mbit/s

2-10Mbit/s 3km

Table 5-2: FWA Applications and Target Markets (source: Analysys)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 38

The effective range of an FWA system depends primarily on the system’s operating frequency and the environment. The effective range can also be affected by:

Required Availability Increasing the required availability will reduce the range. A typical standard radio link availability target is 99.99%.

Required Data Rate Increasing the required data rate will reduce the range.

Power Settings Increasing the output power of the FWA transmitters will increase the range.

Antenna Selection Selecting higher gain antennas will increase the range.

Precise quantification of the effect of altering the above factors is a complex engineering exercise, performed by constructing a ‘link budget’ for the FWA system.

System coverage is greatest in the larger regional cities and towns; for detailed coverage information please see the websites of FWA service providers (examples are included in Annex 2).

The maximum data connection rate available to a service user varies according to the system in use and is typically limited by the amount of radio spectrum allocated to the FWA network operator, as well as the equipment chosen by the service provider.

At lower FWA frequencies (less than 10GHz), spectrum is scarce and so the system capacity may become limited in certain geographic areas. This can limit the maximum data rate of a subscriber’s connection, and may ultimately prevent additional connections to the system in the area. As an example, for FWA operating at 3.4GHz, connection rates are typically limited to 512kbit/s, even though the theoretical maximum is 2Mbit/s; however this is also influenced by UK regulations and industry standards (Section 4.2). Conversely, at higher FWA frequencies, availability of spectrum is not usually an issue. However, the range of the signal is more limited and susceptible to external interference, and the equipment is more expensive.

5.3.3 Technical Profile

Network Topology

Fixed wireless access can be provided by a range of topologies. This report focuses on point to multipoint (PMP) and mesh, outlined in Table 5.3 below. However the equipment can be configured to meet individual customer needs – for example, a PMP system can be converted to provide a dedicated point to point (P2P) connectivity, or a mesh network could have both PMP and P2P within it.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 39

PMP Mesh

Summary • Most common topology. • Cellular-type arrangement. • Local base stations connect to multiple

distributed subscriber stations via short microwave radio links.

• Each base station connects to a ‘central office’ (CO), which in turn has voice and data interconnects into the PSTN, public Internet and other data networks.

Summary • New form of topology in wireless access. • Each subscriber station in the FWA system

can operate as a relay station, having roof/wall-mounted, steerable, directional arrays.

• This allows any particular subscriber station multiple routing options via neighbouring subscriber stations for connecting back to the central office.

Advantages • Proven technology. • Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) costs

gradually reducing. Disadvantages: • An unobstructed ‘Line of Sight’ radio link is

generally required between the base station and subscribers’ property* – there is a risk that connectivity cannot be provided to a potential subscriber, even though an FWA operator claims to have coverage in a particular area (note: the FWA operator should normally perform a ‘Line of Sight’ check before agreeing to provide service).

*A direct line of sight may not be required at

lower frequencies as the signal can ‘bend’ around buildings.

Advantages • More likely to be able to connect a particular

property in an area. • Can support higher data rates than PMP (up

to 25 Mbit/s). • Greater resilience – multiple alternate paths. • Disadvantages • Mesh systems are relatively new, and

therefore not as proven in terms of reliability. • Integrity relies on continuous operation of

other CPE units, hence may be vulnerable to units in another person’s control being switched off, moved or otherwise tampered with.

• Adding more users may require complex reconfiguration and re-orientation of directional antennae (which could be noisy and disruptive).

Table 5-3: FWA Topologies

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 40

As at July 2003, all commercial FWA systems in the UK have PMP topologies. Some initial trials of Mesh systems have recently been undertaken; a summary of a trial in South Wales is provided below.

Mesh Trial in South Wales

In June 2002, BT Wholesale launched a six-month technical trial of a fixed wireless access service for the delivery of broadband services. The service, based on a Mesh Wireless solution developed by Radiant Networks, delivered Video on Demand (VoD) content to households in Pontypridd taking part in the trial. The trial came to an end in December 2002 and although BT does not propose to adopt the technology it is working with Radiant on the next phase of the equipment development. For further information on the trial, see: http://www.radiantnetworks.com/press/News_28062002.htm

FWA Standards

Some FWA systems are highly proprietary and the CPE and base stations must be purchased from the same vendor. This limits the economies of volume available and has arguably been a significant factor in making FWA less attractive compared to DSL and cable modem.

FWA standards are primarily developed within ETSI and the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee. These standards fall into two main categories.

Interoperability Standards

defining a standardised air interface applicable to operation over a range of FWA frequency bands.

Co-existence Standards

defining operating parameters so that different systems can co-exist in specific frequency bands.

Within these two main categories, standards typically relate to the implementation of FWA in support of conventional telecoms services (telephony, leased lines etc.) or the implementation of FWA in support of advanced broadcasting applications (interactive TV, video on demand etc.). An important benefit of increased standardisation is that it is likely to generate economies of scale in component production and system implementation. This could reduce the cost of FWA rollout, which, in turn, could improve the viability of FWA ventures.

The Broadband Wireless Association presents detailed information regarding FWA standards; see http://www.broadband-wireless.org/stand.html.

Coverage

The coverage of FWA systems is limited by certain factors; these and the ways in which they can be overcome are outlined below:

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 41

PMP A central FWA base station cannot usually serve every building within its effective range. Normally a direct line of sight is required from the central base station to the subscribers’ premises. Intervening buildings, hills or trees in urban environments may mean that a number of rooftops do not have line of sight. An industry ‘rule-of-thumb’ is that 60% to 70% of buildings will have line of sight to a well-positioned base station antenna.

To overcome this situation, the FWA operator can deploy an additional local base station to increase the likelihood of being able to see at least one of the base stations. However, this can be expensive if the volumes of traffic in an area do not warrant multiple base stations. Spectrum constraints may also limit the number of base stations that can be deployed in an area. For example, in a city such as Leeds the maximum number of 3.4GHz FWA base stations is limited to about ten.

Mesh For Mesh systems, the option to hop via one of several neighbouring subscriber stations is an inherent aspect of the design. Thus, line of sight restrictions should not be such a major issue once a small number of “seed” sites have been enabled. However, this also means that the integrity of the system may depend on factors outside the control of any single organisation.

It should be noted that FWA operators will not guarantee 100% coverage of a particular geographical area and will only offer service subject to a satisfactory site survey.

FWA Security

General security considerations apply to FWA as described in Section 4.4. FWA network operators implement authentication as standard.

5.3.4 FWA Regulatory Profile

UK Spectrum and Licensing Environment

A summary of the licensing status for FWA for each frequency band is shown in the table below.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 42

Licensing and Regulatory status for FWA Frequency Bands

Frequency band designation

UK assignment

Assignment per operator

Availability Remarks

3.4 GHz 3.48-3.50 paired with 3.58-3.60

2x20MHz per licence.

15 regional licences were awarded in June 2003 for regional FWA services.

Good equipment availability.

3.6 GHz 3.605-3.689 paired with 3.925-4.009

2x36MHz Licensed nationally to FirstNet (who took over Liberty Broadband in January 2003). Serves urban areas in Berkshire, Midlands and Yorkshire.

Band under consideration for further licences. Sharing with other services will need careful co-ordination and subject to further study.

5 GHz Band C (5.8 GHz)

5. 725-5.875 GHz

To be decided.

Under consideration. Expected to be a “light licensing” regime, requiring pre-registration of systems to a database held by the RA. Planned availability: 2nd half of 2003.

IR 2007 will set technical requirement for DFS and TPC. 802.11h equipment will include both. Should be attractive for Community Broadband schemes, interlinking WLAN domains, and some backhaul. Exclusion zones, and DFS/ TPC in products, mandated to protect other users in band: radar, outside broadcast, satellite, road telematics, amateur radio.

10 GHz 10.125-10.225GHz paired with 10.475-10.575GHz.

2x30MHz per operator.

3 operators licensed in 1997 for national coverage; two surrendered their licences. NTL operating trials in London. RA considering new licensing pending MoD discussions.

Low equipment availability.

28 GHz 28.0525-28.4445 GHz paired with 29.0605-29.4525 GHz

2x112MHz per operator (3 licences in each of 14 regions).

16 (in 7 regions) of 42 (in 14 regions) regional licences sold to 6 operators in November 2000 auction. Your Communications offering commercial services in W. Midlands, Manchester & Merseyside, NW & N England.

Reasonable equipment availability. 27 licences still available. Consideration being given to smaller regions. Provisional further award process in late summer 2003.

40 GHz 40.5-43.5 GHz

To be decided.

Under consideration. Discussions with industry in 2002 suggested unlikely to be market for very high bandwidth services for at least two years. In the interim will develop award process and spectrum packaging in consultation with industry. Licensing of commercial trials under consideration.

www.radio.gov.uk/topics/broadband 1 May 2003

Table 5-4: Licensing and Regulatory status for FWA and WLAN Frequency Bands (source: Radiocommunications Agency)

A detailed description of the UK spectrum and licensing environment is provided on the website of the Radiocommunications Agency (http://www.radio.gov.uk/). Individual FWA subscribers do not need licences to operate the customer equipment.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 43

Future plans for the 40GHz band are covered in Section 5.8.1.

5.3.5 Planning Considerations

The planning considerations relevant to FWA are covered in Section 4.5. Typical FWA outdoor antennas are illustrated below.

3.6-4.2GHz 28GHz PMP

Dimensions (H x W x D): 30cm x 30cm x 7.2cm

Weight: 3kg

Dimensions (H x W x D): 30.4cm x 16cm x 20cm

Weight: 6kg

Figure 5-1: Typical FWA Outdoor Antennas

5.3.6 User Prices

End-user prices will typically comprise:

• Installation fee • Ongoing service charge.

Installation fees will relate to the mounting of an antenna at the subscriber’s property and the installation of some form of indoor subscriber unit, collectively termed customer premises equipment (CPE). Installation fees may be fixed, or may vary upon the height of the building or functionality of the indoor subscriber unit.

The ongoing service charge will vary according to the service package provided to the subscriber. Operators typically offer tariff plans where either:

• An initial data allowance is specified, after which a charge per Mbyte is levied, or • An unlimited data allowance is specified.

In either instance it is likely that a peak connection speed will also be stated.

For cost comparisons, please see Section 7.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 44

5.3.7 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience

For a service delivered over a copper or fibre cable, the service availability is primarily dictated by the robustness of the hardware and software at each end of the cable. The cable itself rarely fails unless it is physically damaged.

For a service delivered over FWA, the service availability is dictated by both the robustness of the hardware and software, and by a range of external factors that can affect the radio link. These external factors include heavy precipitation, seasonal changes such as foliage growth, external radio interference and icing of antennas. For mesh systems, intermediate relays must be permanently switched on and operational, which leads to potential vulnerabilities when they are sited on different organisations’ premises.

Typically, FWA operators design their systems to achieve 99.99% radio link availability and pay particular attention to antenna installation. The procurer should ensure that the FWA operator has adopted the following installation guidelines:

• Connections are only made at properties well within the effective range of the base station for the required performance; speed degrades with distance

• Customer premises FWA antennas are precisely aligned to point directly at the base station

• Allowance is made for anticipated extent of foliage obstruction during summer months and anticipated foliage growth over a number of years.

• Customer Premises Equipment, FWA links and back-up connections are replicated as necessary in order to achieve the required level of resilience.

5.3.8 Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of FWA are summarised below.

Advantages

Short Installation Time

Once FWA has been deployed in an area, new subscriber connections can be installed within days.

Low Prices Once FWA has been deployed in an area, services are typically cheaper than leased line or point-to-point radio.

Scalability Scalable data rates are supported that can be altered in line with subscribers’ needs, currently up to 3Mbit/s (subject to operator).

Support of Multiple Services

A range of applications, such as Internet access and telephony, can be supported via a single piece of CPE (subject to operator).

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 45

Disadvantages

Limited Coverage Limited to areas having a base station with line of sight to the subscriber’s premises or another system node if a mesh system is in operation.

Expert Installation Required

Reliability can be impacted if the system is not installed correctly.

Spectrum Scarcity at Lower Frequencies

Spectrum scarcity may restrict the maximum connection data rates configured for subscribers in certain areas.

Limited range at higher frequencies

As the frequency increases, there is a consequent reduction in the effective range of the signal

5.3.9 Case Study

Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council Challenge

Barrow Borough Council’s previous Internet access and email solutions were struggling to cope with ever increasing usage by council staff. Their 128kbit/s Internet connection serving 150 users was both expensive and slow at peak times. The email application used by 200 staff had become overloaded and vulnerable to failures. The council therefore needed a service that would improve efficiency and reliability but without increasing costs.

Solution Traditionally, only one telecoms supplier, BT, served Barrow-in-Furness. Recently, however, Your Communications has launched a service in the area based on FWA. Your Communications provides Barrow Borough Council with an FWA connection that provides ‘always-on’ Internet access at 1Mbit/s for multiple users as well as real-time email. Your Communications also hosts the council’s website. This whole service package has been provided for the same annual charge as the previous solution.

Benefits The FWA Broadband connection provides much faster Internet access and more efficient transmission of large emails for no extra cost. System reliability has improved significantly and the council is now better positioned to implement e-government.

FWA Issues The FWA antenna is discretely mounted within the clock tower on the Town Hall in accordance with local planning regulations. There was no difficulty in attaining a Line of Sight path to the nearest FWA base station half a mile away. To date there have been no issues with the radio link availability, even during heavy rain.

See also Section 5.4.10 for other case studies, predominantly WLAN, but including elements of FWA. Annex 3 includes a comprehensive list of known broadband wireless projects.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 46

5.3.10 Checklist

If you are considering purchasing a broadband service that is delivered over FWA:

♦ Check that the service provider has radio coverage in your area

♦ Carefully assess the services on offer – these differ significantly between service providers

♦ Find out whether the system has PMP or mesh topology, if mesh, note that this technology is not as established as PMP

♦ Ensure that a line of sight assessment is performed at an early stage

♦ Find out the operating frequency of the system, and check that your property is within the effective range of the local base station

♦ Determine whether planning permission or landlord consent will be required for the subscriber antenna installation on your property

♦ Check that the service provider will be able to meet your service availability requirements – not all operators provide guaranteed SLAs

♦ Check that the installation process conforms to best practice guidelines listed in Section 5.3.4.

5.4 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)

5.4.1 Overview

In the UK and internationally, regulations that prohibited commercial use of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands have been removed. This has allowed public WLAN systems to be deployed in the UK as a means of providing broadband connectivity. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) infrastructures were developed in the early 1990s, and initially used to provide localised substitution or extension for conventional wired LANs. They were typically deployed in special situations where wiring was problematic or not cost-effective such as in listed buildings, hospitals, warehouses, factories, exhibitions and temporary accommodation.

Standardisation of WLAN technology, competition, and large numbers of customers reduced its cost and made deployment easier. Users recognised its transportability benefits, and so WLAN was increasingly installed in offices and homes. Importantly, WLAN uses licence-exempt spectrum, and so simple systems can be quickly installed without the need to apply for an operating licence.

Over the past three years, use of WLANs has increased dramatically. Public WLAN systems are now being deployed across the US and Europe as a means for delivering wireless

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 47

broadband services to individuals within localised public area ‘hotspots’ within airports, railway stations, retail locations and hotels.

More recently WLAN technology has also been used to build public community broadband networks. With low start-up costs and simplicity of deployment, a high-performance LAN can be set up around a small community very quickly, providing users with Internet services as well as local access (e.g. allowing file sharing between multiple buildings in the same village). However, there can be a certain informality with these arrangements, inconsistent with rigorous business requirements. Any organisation relying on such community broadband networks needs to ensure that the network provider is commercially sound, has a sustainable business model, is well managed, and offers an appropriate level of service.

As spectrum for WLAN is finite and unlicensed, performance may deteriorate over time as usage increases, and as new users and service providers come on stream. Suppliers of separate WLAN services within the same geographic area share the same fixed spectrum bandwidth, and therefore can affect each other’s performance.

5.4.2 Application Characteristics

Public Hotspot

These are situated in public locations such as airports and coffee shops and are intended to provide high-performance broadband access to users in transit but temporarily resting. Access is achieved with a suitable handheld device (e.g. laptop or PDA) fitted with a WLAN interface, and payment is either by subscription or a one-off charge. Manufacturers and ISPs are developing the capability to “roam” between hotspots and 2.5G/3G networks.

Advantages of this type of broadband access include ease of set up, and nomadic connectivity at a higher speed than can be achieved with a fully mobile connection. The main drawback at present is limited coverage, though this is rapidly increasing.

A list of hotspots is maintained at www.zdnet.co.uk/news/specials/wifi-hotspots.

Community Broadband Schemes

Community broadband schemes can be established wherever connection to a backhaul or Wide Area Network can be set up. Consequently they can be set up practically anywhere in the UK and the target markets can be both business and domestic users.

Unlike public hotspots, community broadband schemes are used to provide a connection to users in a fixed location. Typically there will be one hub and several access points in a community in order to provide sufficient coverage (see Figure 5-2 for an example network). Community buildings such as schools, libraries, churches and village halls can be used to house the hub and provide the backhaul or WAN link. Business models for such networks are

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 48

very variable; for commercial use it is crucial to obtain service level guarantees and ensure that the Service Provider has a strong foundation and a sustainable product.

The advantages of community broadband schemes include rapid provision of broadband access to a community, plus easy addition of new users. However, coverage may be limited, and the network must be rigorously managed to ensure maintenance of expected or contracted performance and service levels as usage increases and more customers are added.

As with FWA, connection speeds can deteriorate as usage increases, both within the local wireless network, and through congestion in the link between the access point and the core network. Service providers should have analysis tools in place to check performance and other service parameters, enabling provision of additional capacity or other measures to maintain acceptable service levels.

Community Broadband websites are listed here: Community Broadband Schemes

5.4.3 Technical Profile

Network Design

A generic WLAN topology is illustrated below. The same structure can be used for both public hotspots and community networks.

Figure 5-2: WLAN Access Point arrangement

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 49

2.4GHz and 5GHz System Functionality Comparison

WLANs originally used 2.4GHz spectrum in Europe, and developments are continuing. From 2003, parts of the 5GHz spectrum are being made available for public data use, for both WLANs, and FWA. Functional differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz systems are described in Table 5-5 below; standards in Table 5-6.

2.4GHz (802.11, 802.11b, 802.11g) 5GHz (802.11a, HIPERLAN/2) Service Coverage

• Service available when in range of a local access point .

• User must typically be within 100m (inside) or 250m (outside) of access point

• Access points have only been deployed in a small number of areas to date.

• 5GHz Systems not yet in operation. 802.11a access points not authorised for outdoor use.

• Generally shorter range than 2.4GHz systems, therefore more access points will be required for given coverage (greater cost)

• No coverage as yet Effective Throughput

• Systems using 802.11b – max rate 5Mbit/s

• Systems using 802.11g – 20 to 30 Mbit/s• Typically 500kbit/s Internet connectivity

shared between users for hotspot systems

• Typically around 2Mbit/s connectivity shared between users for community networks

• Systems using 802.11a / 802.11h – 20 to 30Mbit/s

• Similar for systems using HIPERLAN/2 [Note that typical effective throughput is about half the nominal maximum physical throughput of 54Mbit/s]

Bandwidth • Limited bandwidth for expansion • 3 non-overlapping channels, 80 MHz

total bandwidth

• Much more bandwidth than 2.4GHz. • 12 non-overlapping channels, each with

20MHz of bandwidth Interference • Possible interference from cordless

phones, microwaves, Bluetooth and other WLANs.

• No regulation.

• Bandwidth release will ensure absence of interference to/from other services

• No regulation • Initially fewer 5GHz WLANs.

Compatibility • Large base of 2.4GHz equipment; virtually all existing access points and Network Interface Cards (NICs).

• Most 802.11b equipment can be used with earlier 802.11; similarly, most 802.11g will be able to be used with both.

• Be aware if compatibility is required with existing base.

• No technical compatibility with 2.4GHz systems, though multi-system chipsets and products are in development.

Price of equipment

• Generally low cost, competitive market, good selection from entry-level to advanced facility-rich multi-protocol products.

• Typically 30% more expensive than 2.4GHz, but expected to fall as products mature. Some differential likely to persist to reflect improved QoS of 5GHz systems

Security • Current products generally weak, though new ones will have improved security.

• New products will generally have enhanced security features

Table 5-5: 2.4GHz and 5GHz System Comparison

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 50

WLAN Standards

Current WLAN standards are shown in the following table.

WLAN Standard

Stds Body

Status Operating Frequency

Raw Throughput

User Data Through-put

802.11b IEEE Widely deployed, mature, the primary technical standard for current Public WLAN systems at 2.4GHz

2.4GHz 11Mbit/s ~5 Mbit/s

802.11g IEEE Finalisation due mid 2003, planned to replace 802.11b, although there will be interoperability i.e. an 802.11b PC card will work with a 802.11g access point, and vice-versa

2.4GHz 54Mbit/s 20-30 Mbit/s

802.11a IEEE Primary standard for WLAN systems at 5GHz Bands A and B. Adaptations (power and frequency controls) needed before 802.11a equipment can be used outdoors in the UK.

5GHz 54Mbit/s 20-30 Mbit/s

HiperLAN2 ETSI Nearing completion. Approved for use in the UK. Faces strong competition from 802.11a

5GHz 54Mbit/s 20-30 Mbit/s

Table 5-6: WLAN Standards

In addition to the current standards, several additional standards are being developed that will add functionality, rather than improve transmission speeds. These are shown below.

WLAN Standard

Purpose

802.11e Adds quality-of-service (QoS) features and multimedia support to the existing 802.11 standards. Closes the gap between 802.11a and HiperLAN/2, making the latter less likely to achieve significant adoption in Europe.

802.11f Enhancements to support roaming amongst different access points. 802.11h Enhancements introducing Transmission Power Control (TPC) and Dynamic Frequency

Selection (DFS) to reduce interference with radar devices. These aspects are required before systems can be operated outdoors at 5GHz.

802.11i Robust Security Network amendment. Provides an alternative to Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) with new encryption methods and authentication procedures.

802.11k Enhancements to improve the way in which radio resource measurements are reported. These will enable services such as roaming and coexistence to be managed from an external source.

Table 5-7: New standards under development

For further information regarding standards, please see:

• http://standards.ieee.org/wireless/ • http://portal.etsi.org/bran/kta/HiperLAN/HiperLAN2.asp

Coverage Restrictions

WLAN systems are inherently short range – typically 75-100m maximum reach within buildings, 250-300m outside (reducing to 30-50 and 50-100 respectively to achieve maximum

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 51

speed; connection speed reduces as distance increases). WLAN equipment takes account of signal strength and automatically sets speed such that a viable connection is maintained.

Indoor Systems WLAN systems do not necessarily need an unobstructed line of sight link if the range is short enough. For indoor WLAN systems, the Access Point can, therefore, be in a different room from the subscriber’s PC device. The WLAN signals can penetrate through typical plasterboard walls. However, denser materials such as metal or concrete can block the signal.

Outdoor Systems For outdoor systems, a small degree of blockage between the Access Point antenna and the subscriber’s antenna can be tolerated, although it is best to have an unobstructed link to maximise range and throughput.

Interference WLAN systems operate in unlicensed spectrum and can be set up anywhere without control. Neighbouring WLANs, and other devices (e.g. Bluetooth) using the same frequency, may interfere and reduce both effective range and throughput.

Roaming Several types of roaming are recognised in the WLAN context: (a) within a WLAN network; (b) between WLANs of different operators; (c), between a WLAN and a mobile network.

(a) and (b) are technically similar. WLANs take the form of cells radiating round an Access Point, and the standard permits several overlapping cells within a single WLAN network to extend the range. When a user moves from one cell to another, the device automatically locks on to the neighbouring Access Point, enabling seamless roaming (as with mobile cellular networks). Such roaming is also possible (case (b)) where enabled between cells of affiliated hotspot (or Community Broadband) operators. For example, users of the Megabeam service can roam on several partner networks.

Roaming between WLAN hotspots and mobile GPRS or 3G networks is theoretically possible if the subscriber has accounts with a hotspot and a mobile service operator (or one operator who provides both), and an appropriate multi-mode device interface. However, switching between networks is currently very much a manual process, and the subscriber will receive two bills.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 52

WLAN Security

Standards and products that underpin many WLANs incorporate security features, but hackers or indeed neighbours can use various techniques to intrude into WLAN networks, either to acquire information or simply to use a high-speed Internet connection free of charge. The equipment required to access an unprotected WLAN is readily available so it is essential that security measures be taken, consistent with the value of the information stored on the network, the services depending upon it and the perceived threat. Provided that appropriate measures are implemented as described below, security issues should not present any barriers to wireless LAN deployment.

Advice to Purchasers

• Procure WLAN equipment incorporating the most up-to-date security features: − WEP (WEP) 128-bit (or best available) encryption − Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) – available August 2003 − 802.11i WPA version 2) – availability expected in 2004

• Ensure equipment is upgradeable (e.g. by the use of flash memory) to incorporate enhanced security features as they are introduced.

• Specify access points (base stations) that support multiple standards 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a – as available; consistent with existing equipment and future plans.

• Choose products with selectable power levels, so that low power levels can be used to limit range – one of the most effective ways to thwart intruders.

Examples of basic good practice measures that may be implemented to minimise risk of intrusion and misuse include the following:

• Implement general security principles for secure transmission over insecure networks as described in Section 4.4.

• Use firewalls between wireless domains and secure networks • Disable default system identifiers and the default “broadcast” capability, to ensure that

all connecting devices are properly authenticated. • Change security keys regularly.

Various papers on the Internet discuss WLAN security; a recent example may be found at: www.dell.com/us/en/biz/topics/vectors_2001-wireless_security.htm

A UK Government Technical Note appears at: www.uniras.gov.uk/l1/l2/l3/tech_reports/NISCCTechnicalNote04.htm

Detailed dissertations on network security, including WLANs, may be found at the website of NIST, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/index.html; (document SP 800-48).

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 53

WLAN Security – Planned Developments

Authentication of end-user devices in 802.11b, referred to as WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), is based on ‘MAC address’, and ‘shared secret’. However, the former may be spoofed (forging a header to give the impression that the message has originated from an alternate legitimate source), and the latter can quite easily be identified using widely available hacker tools. This means that it is relatively easy to gain unauthorised access to some WLAN systems.

A major improvement is provided within 802.11g, offering the capability to use two-factor authentication via the RADIUS protocol, e.g. RSA Secure-ID token and password. Also, the capability to renegotiate a new encryption key on a regular basis during the course of a session will reduce the risk of eavesdropping.

Security developments in progress to address the inherent weaknesses of WEP include:

• WPA – Wi-Fi Protected Access, certified end-April 2003 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is expected to be incorporated in products from August 2003. WPA is an interim standard agreed by wireless vendors pending ratification of full 802.11i as described in the next paragraph. Firmware upgrades should be possible from WEP-enabled products.

• 802.11i – a new robust networking standard for WLANs, being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE – www.ieee.org), specifiying improvements to WLAN security with new encryption methods and authentication procedures. Currently in draft form, ratification is expected around mid-2004. Upgrade from current products is likely to involve hardware changes.

• Stronger encryption (up to 256-bit, applicable to all technologies).

5.4.4 WLAN Regulatory Profile

Unlike FWA systems, Public WLANs operate in licence-exempt spectrum. The status of these spectrums bands, as of April 2003, is summarised below.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 54

Frequency band designation

UK assignment

Assignment per operator

Availability Remarks

2.4GHz 2.4 – 2.4835 GHz

Operation allowed across the band.

Has been available for private WLAN systems since the early 1990s. Commercial public services allowed since July 2002.

Any 802.11b or 802.11g equipment may be used that meets UK technical requirements. It is not necessary to obtain a Wireless Telegraphy Act Licence for commercial use of this band, if the equipment used complies with Radio Interface Requirement IR2005 and the operator meets its obligations under the Telecommunications Act. Used for commercial Community Broadbandand Hotspot schemes. Some operators, such as Wireless Edge are using the band for FWA services.

5GHz Band A

5.15-5.35 GHz

Not applicable.

Commercial public services allowed from 12 February 2003.

Technical requirements set out in Interface Regulation (IR) 2006 – currently an interim version pending inclusion of requirement for DFS and TPC implementation. 802.11a devices will comply with current (interim) IR. 802.11hdevices will have DFS & TPC.

5GHz Band B

5.47 – 5.725 GHz

Not applicable.

Commercial public services allowed from 12 February 2003.

See above.

www.radio.gov.uk/topics/broadband 1 May 2003

Table 5-8: WLAN Spectrum Regulatory Status (source: Radiocommunications Agency)

Individual Public WLAN subscribers do not need licences to operate the customer equipment.

A detailed description of the spectrum and licensing environment for Public WLAN is presented on the website of the Radiocommunications Agency; see http://www.radio.gov.uk/

5.4.5 Planning Considerations

Fixed antennas are usually required at the subscriber’s property in order to connect into Community Schemes.

For 2.4GHz systems, these antennas are relatively small. In some cases, antennas can be mounted internally within the building, and so planning permission is not required, however, properties located further from the local Access Point may require an externally mounted antenna, which can be a flat plate antenna, approximately 30cm square. Discussions with planning authorities, pre-installation, should avoid the need for planning permission.

For 5GHz systems, the antennas can be mounted externally or internally depending on the services in the band (IR2006). Again, these antennas should be quite unobtrusive, therefore planning permission should not be required.

Typical subscriber WLAN antennas are shown below.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 55

2.4GHz 5GHz

Internal antenna Dimensions: 12cm x 12cm

External antenna Dimensions: 30cm x 30cm

Figure 5-3: Typical WLAN Antennas

5.4.6 Health and Safety Issues

As Public WLAN systems have only recently emerged in the UK, the voicing of concerns with regard to the possible associated health risks has been limited.

Power Output

The output power of Access Points can typically range up to 100mW. The output power of client adaptors (the card in the PC) can also range up to 100mW. In comparison, GSM base stations typically transmit at up to 20Watts (output 200× greater) and mobiles can transmit up to 2 Watts (though average handset power is considerably lower due to transmitting in certain “time slots”).

As the output power of WLANs is very low and the equipment is not held directly against the head of the user, there should be very little exposure to radio wave energy. This was verified in a study undertaken by the NRPB for OGC which found that at certain locations there was greater background radio intrusion from television and radio transmission than from the access points. However, it is advisable that all WLAN equipment is kept at least 30cm away from the head of the user.26

There is no reason to suspect that the figures delivered by the NRPB would be affected by increasing the number of access points within a building as the signal strength of each access point is not significant once the detecting equipment was more than 15cm away27.

26 Wireless networking in schools – Technology Colleges Trust, 2002 http://www.becta.org.uk/news/wireless_networks/docs/wire.pdf 27 OGC: Wireless Office Project

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 56

The WLAN Association (WLANA), a non-profit educational trade association, has published a research paper entitled ‘Do Wireless LANs Pose a Health Risk to the Consumer?’

The research paper concludes:

“The interpretation of over four decades of research in this area has led to a scientific consensus on the safety of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields. This consensus is reflected in the recommendations and standards developed by expert committees such as NCRP Scientific Committee 53, IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 28, IRPA/INIRC and NRPB. Manufacturers of Wireless Networking products design their products to operate within the guidelines of these standards and recommendations and, therefore, are considered safe.”

To view this paper in full, please refer to the WLANA website (http://www.wlana.org/).

Interference with other devices

Early WLAN (802.11b-based) devices could interfere with other similar devices, notably those using Bluetooth28, thereby affecting functionality of the latter and potentially interrupting communication. This would be a problem if safety critical systems were using the network (e.g. in health-sensitive environments such as hospitals) Operators of safety critical systems should take specialist advice before considering using wireless networking.

28 Bluetooth is a short-distance (up to 100m) wireless LAN implementation optimised for communication between PCs and peripherals, mobile phones, PDAs, headsets, hi-fi components etc – to eliminate wiring between such devices. It operates at the same frequency as early wireless LANs – 2.4GHz.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 57

5.4.7 User Costs

The structure of typical tariff plans is illustrated below.

Type Summary Hotspot Tariff structures for public hotspot access are still evolving. Two schemes are

typically offered:

• Subscription schemes – the user pays a fixed amount every month, which includes an initial allowance for minutes of access. Additional minutes beyond the allowance are then charged for. Some providers will offer unlimited access for a fixed amount, or free access in certain locations

• Prepay schemes – the user purchases blocks of access time, e.g. 1 hour of usage within a 24-hour period

Some providers may charge an initial set-up fee, whereas others do not. Users will need to either purchase or rent a WLAN card for the PC device. However, these now typically cost less than £100.

Community Network

Tariff structures for community networks are more complex. A variety of packages are typically offered, geared towards the needs of different user groups. Typically, there are the following packages:

• Basic Residential Package for a typical home • Advanced Residential Package for Small Office / Home Office usage • Business Packages.

There is usually an initial set-up fee and monthly usage fees. Factors that will affect the monthly usage fees include:

• Maximum allowed data rate • Allowed rate for services requiring low contention (e.g. streaming video) • Maximum Megabytes of usage per month • Number of email accounts assigned by the service provider • Number of fixed IP addresses assigned by the service provider • Minimum guaranteed bandwidth on the connection into the Internet (though

note that absolute guarantees cannot be provided on a public WLAN.) .

Table 5-9: Tariff Structures

For details of typical prices, please see Section 7

5.4.8 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience

Public WLAN operators cannot guarantee a particular amount of bandwidth per user or specify an availability level for the connection, due to the unlicensed nature of these systems. At present, there are no quality of service mechanisms incorporated in the 802.11b WLAN standard. This has the following impact:

Public hotspots For access via public hotspots, this is not such a major issue. The business traveller is usually passing through a location, and so any problem with service is likely to be a temporary inconvenience.

Community Networks For access via community networks, this can be more of an issue.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 58

Public sector organisations should be wary of running business-critical applications over a public WLAN: another user could dominate the capacity, or another WLAN could greatly reduce the system throughput. The spectrum is licence-exempt, therefore if an interference source arises that affects the performance of the Community Scheme, the Radiocommunications Agency has limited and possibly no authority to deal with the problem.

5.4.9 Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of Public WLAN are summarised below.

Advantages

Rural Connectivity Offers a very effective means of interconnecting a small community, and when combined with a backhaul link such as satellite, provides the community with broadband connection to the Internet. This can be economic in areas where ADSL and cable connectivity are not available.

High Bandwidth The data transfer speeds of WLAN technology mean that large files, including video and audio files, can be downloaded quickly.

Flexibility Public hotspots allow users to get information when in a public place, away from a wire line connection.

Disadvantages

Limited Coverage Service is limited to those areas where there are public hotspots or community schemes with suitable ISP connections (however the infrastructure is rapidly becoming more widely deployed)

No Service Guarantees

Public WLAN operators cannot guarantee a particular amount of bandwidth per user or specify an availability level for the connection.

Service May Deteriorate

Service is likely to deteriorate as more subscribers come on-line, use the service more often with richer content; or as additional service providers appear.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 59

5.4.10 Case Studies

Milton Keynes Schools.net Project http://devel.mkschools.net www.networksbywireless.co.uk Background In 2001 Milton Keynes LEA required a high-speed broadband network, in line with the Government’s

initiative to enable each student to have a connection to the Internet and access to online educational resources by 2005. This led to the MKSchools.net project, with the broadened objective of connecting local schools, colleges and libraries to the Internet to enable Milton Keynes to become an interactive online community. Annual funding was received from the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) through membership of the East of England Broadband Consortium (E2B)

Solution In Phase 1, Networks by Wireless, with partners Cable and Wireless, designed, tested and implemented the wireless backbone and connection of 15 schools. A routed 34Mbit/s backbone was installed using licensed radio technology in a resilient ring to connect five core sites – high points with the best lines of sight to the greatest number of schools, colleges and libraries. At each core site, up to three 11Mbit/s 2.4Ghz licence-exempt access points were located. In Phase 2, 17 more schools were connected. Phase 3, completed April 2003, linked 30 more schools with a mix of wireless, DSL and leased lines, and Phase 4 will extend the backbone and link four more schools. Further extensions are planned. In the diagram below, the 34Mbit/s FWA backbone is shown as a heavy green polygon at the centre; the triangles indicate WLAN coverage areas, and the squares are schools.

Benefits At approximately £450,000 in total (for Phases 1 and 2), MKSchools.net considers its wireless network

very cost effective; ownership of its network enables Milton Keynes LEA to avoid costly recurring line rental or service charges. Fast speeds are provided; the 34Mbit/s backbone and 11Mbit/s wireless LAN access networks enable up to 4Mbit/s last-mile connections to each school, college or library. The Council plans to extend the network to SMEs and private households, seeking expert advice on the issues around aggregation and sharing of services between the public and private sectors. There are similar networks at Southend and Thurrock in Essex, including 155Mbit/s wireless backbones.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 60

Cambridge Ring – Invisible Networks Organisation Invisible Networks (www.invisible.uk.net) provides WLAN services in three areas around

Cambridge, including the Cambridge Ring West (www.crw.uk.net) and Cambridge Ring East (www.carnet.uk.net).

Solution Trigger levels are set for communities, selected based on a demographic profile and demand within the community. They then select a hub village, plot the radio coverage, locate a suitable site for a hub and install a leased line into the hub of at least 2Mbit/s. The leased line provides the backhaul to the backbone. In some cases this is provided by microwave links rather than a standard BT or cable company leased line. In parallel with organising the backhaul, Invisible Networks also establishes a number of access points around each village/town. Each access point has an omni-directional antenna mounted at roof height and provides coverage within a range of about 200m, linked back to the hub node with a wireless link. Some access points also act as relay nodes for nodes too far away from the hub node to connect directly.

A Typical Village network layout

Benefits This service provides a connection to the local community network and to the Internet that, when compared to a normal dial-up service, is permanently connected and fast. Invisible Networks also claim that this alternative network model for Community Networks allows broadband to be rolled out to a significant part of this un-served population at considerably lower cost than the cable or ADSL alternatives.

Issues Invisible Networks quotes the following amongst their ‘small print’, although precise details vary depending upon the exact service purchased:

“Although this service provides fast access to the Internet and to the Community network, the service does not guarantee a particular amount of bandwidth per user; the service is NOT intended to be a replacement for a leased line. Users must not make excessive use of the service to the detriment of other users. Network Security remains [the customers] responsibility at all times and we recommend that you take action to prevent unauthorised access. We have a range of security options available that can be purchased at the same time as your connection.”

Annex 3 includes a comprehensive list of known broadband wireless projects.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 61

5.4.11 Checklist

If you are considering purchasing a broadband service delivered over a public WLAN Community Scheme:

♦ Check whether a community network is operating in your area

♦ Check that your property is within the effective range of the local Access Point or that an access point can be provided

♦ Determine whether planning permission or landlord consent will be required for the subscriber antenna installation on your property (this is unlikely)

♦ Be aware of the potential security issues related to this technology and the need for suitable security measures (e.g. VPN), and the need to ensure that equipment can be upgraded to incorporate enhanced standards

♦ Be aware that the system operates in 2.4GHz licence-exempt spectrum with no control over new market entrants in the same area, possibly leading to bandwidth congestion

♦ Be aware that the air-interface is a shared, contended resource, and so service performance may change over time, therefore any service level agreements will need careful monitoring to ensure continuing conformance

♦ Be aware that restrictions may apply to the applications that can be run over the system (e.g. video streaming)

♦ Note that current 802.11b technology may be replaced by 802.11g technology in the next few years (although existing 802.11b user equipment should operate on new 802.11g access points)

♦ Note that new systems operating at 5GHz are likely to appear this year, supporting higher data rates; ideally, new equipment should support previous standards as well as new ones for backwards compatibility (where required).

5.5 Higher Bandwidth Mobile Access

5.5.1 Overview

Mobile telephony based upon national cellular networks has been available to business and domestic consumers since the 1980s. The technology has been widely adopted; the latest penetration figures for cellular mobile showing that over 80% of the UK population owns a mobile phone. Enhancements to the original GSM standards and the advent of third generation (3G) technologies have resulted in terrestrial cellular networks that can support high data rate connections.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 62

Predictions are that service providers will earn an increasing proportion of revenues from data services over the next few years. As an example of this, mmO2, the company offering services in the UK under the O2, brand announced that its revenue from data services as a portion of total service revenues, was 17% in the last quarter of 200229; and Vodafone reported that for the year ended 31 March 2002, data revenues were 11% of total service revenues30.

Three higher-bandwidth mobile systems are available in the UK:

• High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD) • General Packet Radio System (GPRS) • Third Generation (3G).

This report will describe these systems and provide insight into their suitability to provide high bandwidth connections.

5.5.2 Application Characteristics

The application characteristics of GPRS, HSCSD and 3G mobile systems are summarised in Table 5-10 below.

System HSCSD GPRS 3G Typical Applications

High-speed dial-up for: • Internet and Intranet

access • File transfer • Real-time audio and

low-rate video streaming

Always-on IP connection for: • Access to company

email • Full Internet access • Secure access to

company LAN.

As GPRS, plus: • Person-to-person video calls • Video clips

Target Markets

• Business and domestic

• Business and domestic

• Business and domestic

Service Coverage

• Service available across most of the UK, but only provided by Orange.

• Service available across most of the UK.

• Initially, coverage for advanced applications (e.g. video calls) will only be available in selected areas, typically urban conurbations and major roads and rail lines

• Coverage will expand as 3G rollout progresses.

Effective Throughput

• Theoretically, can deliver peak data rates up to 57.6kbit/s

• Commercial reality is 28.8kbit/s.

• Theoretically, can deliver peak data rates up to 115kbit/s

• Commercial reality is nearer 43-56kbit/s.

• Theoretically, can deliver peak data rates up to 2Mbit/s over very short range

• Initially likely to be 128kbit/s downlink and 64kbit/s uplink.

Table 5-10: Application Characteristics – Higher Bandwidth Mobile

29 Source: http://www.mmo2.com/docs/media. Data includes low and high-speed data, including SMS. 30 http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/vodafone_20F.pdf. Data includes SMS, data and internet services, and GPRS

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 63

5.5.3 Technical Profile converge

Network Design and Standards

Mobile networks are highly sophisticated and highly standardised systems. The networks comprise a series of base stations, each of which is ultimately connected to a base station controller via a backhaul link. Each base station provides coverage of a geographic area or ‘cell’, a simple version of this topology can be seen in the following diagram.

Figure 5-4: Schematic Mobile Telephony Network

An overview of the three higher bandwidth technologies used in the UK is shown below.

System Overview HSCSD • HSCSD is an enhancement to the basic GSM 9.6kbit/s circuit switched data

service, using two timeslots to provide up to a 28.8kbit/s channel for data • Employs a channel-coding scheme that increase channel bit rate from

9.6kbit/s to 14.4kbit/s • Dedicated bandwidth

GPRS

• A packet-switched data bearer service allowing many users to share bandwidth in a GSM network cell

• Uses a separate, new core packet network but makes use of the existing GSM air interface, using between one and eight radio channels (time slots) shared by voice and data users

• GPRS packet-based protocols are optimised for short, bursty traffic. • Service is deployed in an asymmetric mode, that is, bandwidth to the terminal

is greater than bandwidth to the network.

3G • Uses different radio spectrum to GSM networks around 2GHz • Infrastructure uses W-CDMA on air interface and IP in the core • New types of multi-media devices supporting novel applications

Table 5-11: Technical overview – Higher Bandwidth Mobile

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 64

Mobile Wireless Standards

The standards to which each higher bandwidth mobile technology must conform are outlined below.

System Standards HSCSD • Defined within the GSM set of specifications

• From a user perspective, GSM standards are highly robust and there are no interoperability issues

GPRS • As with HCSCD, defined within the GSM set of specifications 3G • Defined within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards.

3GPP is a collaboration agreement that was established in 1998 and brings together a number of telecommunications standards bodies that are known as “Organisational Partners” to develop global technical standards for 3G mobile systems. The current Organisational Partners are ARIB, CWTS, ETSI, T1, TTA, and TTC. 3GPP standards are advanced, but still being finalised

• Transferring from one 3G-service provider to another may mean that new mobile devices need to be purchased.

Table 5-12: Standards for higher bandwidth mobile

UMTS Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode is covered in Future Developments Section 5.8.2.

Coverage Restrictions

The four GSM networks cover nearly all of the populated areas in the UK. The ‘3’ 3G network is still being built and at present coverage is limited to some urban areas. More detailed information is available on the websites of the network operators. Assuming that the user is in an area covered by the relevant network, there are few service restrictions associated with higher bandwidth mobile systems. However, it should be noted that connection rates could be restricted in the following situations:

At Cell Edge When the user is at the edge of coverage of a cell, the signal strength between network and handset can fall to a level such that increased errors occur on the radio connection, and the connection throughput can decrease as a result. Operating at the edge of a cell also increases the strength of the signal produced by the handset and causes a consequent acceleration of battery drainage.

Inside Large Buildings & Below Ground

Again, the signal strength is reduced between network and mobile causing the connection throughput to decrease.

In Busy Cells In a busy cell, the fixed number of radio channels has to be shared amongst many users. As a result, the resources applied to a single user may be restricted, causing the connection rate to decrease.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 65

Mobile Security

Unlike other wireless technologies (e.g. WLANs) where an intruder can easily monitor radio communications using commercial subscriber equipment, eavesdropping on a GSM (including GPRS and HSCSD) or 3G-radio signal requires more sophisticated equipment.

At present within the UK, most higher bandwidth mobile data solutions are based on GPRS.

A range of security measures is either implemented as standard, or otherwise available to the user. These are:

SIM The Security Identity Module (SIM) card is the small electronic card inserted into the mobile device that contains the user’s unique identification information. A user cannot gain access to network services (voice and data) without a valid SIM card.

Network Password Some GPRS network providers provide an additional level of authentication that may be invoked between the user and the GPRS network. For instance, the network can request that the user enter a password. This additional level of authentication confirms that an authorised user is using the SIM.

Encryption Once a mobile has been authenticated, the next step is to produce an encryption key. The encryption key should be 64 bit encryption (minimum), but ideally would be 128bit encryption, using for example 3DES. The user has to arrange this facility with the network operator when initially setting up the service. Encryption then takes place between the mobile device and Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), based on a code stored in the Home Location Register (HLR).

VPN Establishment Information exchanges within a GPRS network are not necessarily controlled by a firewall, and information exchanges within the GPRS network provider’s fixed IP network are also not normally encrypted.

Furthermore, there are no guarantees concerning the intermediate networks between the mobile device and the ‘end point’, which may be the user’s company network, or an application server on the Internet.

As a result, there is a requirement for strongly authenticated VPNs to be established between the mobile device and the end-point.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 66

WAP Gateway Protection

Applications, particularly on WAP-enabled mobile telephones, establish secure sessions between the mobile device and the application server on the Internet. A secure ‘wireless transport layer security’ session is established between the mobile device and the WAP gateway, hosted on the GPRS network. The WAP gateway subsequently establishes an SSL session between itself and the application server on the Internet. At the WAP gateway information/data is not encrypted, and this may be a concern should the WAP gateway be vulnerable.

If using WAP, the service user should discuss this issue with the network operator.

3G networks transport data in a similar manner to GPRS networks, and so the security issues will be common to the two systems.

HSCSD networks set up ‘point-to-point’ connections from the mobile user to a central host, and so in this case the security issues will be similar to dial-up access from fixed telephony lines. A VPN is required to ensure security over intermediate networks.

5.5.4 Mobile Regulatory Profile

UK Spectrum and Licensing Environment

The spectrum for mobile systems is highly regulated, as illustrated below:

Frequency Band Licences Awarded 900MHz (GSM) Licences held by the organisations operating the O2 and Vodafone brands 1800MHz (GSM) Licences held by the organisations operating the O2, Orange, T-Mobile and

Vodafone brands 2GHz (3G) Licences held by the organisations operating the 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and

Vodafone brands

Table 5-13: Spectrum licensing

Whilst operators need a spectrum licence, service users do not need any form of licence, as individual consumer mobile devices are authorised under the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No.74).

A detailed description of the spectrum and licensing environment for mobile systems is presented on the website of the Radiocommunications Agency; see http://www.radio.gov.uk/

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 67

5.5.5 User Costs

In contrast with other wireless access services, almost all mobile phone usage is charged on a per minute or per Mbyte basis. Tariff structures for mobile data services are complex and change frequently. Further details are available from the websites of the service providers.

5.5.6 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience

Operators do not quote or guarantee any specific availability level; however there is a very high density of base station sites in the UK, therefore outage of one particular base station site does not normally disrupt service.

Conditions that may result in degraded service include:

High User Activity High user activity can cause call blocking, for example during major public events. These are usually isolated, localised occurrences.

Central System Failures

Very occasionally a major central network facility such as the HLR (Home Location Register) will fail or lose some capacity. This can impair network availability for some users (e.g. in a given area, or within certain number ranges).

Adverse Weather Adverse weather, such as major storms, can cause multiple base station site failure. These events can sometimes last for a few of days but are usually localised.

External Factors External factors such as physical obstructions, atmospheric conditions, other causes of radio interference, and faults in other telecommunication networks can also impact service.

3G networks will not have such a high density of base stations during the initial years of operation and the technology is not as mature as GSM. Therefore, the availability of these networks is not likely to match GSM for several years.

5.5.7 Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of GPRS, HSCSD and 3G systems are summarised below.

Advantages

Mobility HSCSD and GPRS systems allow users to connect to their organisation’s IT network from most areas of the UK while on the move (note that 3G coverage is still being rolled out – see operator

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 68

websites listed in Section 6).

Flexibility Mobile data solutions are relatively straightforward to implement, with many ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions available.

Improving Capabilities

Speeds are acceptable for remote access to most standard office applications, such as email access.

Disadvantages

Service Charges Charges are such that GPRS, HSCSD and 3G systems are much more expensive than alternative fixed access services for permanent broadband connections to the Internet.

No Service Guarantees

Network throughput and reliability will vary depending on the capabilities of the network, the number of other users in the same cell and the surrounding radio environment.

5.5.8 Checklist

If you are considering using HSCSD, GPRS or 3G mobile systems for wireless broadband connectivity:

♦ Be aware that these systems are intended for intermittent use by mobile users, not permanent connectivity for residential or office locations

♦ Note that typical costs are £1 per Mbyte of data transfer

♦ Ensure that coverage will be available at all key locations where you need it.

5.6 Broadband Satellite Access

5.6.1 Overview

Satellite systems have been used for many years to broadcast television and radio signals, and to provide specialist communications services. However, the cost of using such systems for telecommunications limited their appeal to a small group of users who could justify the expense.

Subsequent technical advances have resulted in satellite systems that can provide relatively affordable, always-on, broadband Internet. Major telecoms operators are promoting the service and various agencies are providing financial assistance to aid take-up in rural areas. As a result broadband via satellite is becoming a feasible option for many organisations.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 69

5.6.2 Application Characteristics

Current satellite systems include both one-way and two-way variants. For one-way systems, the return path is typically provided via the PSTN. Key characteristics of broadband satellite systems are summarised below.

One-Way Two-Way Typical Applications

• Internet content download (pull service).

• IP streaming and IP multicast file delivery (push services).

• Always-on Internet access. • Remote access to corporate IT

systems • Monitoring of remote sites.

Target Markets • Remote business users and high-end consumer users.

• Remote small and medium sized businesses.

Service Coverage • Service available across the whole of the UK.

• Service available across the whole of the UK.

Effective Throughput

• ASTRA-NET Internet content download can operate up to 768kbit/s for residential users, with higher data rates for professional users.

• ASTRA-NET IP Streaming Service download bandwidth options range from 64kbit/s to 6Mbit/s.

• Eutelsat Internet content download can burst up to 2Mbit/s.

• Upload typically at PSTN rates.

• Aramiska offers speeds of up to 2048Mbit/s downstream and up to 512kbit/s upstream.

• Eutelsat’s IP Connect service offers symmetric or asymmetric speeds of up to 40Mbit/s.

• Many other packages are available, typically offering a maximum. downstream speed of 500kbit/s and an upstream of 120kbit/s.

Table 5-14: Application Characteristics

Due to latency issues, satellite systems are not suited to certain real-time applications (see ‘Quality Issues’ in Section 5.6.6).

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 70

5.6.3 Technical Profile

Network Design

One-Way • The subscriber requires a small satellite dish aligned to the satellite. The dish is connected to a PC

fitted with a DVB PC receiver card. • A standard modem or ISDN connection is used to contact the subscriber’s chosen ISP (return path).

Two-Way • Uses a ‘two way’ VSAT satellite dish (70cm x 90cm) which transmits and receives data at high

speed to and from a satellite. • Satellite communicates with ground satellite hub which in turn links to the Internet. • No PSTN/ISDN return path connection required.

Figure 5-5: Satellite Operation – Design summary

Satellite Orbit Types

Satellites can orbit the earth in a number of ways, and this fundamentally influences the services that can be supported:

Little LEO A non-geostationary satellite that operates low in Low Earth Orbit, providing mainly mobile data services. E.g. Orbcomm.

Big LEO A non-geostationary satellite, which operates in a “higher” in Low Earth Orbit, providing data and voice services. This type of satellite provides many of the ‘global mobile phone’ services. They are located 700km-1,500km from the Earth, e.g. Iridium, Globalstar.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 71

MEO A non-geostationary satellite that operates in Medium Earth Orbit, again providing mobile telephony services. These satellites have also been proposed to be used as part of new global mobile telephone system. They would orbit at around 10,000km from the Earth. The original scheme of the company ICO is an example.

GEO Geostationary satellites occupy an orbital position 36,000 km above the earth, and remain in an apparently stationary position relative to the Earth’s surface (they orbit the Earth at one orbit per day). The world’s major existing telecommunications and broadcasting satellites fall into this category; e.g. Astra, Eutelsat, Thuyara, Inmarsat.

All satellite broadband services are currently delivered using geostationary satellites.

Satellite Standards

Standards Summary – Overview One-Way

• The ASTRA-NET platform and the Eutelsat platform both transmit the Internet Protocol (IP) over satellite using the DVB European standard for digital TV.

Two-Way • The Eutelsat platform uses the DVB-RCS (Digital Video Broadcast/Return Channel System).

DVB/RCS is a standard that specifies a satellite terminal that supports a two-way DVB satellite system.

Table 5-15: Summary of standards for satellite operation

Coverage Restrictions

Service can be provided to virtually any location in the UK. The satellite dish must have a clear and unobstructed view of the sky to the south. Regulatory bodies, as explained in the planning requirements section below, impose some placement restrictions on two-way VSAT satellite dishes.

Satellite Security

General security considerations apply to Satellite as described in Section 4.4.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 72

5.6.4 Satellite Regulatory Profile

UK Spectrum and Licensing Environment

The receive-only satellite terminals (e.g. a dish) used on one-way systems do not require a licence.

The transmit terminals used in two-way systems must be registered on a network licence with the RA. In July 2002, RA introduced a ‘lighter-touch’ administrative regime. Service Providers or Satellite Operators holding a Network Licence are able to register any number of small transmitting satellite terminals using an on-line site-clearance and registration system known as ‘SatClear’, which went live at the end of January 2003 (see http://www.radio.gov.uk/topics/ebusiness/satclear/satclear.htm).

The Service Provider will make a request to the RA for the approval of a licence to operate the satellite service at a new user’s site. The RA will respond, with either an Approve, Deferred or Rejected status.

More details are provided on the website of the Radiocommunications Agency; see http://www.radio.gov.uk/.

5.6.5 User Costs

There are many service providers offering satellite broadband in the UK, and thus many tariff plans. In general, customers will need to pay for:

• Equipment • Installation • Ongoing monthly service fee.

The service price will vary according to:

• The service procured • Peak throughput • The size, power level, and functionality of the user equipment • The complexity of satellite dish installation • The contract length.

It should be noted that some government agencies are offering grants for specific types of terminal equipment in rural areas.

Fees for one-way systems are significantly lower than for two-way systems. For certain applications, a one-way solution may suffice.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 73

For details of typical user prices, please see Section 7.

5.6.6 Quality Issues: Availability, Reliability, Resilience

Satellite systems have good, but not excellent, availability. For example, one ISP offering broadband satellite, BT Openworld, states that its Business Satellite Service will provide over 99.5% service availability. Another, Aramiska, claims to offer 99.7%.

The equipment requires communication with a geostationary satellite. If the path between the dish and the satellite is blocked after installation, service will be interrupted. Factors that can cause difficulties include heavy precipitation or fog; growth of foliage into the line of sight; and movement of the position of the dish. A further factor is that twice a year (near the equinox), the sun moves behind the geostationary satellite (as viewed by the CPE) and may disrupt or degrade the signal for a few minutes.

Long distance satellite communications cause a slight delay (or latency) in transmission (minimum delay 750ms31). Latency brings about the following issues:

Disruptive to real-time applications

Real-time two-way applications are disrupted by delays in transmission. Applications such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP), interactive games, video conferencing and PC remote control are not suited to transmission over satellite systems.

Remedies affect certain applications

Satellite systems accelerate certain protocols to mask the effect of this delay. Some applications cannot use this feature and may operate at low speed only (e.g. secure VPNs).

5.6.7 Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of broadband satellite are summarised below.

Advantages

Universal reach Services are available across virtually the whole of the UK.

Improving Capabilities

New two-way systems offer full always-on broadband connectivity.

Disadvantages

Limitations on Latency means that satellite systems are not suited to certain real-

31 BT Openworld

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 74

Applications time applications.

Size of Satellite Dish Planning permission may be required for the satellite dish.

High Equipment Costs Relatively high start-up costs compared to other broadband connectivity methods (although assistance grants may be available).

Relatively High Monthly Fees

Ongoing monthly service fees are typically higher than other broadband access media.

Limitations on capacity

The number of satellites in orbit limits the bandwidth available. The current capacity is not sufficient for satellite to be a mass-market technology for the delivery of broadband.

Vulnerability to malicious disruption

The satellite signal can be jammed from both inside and outside of the UK.

5.6.8 Checklist

If you are considering purchasing a broadband service that is delivered over satellite:

♦ Check whether your particular applications are suited to transmission over satellite systems.

♦ Carefully assess the services on offer – these differ significantly between service providers.

♦ Determine whether planning permission or landlord consent will be required for the satellite antenna installation on your property.

♦ Check that the service provider will be able to meet your service availability requirements.

5.7 Other Wireless Infrastructures

5.7.1 Free Space Optics

Free Space Optics use a narrow beam of infrared light (from a laser or diode) to carry the signals on a point-to-point basis. This can be used either for backhaul or as a local loop. There is no requirement for a spectrum licence, and as light is used (usually at a frequency of 194 or 375THz), very high bandwidths are available. Consequently, much higher connection speeds can be achieved than with other wireless technologies – up to 2Gbit/s according to one service provider. Commercial offerings have a maximum range of a few kilometres, and, as with all high frequency systems, a line of sight is required between the transmitting and receiving devices. An inherent drawback with Free Space Optics is that the signal can be degraded by

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 75

dust or fog, and the narrow beam means that movement of the transmitter/receiver telescopes (or the buildings to which they are attached) can render the system inoperable.

5.7.2 Millimetre Wave

Millimetre Wave technology operates in the 30-300GHz frequency band, although a commonly used frequency within this band is 60GHz. It is similar to free space optics, and can be used as a local loop or as a (short) backhaul link.

A line of sight is required, and a characteristic of this frequency is that oxygen atmospheric absorption degrades the signal over relatively short distances (up to 1.5km).

Millimetre Wave can be used with Free Space Optics to provide a hybrid solution to overcome the respective problems of both technologies. A Free Space Optic connection is affected by fog but not significantly by heavy rain, whereas a 60GHz Millimetre Wave connection is affected by heavy rain but not by fog. An experiment conducted to test the effectiveness of such solutions found that error free operation was achieved for 155Mbit/s connections in a 470m radius.

5.8 Future Developments

Wireless technology is expected to continue to evolve at rapid pace. Several developments that are likely to influence broadband services provision in the UK over the next two to three years are summarised below.

5.8.1 40GHz Fixed Wireless Access

The RA has held discussions with a range of interested companies on the scope for developing the 40.5 to 43.5GHz band for multimedia wireless systems:

Applications 40GHz FWA has the capacity to deliver very high bandwidth, sufficient to support a number of broadcast services as well as high-capacity, two-way telecommunication links such as video on demand and video conferencing.

Technology Overview Radio technology at this relatively high frequency is sophisticated and therefore expensive. Several manufacturers are developing 40GHz systems, and in many cases these are adaptations of their 26 / 28GHz FWA systems. Systems are based on both point to multipoint and mesh topologies. However, radio link lengths will be limited to only one or two kilometres.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 76

Positioning 40GHz FWA services are termed ‘wireless fibre’, and thus the technology could be viewed as an alternative to fibre optic cable deployment.

Timing According to the RA, the market for ‘wireless fibre’ services in the UK is not likely to develop with the next two years. Therefore the RA does not propose to licence the band until 2005, except possibly for commercial trial licences.

More Information For more information on 40GHz FWA, see http://www.radio.gov.uk/topics/broadband/index.htm

5.8.2 UMTS TDD Mode

As part of the work of 3GPP, standards are currently being defined for UMTS Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode operation that will enable always-on, packet-based mobile data connections, initially up to 384kbit/s:

Applications Advanced mobile data services for users on the move; broadband ADSL-like services to fixed locations.

Technology Overview UMTS, the European version of 3G mobile technology, is based on two duplexing modes: Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) and Time Division Duplexing (TDD). While the FDD mode provides larger coverage with full mobility, the TDD mode provides faster data speeds in denser areas. Initial 3G services, such as voice calls and video calls, will use FDD. However, it is envisioned that TDD will be used for high bandwidth data applications such as Internet access. TDD spectrum is unpaired, and so it is suited to ‘asymmetric’ applications where the user receives more than they transmit (e.g web browsing). Spectrum for TDD mode operation is licensed to four of the five UK 3G operators (T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and Hutchison 3G).

Positioning TDD mode services will complement FDD mode services. However, TDD mode services can also be deployed to fixed locations, and so will be an alternative to lower-frequency FWA.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 77

Timing Services are likely to appear in 2003 / 2004

More Information For more information on UMTS TDD, please see: http://www.3gpp.org/TB/RAN/ToR.htm

5.8.3 WirelessMAN

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sought to make broadband wireless access more widely available by developing IEEE Standard 802.16, which specifies the WirelessMAN Air Interface for wireless metropolitan area networks:

Applications IEEE P802.16 is a wireless standard that aims to support ‘last mile’ connections for

• Data • Voice • Video distribution • Real-time videoconferencing.

Target markets are business and residential customers, as well as backhaul for local WLAN systems.

Technology Overview IEEE P802.16 is planned to operate between 10 and 66GHz. An amendment, P802.16a, has been defined for operation between 2 and 11GHz in licensed and license-exempt spectrum. The architecture is similar to that of Point to Multipoint FWA.

Compared to an 802.11b WLAN, 802.16 based WirelessMAN has the following characteristics:

• Multimedia QoS, not only contention-based • Many more users • Much higher data rates • Much longer distances.

A group called the WiMAX Forum will be co-ordinating interoperability testing.

Positioning IEEE802.16 aims to provide wide area, broadband links between static devices. In effect, the standard is an alternate type of FWA system.

Timing Services are likely to appear late 2003 / early 2004

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 78

More Information For more information on IEEE 802.16, please see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/16/index.html

5.8.4 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA)

Over the next two years, the IEEE plans to develop a standard – IEEE P802.20 – that will provide connections at data rates above 1 Mbit/s for mobile users at vehicular speeds to 250km/hr:

Applications IEEE P802.20 aims to deliver ubiquitous mobile broadband networking, supporting the transfer of large amounts of data in real time via the Internet and intranets to mobile users within metropolitan area networks.

Technology Overview IEEE P802.20 will address MBWA in licensed bands below 3.5GHz, with cell ranges expected to be up to 15km. The standard will incorporate fully QoS-enabled airlinks with high spectral efficiency and low latency, which will give users a high-speed wireless data experience equivalent in quality to wired links.

In providing for low latency, it will enable telephony using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and activities needing rapid network response times, such as on-line gaming and financial transactions. The standard will also support other IP-centric applications, so that many native IP applications can be used without alteration.

Positioning IEEE802.16 aims to provide wide area broadband links between mobile devices. In effect, the standard is an alternate type of 3G system.

Timing Services are likely to appear in 2004 / 2005.

More Information For more information on IEEE 802.20, see http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/mbwa/.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 79

6. ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN PROCUREMENT

6.1 EC Public-Sector Procurement

The EC Procurement Rules apply to public authorities, including, government departments, local authorities and NHS Authorities and Trusts. The rules set out detailed procedures for the award of contracts whose value equals or exceeds specific thresholds. Details of the procurement rules may be found at www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1000084.

General guidance on procurement may be found at the OGC Successful Delivery Toolkit website: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/workbooks/procurement/procurement.html.

The two principal procurement routes that can be used by public sector organisations for their wireless broadband requirements valued at over the EU threshold of approximately £100k are:

(a) Framework Agreements that have been established by OGC’s trading arm, OGCbuying.solutions in compliance with EU procurement regulations to enable contracting authorities to procure quickly and efficiently, without having to negotiate terms and conditions for each purchase. In the context of this guidance, the relevant Frameworks are:

• Broadband Solutions Framework Agreements for purchasing broadband connectivity services – see www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk/broadband

• S-CAT for procuring consultancy advice (e.g. to assist with formulating a broadband procurement strategy or to manage a procurement project) – see www.s-cat.gov.uk

(b) Advertising the requirement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and undertaking a full supplier selection process in accordance with the appropriate EU rules. Supplier selection will take considerably longer compared to (a) but this procurement route may be necessary if the requirement is not within the scope of the Frameworks. It is open to the full range of suppliers, avoiding the risk of missing specialist suppliers that do not have a Framework Agreement.

Benefits of Framework Agreements

By using the OGCbs Broadband Solutions Framework Agreements as a route to procure broadband services, customers can be assured of substantial process savings with the following additional benefits:

• Services can be bought quickly and efficiently, without having to negotiate terms and conditions for each purchase;

• Procurement procedures are fully compliant with EU directives; • Access to a selection of Service Providers and competitively priced products – together

with a Price Pledge;

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 80

• Contracts are protected by Government Terms and Conditions; • Expert support and advice from OGCbs; • Guaranteed service levels and security; • Service providers have been selected after a rigorous evaluation procedure on the basis of

best value for money (defined by OGC as “the optimum of whole-life cost and quality, or fitness for purpose, to meet the user’s requirement.”);

• Service providers’ performance will be monitored; • Framework services will be required to remain price competitive; • Discounts can be achieved on volume, with additional benefits from aggregation.

OGC has published guidance on use of the Framework Agreements, available for download at www.broadband.gov.uk/html/ukbroadband_task_force/publications.html. Information is also available at the OGCbs website www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk/broadband.

Broadband Framework Agreements and Wireless Solutions

Wireless services may be procured through the Broadband Framework Agreements using the “mini-competition” route32. Unless the user requirement specifically includes mobile or nomadic provision, the service provider will decide whether a wireless solution best meets all or part of the requirement; a specification of requirements will normally be technology-neutral.

When a Broadband Framework supplier is presented with a requirement which is considered best addressed in whole or in part by a wireless solution, the supplier has a choice of meeting this requirement from within the supplier’s own resources, or sub-contracting – either to another service provider, or to a specialist wireless solution provider.

Wireless solution providers are recommended to approach the Broadband Framework suppliers (listed in the guidance and on the website referenced above) with a view to forming partnerships. Such cooperation is strongly encouraged within the spirit of the Framework Agreements to enable customers to benefit from specialised local or technological focus, while still obtaining the procurement-related benefits of the Framework Agreements.

6.2 Management Issues

In general, the following management issues should be discussed with potential wireless providers, in addition to the specific security and network performance issues described earlier in this section:

• Quality systems adopted • Codes of practice adhered to

32 No minimum number of competitors is stipulated; it is left to the public sector body to conform to its own internal competition policy. Services procured in this way are referred to as “Customer-Specific Service Packages”.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 81

• Service level agreements – what is guaranteed? • Guaranteed service availability and downtime (and penalties) • Repair and replacement services – time to respond to faults and provision of replacement

equipment if faulty • Bandwidth contention – how is this managed and can users be ‘prioritised’ if they wish

to receive a higher level of service? • Planning issues • Licensing issues.

The level of management control required needs to be determined at the outset. Service level agreements, where entered into, will need to be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure the supplier continues to deliver value for money.

Mobile Procurement

In large-scale procurement of mobile data solutions (for example, an airtime contract for GPRS mobile services for a few hundred mobile users within an organisation), the procurer is advised to investigate the potential for preferential tariffs, and compare between different operators to ensure value for money. Whilst the industry standard for GPRS access is around £1 per Mbyte, there may be variation in the cost of the overall package and different operators will offer different incentives. Depending on the criticality of the communication requirement and the requirements of the user specification, procurers should also investigate assurances the mobile operator can give in terms of network reliability, and, in the case of mobile data/GPRS, latency in the network and guarantees given on throughput.

The procurement of a mobile solution (for instance, equipping employees with PDAs for mobile Internet) will also raise a number of specific issues for an organisation to consider. These will include:

• Management of the ‘pool’ of mobile devices – to be issued individually to employees or pooled for shared use, as required

• Management of software and data stored on the device – e.g. the need to recall devices to provide software updates, and how this is managed

• Advice to employees on data stored on a mobile devices – it is likely that employees should be advised not to store sensitive data on the device, in case of loss or theft.

6.3 Service Levels

Performance of wireless systems can be affected by a variety of factors:

Location Reception may be poor or variable towards the edge of a transmitter’s range, or in unfavourable geographical or topological

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 82

positions such as hollows or behind tall buildings.

Weather Rain, fog, snow and solar activity may interfere with wireless transmissions, impairing performance and even temporarily interrupting service.

Contention Wireless is a shared medium, as are many wired and cabled broadband offerings. Performance is likely to deteriorate at times of heavy usage, and as more subscribers use the service.

Inflexible bandwidth Unlike wired solutions, where total bandwidth may be expanded by adding more lines and connections, wireless bandwidth is fixed in any given spectrum range (although in some circumstances this can be overcome by splitting wireless cells and re-using their frequencies). Therefore, particularly where licence-exempt spectrum is used, such as in WLANs and some FWA implementations, any of the following conditions could ultimately impact the user experience to a point where performance is considered unacceptable:

− substantial usage increase; − growth in neighbouring services using same spectrum; − new services introduced over the same spectrum.

The above conditions need to be managed by the service provider to ensure that service levels are maintained in line with user expectations and/or contractual agreements. Service level agreements provide the means to ensure contractually that this takes place effectively.

Service Level Agreements

SLA characteristics will vary, depending on the wireless technology being considered; not all wireless suppliers will provide a guaranteed SLA. For those wireless providers that do offer a SLA, terms and conditions will vary considerably. It is strongly recommended that comprehensive SLAs should be agreed with the supplier where possible, together with means of measuring whether those agreements are met.

Benefits of a Service Level Agreement include:

• Ability to ensure the service continues to meet expected performance and provide value for money;

• Ability to exert pressure on supplier in event of performance shortfall; • Options for ongoing development and upgrading of the service as the

technology/network evolves; • Technology refresh (upgrading end-user equipment or devices) • The opportunity to negotiate favourable price terms based on traffic profile and monthly

usage.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 83

Typical metrics of interest to end users:

• Minutes of critical (e.g. business hours, unplanned) and non-critical downtime • Incidence of critical failure per year • Time to respond to failure (in minutes/hours) • Restoration time (in hours) • Recurrence of a type of failure per year • Call blocking rate per 100 calls in the busy hour (if voice is included) • Packet loss (%), • Mean and maximum packet transit delay • Service activation time (days) • Service churn time (days) • Billing accuracy (errors per month) • Standards compliance of products used • Continuing support by system vendors

6.4 Backhaul

Backhaul is the term for transport of the data between a “Point of Presence” (PoP) serving the broadband user access network, and the “head end” connection to the carrier’s backbone network – see diagrams in Section 5.1. This backhaul may be provided by cable or by other wireless means such as satellite or microwave point-to-point link, or indeed by part of the wireless mesh network itself. In common with all access technologies, wireless delivery requires adequate back-haul infrastructure.

Whether the broadband user access is provided by wired or wireless means, the backhaul issue is the same, and sufficient capacity must be provided in either case to meet enough of the total information demand. It is customary to overbook (or provide “contention”) within the system: not all users will be able to use the peak speed simultaneously. The limiting factor is often the backhaul capacity.

It is often the cost of backhaul that presents the greatest challenge in delivering Broadband to a rural community – especially where the community is distant from the backbone network, in which case the costs of the backhaul will escalate. This is where there is the greatest opportunity for sharing and aggregation, covered in Section 6.7.

6.5 Cost Considerations

See Section 7 for a detailed cost comparison for different technologies and services.

Value for Money

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 84

In general, a number of key strategic techniques for ensuring overall value for money should be considered in any procurement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and this applies equally to the procurement of wireless:

Considerations include:

Specification of User Requirements

A study to determine user requirements should be conducted at the outset of the project, enabling definition of a User Requirement Specification. This will normally be done within a wider Telecoms Strategy development, forming the basis of the subsequent procurement.

Issues to address in the procurement of a wireless solution include:

• Network coverage • Degree of mobility • Service levels • Performance - throughput and latency • Resilience • Security

Use of Open Tendering

Public Sector Procurement rules will apply to the tendering process. Open tendering processes should generally be used for the selection of suppliers, to ensure transparency, value for money and selection to meet the User Requirement Specification. OGC Framework Agreements may be used for fast broadband procurement – covered in Section 6.1.

Pilot Schemes and Technical Trials

Where feasible, usage patterns should be explored through a pilot scheme with a shortlisted supplier, before finalising the terms of the contract. This will enable a better understanding of usage patterns, traffic profiles and total bandwidth requirements. Ongoing usage costs should be explored with the supplier to ensure an appropriate tariff that suits the usage profile.

Cost Benchmarking

A price benchmarking exercise should ideally be undertaken if alternative platforms exist (e.g. if there are a number of alternative broadband access platforms available in the area potentially meeting the user requirement). Total cost of ownership should be considered, to ensure all running costs and supplementary requirements are included in the project budget.

Costs associated with a wireless solution may include:

• Survey fee • Installation costs • Per-link ongoing costs (“line rental”)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 85

• Monthly usage (e.g. per Mbyte, per month) • Requirements for CPE, wireless devices or PC cards (e.g. mobile

phone, PDA, Wi-Fi card).

Assisted Funding

In selected instances, assisted funding may be available to organisations to encourage the rollout of broadband technologies to areas not currently covered.

Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the Government’s main initiative to provide financial assistance to businesses. Delivery of the scheme in England is primarily through the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and, in Scotland, through Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Grants are discretional, awarded to those projects with fixed capital expenditure above a certain level, and that meet certain criteria, within defined ‘Assisted Areas’.

Funding options are detailed in OGC publication “Public Sector Funding for Broadband”, available at: http://www.broadband.gov.uk/html/ukbroadband_task_force/publications.html.

Additional information can be found at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_spending_and_services/pss_index.cfm http://www.businesslink.org State Aid

While assisted funding for broadband infrastructure from regional and national bodies offers considerable benefit to regions where broadband infrastructure may not otherwise be made available, there has been some concern raised that targeted investment could have a distorting effect on the market. In particular, any public funding assistance could be considered to be inappropriate State Aid and, thus, it is essential that public funding of telecommunications infrastructure must comply with the European rules on State Aid.

State Aid is the term used to describe forms of assistance from public sector bodies, or publicly funded organisations, that may have the potential to distort competition or affect trade between member states of the European Union. This could include ‘selective funding’, i.e. aid that targets particular businesses, locations or types of firm (e.g. SMEs). Under the “de minimis” rule, grants totalling not more than €100,000 over any 3-year rolling period are exempt from European State Aid regulations. For details of European rules on state aid, see http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/state_aid/legislation.

In the UK, the DTI’s State Aid Policy Unit provides advice on these state aid rules and procedures for all Government departments, agencies, local and regional bodies and devolved institutions providing aid to business. All notifications of aid are routed through the state aid

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 86

Policy Unit and the Unit is responsible within Government for the development of state aid policy. Further detail can be found through the broadband pages at website www.dti.gov.uk/europe/stateaid.

6.6 Financial Stability

Following the recent turbulence in the telecommunications market, a consideration in supplier selection will be the financial position of the operator. High profile failures in the wireless market include the early narrowband FWA providers, Ionica and Atlantic Telecom, both of which went into liquidation following financial and management difficulties. It is important to conduct a rigorous supplier analysis to ensure financial stability, strong management structure and a credible, sustainable business model able to provide and operate a robust, high-quality service. While track record is also useful for well-established suppliers, there are strong new entrants with WLAN and FWA offerings, including winners of the recent 3.4GHz auction.

Guidance on supplier evaluation is available at: www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/reference/ogc_library/genericg.html

6.7 Demand Aggregation

Public Sector Aggregation is the term commonly used to describe local public sector and Regional Development Agency initiatives to stimulate supply of broadband services in their local area, by combining requirements from different organisations in a given area to form a demand cluster. A Broadband Aggregation Project (BAP) is currently under way under the aegis of the DTI. It aims to create regional bodies in each UK region to facilitate the aggregation and procurement process and ensure that the resulting mechanism is viable and effective.

Examples of Public Sector Aggregation

Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) are consortia of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) that were originally established to procure cost-effective broadband connectivity for schools. They also have a role to link together to form a national network and promote the development of content for broadband networks. These consortia are key players in the procurement of Internet services, broadband infrastructure and content for LEAs and schools in their regions.

An example of such an initiative, illustrating, in particular, the benefits that such initiatives can bring to rural communications, is the Cumbria and Lancashire Rural Broadband Scheme, outlined below.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 87

CLEO (Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online).

The CLEO RBC is responsible for providing site connects for schools within Cumbria and Lancashire. It is building a cost-effective, sustainable service for the region, including the procurement or development of appropriate applications and content for local broadband use. RBCs fall within the Government’s National Grid for Learning (NGfL) strategy, which is funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). DfES sets targets each year for the proportion of schools, and the connectivity bandwidth, required. For example, the target for August 2002 was for 20% of schools, including all secondary schools, to be connected at 2Mbit/s or above. DfES intends that all schools will have broadband capability by 2006, which is interpreted to mean August of that year (in line with previous DfES targets), and is currently providing funds to enable this to be realised. The CLEO RBC has established a broadband network (the CLEO Network), which, by the end of August 2002, provided broadband connections for 208 schools, and 75 other sites, in the CLEO RBC region. The RBC intends to expand this existing broadband network to provide ongoing broadband services to all schools in its region by August 2006, in accordance with DfES targets. The CLEO Network comprises:

• A resilient backbone network • Transmission spurs providing connectivity between the backbone and a number of other Points

of Presence, and • Last mile access links to Customer Sites.

The technologies utilised in the delivery of last mile links are via 2.4GHz wireless point to multi-point; DSL links; BT LAN extension point to point Ethernet on fibre (LES2/10/100); 34Mbit/s licensed microwave links and Telewest 100 Mbit/s Managed Links on Fibre.

East of England Telematics Development Trust (EETDT) East of England Broadband Network (E2BN)

EETDT www.telematicseast.org.uk/eetdt is a public/private/voluntary sector partnership dedicated to supporting and developing ICT Networks and Infrastructure in the East of England. EETDT was fundamental in securing over £30m funding between 2000 and 2004, matched 50/50 from DfES and the LAs in the consortium, for the development of a Regional Broadband Network for the region’s schools and libraries.

Extracts from the mission statement: “Promote the development of e-commerce in liaison with Business Links and other member organisations through seminars, best practice information etc.” “Encourage existing, fledgling and developing technologies to trial and invest in Broadband technologies within the East of England (marketed as the premier region for such investment)”

E2BN www.e2bn.net provides network connectivity for libraries and education centres in many areas of the region, and is also working with the other RBCs to provide a national education network. It is working with public and private sector organisations to exploit the network by providing a range of services and content, which schools and other organisations involved with education can elect to use if required. Some of these services have already been paid for by E2BN and there is no additional cost to the school; others have been negotiated at special discounted rates.

Access technologies include analogue leased circuits, dark fibre, unlicensed and licensed wireless, microwave and laser.

Milton Keynes Schools Net Initially implemented as a network for schools, colleges and libraries, the Local Authority is looking at the aggregation issues with a view to extending the wireless network to other public and private sector users. See Section 5.4.10 for details.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 88

Trigger Points

Demand in a local area from single organisations and individuals may fall short of “trigger points” deemed necessary by BT and others to provide sufficient potential revenue to justify investment in broadband infrastructure. However, if the demand from several sources is combined, the trigger point may well be achieved earlier. This aggregation of demand may occur within the public sector alone, such as schools, hospitals, clinics, surgeries, libraries, police stations, fire stations and Government offices; or it may be combined with the private sector – individuals and businesses.

Private Sector Aggregation

While the above initiative is targeted primarily at the public sector, the private sector will also benefit from the infrastructure provision, and the RDAs and Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs) are expected to play pivotal roles in coordinating and facilitating aggregation of private sector demand and initiatives, as well as assisting with issues such as public-private sharing and state aid. Private sector demand aggregation can be organised through community groups, Chambers of Commerce, community websites etc (some links are listed in Annex 4).

Once the infrastructure is in place (backhaul and access point), the incremental cost of obtaining broadband service is likely to be minimal. For example, once the trigger point to DSL-enable a telephone exchange has been reached, any individual or organisation can obtain ADSL broadband services at standard tariffs. Or a wireless system provider may install a wireless broadband infrastructure and either lease or build the required backhaul capacity.

The resulting aggregated network raises a number of issues for procurers to consider, which will be considered at length, and the conclusions published, by the Broadband Aggregation Project.

Regional Initiatives

Regional Development Authorities are playing pivotal roles in making new broadband technologies available to businesses and communities across the regions. Examples include:

Rabbit

South East, South West, Northern Ireland and East Midlands Regional Development Agencies are supporting the ‘Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial’, known as the ‘Rabbit’ initiative. The aim of Rabbit is to trial alternative methods of providing broadband services to small businesses in areas where broadband services by ADSL or cable modem are not available, and to evaluate the effectiveness of different solutions. The trial has gathered information on a range of ‘ADSL equivalent’ solutions from different suppliers, and offers financial assistance of up to £700 to small businesses to trial a solution. More information can be found at www.rabbit-broadband.org.uk.

East of England Broadband Brokerage

The East of England Development Agency has launched a Broadband Brokerage service (see www.broadbandbrokerage.com, which aims to match broadband demand to supply options in the region, to facilitate broadband rollout. The brokerage scheme has collated requests for broadband from

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 89

public, private and voluntary sectors in the region, and aggregated this demand in order to create viable demand to seek competitive quotations for the supply of infrastructure in the areas concerned.

Satellite Broadband

Elsewhere in the UK, a project to deliver broadband Internet access to the Highlands and Islands via satellite has been instigated by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise in partnership with BT Openworld, with satellite provider Gilat. As part of the Broadband Wales programme, the Welsh Development Agency will subsidise satellite broadband fees for Small and Medium Enterprises located in areas where alternative connections are not available. A number of service providers (e.g. Aramiska, BT Openworld and Tiscali) have launched two-way broadband services in Scotland, and one-way broadband satellite services are also available.

Community Broadband Schemes

Many wireless-based Community Broadband schemes are in operation or are being planned. Information on some of the larger ones is provided at Annex 3. Most of the RDA sites listed above include information about Community Broadband schemes.

For links to Regional and devolved Development Authority broadband sites, and to websites promoting rural broadband and/or community projects, please see Annex 4.

Community Benefits

An example of local authority or community benefit is in subscription to community schemes. Invisible Networks provides community schemes in the Cambridge area, charging a set-up fee plus monthly subscription. Of the subscription, £2 per month is paid to the Community ‘not-for-dividend’ company33. Users in the scheme have a say in how the money that goes into the company is spent.

There is the potential for Local Authorities to gain some return – for instance, obtaining a free service in exchange for providing space for antennas or other wireless equipment in Government premises. Such possibilities should be explored with potential suppliers.

6.8 Checklist

Legal and Regulatory: Ensure suppliers meet relevant legal, licence and regulatory requirements. Relevant licensing and regulatory organisations are:

♦ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI): www.dti.gov.uk ♦ Office of Telecommunications (Oftel): www.oftel.gov.uk ♦ Radiocommunications Agency (RA): www.radio.gov.uk ♦ Office of Communications (OFCOM): www.ofcom.gov.uk (replaces Oftel and RA

late 2003)

33 http://www.invisible.uk.net/services/standard

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 90

Services: Agree service details as part of a procurement/evaluation process:

♦ Data rates (upstream and downstream) ♦ Variance of quality of service, and dependencies ♦ Availability (geographical and temporal) and suitability for different terrain types ♦ Range ♦ Suitability for all applications ♦ Anticipated future upgrades ♦ Customer premises equipment – what is required and what will be supplied ♦ Connectivity and backhaul requirement (leased lines etc), and physical connection ♦ Installation requirements ♦ Network security

Costs: Explore costs, ongoing charges and total cost of ownership:

♦ Airtime tariffs ♦ Connection costs (including all components of the cost) ♦ Radio survey and other pre-installation costs ♦ Installation ♦ Support costs

Contractual and Management: Agree contractual and management issues:

♦ Quality systems adopted ♦ Codes of Practice adhered to ♦ Service Level Agreements – what is guaranteed? ♦ Repair and replacement service – time to respond to faults and provision of

replacement equipment if faulty ♦ Bandwidth contention – how is this managed and can users be ‘prioritised’ if they

wish to receive a higher level of service? ♦ Any planning issues ♦ Any licensing issues.

Financial

♦ Ensure the service provider has a viable and sustainable business model ♦ Obtain assurance on financial standing and stability of the service provider.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 91

7. COST COMPARISONS

7.1 5-year price scenarios

Figure 7-1 illustrates standard installation and annual charges for a basic asymmetrical service for each technology, typically 512Kbit/s downlink, 128K uplink (speeds shown as download/upload, bits/sec)).. Contention ratios (the maximum number of subscribers that can share the nominal bandwidth) are shown as n:1. [Note that for WLAN, 80:1 is the estimated contention ratio for 2M bandwidth, equivalent to 20:1 for 512K.]

Figure 7-1: Illustrative Costs – Basic Packages (source: OGC)

Figure 7-2 below illustrates typical 2Mbit/s (downlink) basic services available with the various technologies.

Service levels differ – 50:1 maximum contention ratio for cable, compared with 20:1 for ADSL, 4:1 for satellite, and an uncontended WLAN service. Upload speeds are lower except for WLAN: 256kbit/s for ADSL and cable; 512 for satellite. The installation cost for WLAN is higher than ADSL, but ongoing recurring charges can be lower. No 2Mbit/sec services are currently known to be available for Fixed Wireless Access.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years

Cost

£

Satellite 2-way 500K/128K8:1Satellite 1-way 512K/dial(56K)FWA low-freq 512K/512K15:1WLAN 2M 80:1

ADSL 512K/128K 20:1

Cable 600K/128K 50:1

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 92

Figure 7-2: Illustrative Costs – High-Performance Packages (source: OGC)

The following table compares cost structures and characteristics for broadband technologies.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years

Cost

£

Satellite 2M/512K 4:1WLAN 2M/2M 1:1ADSL 2M/256K 20:1Cable 2M/256K 50:1

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 93

DSL Cable Modem Satellite WLAN Fixed Wireless Access

Costs borne by BT, or by OLO plus BT

Backhaul is the dominant factor

Costs below are those borne by the cable company purely for the broadband service

Broadband upgrade is expensive but virtually complete

Costs below are those borne by the satellite company for the broadband service

Cost of the satellite is the dominant factor

Backhaul is the dominant factor

Backhaul may be provided by FWA – installation expensive, but lower ongoing costs

Coverage Pervasive – based on telephone network and critical trigger points in rural areas, limited reach from exchange (6-8Km)

In franchise areas only, mostly densely-populated urban areas

Uniform coverage in satellite footprint, provides ‘safety net’ for remote areas

Good within local area, but can performance can deteriorate as bandwidth congests due to uncontrolled nature

Wide, but gaps in coverage due to line-of-sight constraints; possible planning controls

Base Station

DSLAM fixed cost: £5–15k depending on ultimate capacity. DSLAM incremental costs: 1 line card per 8, 10 or 16 customers, typically £100/line

Cable-modem termination system (includes IP/ATM router) fixed cost for the frame: £150–250 per user, depending on ultimate capacity

Satellite upstream capacity costs (requires new generation of satellite) Ground-station terminal costs for IP aggregation upstream: estimated £50k

Wireless Access Point Router / Firewall connecting WLAN to WAN, typically £ 3-5K. Minimal site cost.

Base station and Router / Firewall connecting routed mesh or PMP network to WAN, typically £20-30K

Installation Cable testing and conditioning: typically 1 hour per line using two people

Network upgrade (depends on state of the existing network): approximately £300 per user

Either direct to consumer, or wideband link to base station for WLAN distribution.

WLAN installation, user and security set-up

Substantial costs of setting up and tuning mesh network

Scalability Infrastructure is scalable, incremental cost modest and falling

Infrastructure is scalable, incremental cost modest and falling

Infrastructure scalable, incremental cost per customer moderate-to-high

Very scalable, low incremental cost, but overall bandwidth in a given area is limited

Infrastructure scalable, moderate incremental cost

Service Provider

ISP costs (variable, depends if self-operated – such as BT Openworld – or bought in)

ISP costs (variable, depends if self-operated – such as NTL World – or bought in)

ISP costs (variable, depends if self-operated or bought in)

Self-operated Community Network service Self-operated service

Customer Equipment Customer equipment cheap Customer equipment supplied

free as part of service

Customer premise equipment can also be expensive (subsidies may be available in UK)

Customer equipment very cheap £50-100

Customer equipment typically £300-500, or up to £1000 for 28.5GHz equipment

CPE Installation Usually self-installed Usually self-installed Installation: needs professional

installer Usually self-installed Needs professional installation

Backhaul Backhaul costs, possibly duplicated for resilience: typically £30–50k per year for wholesale transmission at STM-1, or £15-30K for BT LES100 circuit (25Km max)

Backhaul either provided by FWA or leased

WAN Share of costs for transporting the data over the wide area on a broadband network (includes port-related and volume-related costs, and depends on technology e.g. IP-stream, Cell-stream)

Interconnect Costs for interconnecting with OLOs Management Costs of OSS, maintenance, churn, call centre, management and admin: typically 5%–8% of turnover

Table 7-1: Major cost elements of Wireless Broadband technologies (source: OGC based on material from Analysys)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 94

7.2 Examples of Services

The following sections provide examples of typical prices for broadband wireless services. Illustrations have been included for the following fixed services:

• Firstnet FWA service • Your Communications FWA service • Invisible Networks Community WLAN scheme • Bridge Broadband Satellite Service • BT Openworld Broadband Satellite Service • Aramiska Broadband Satellite Service.

These are provided as illustrations of services using the respective technologies, and no recommendation or endorsement should be inferred from their inclusion.

7.3 Fixed Wireless Access

7.3.1 Firstnet

Firstnet operates an FWA service using the licensed 3.6 to 4.2 GHz frequency band. Currently Firstnet has networks in the following areas:

Table 7-2: Firstnet Coverage Area (Source: Firstnet)

The network is being expanded, please refer to Firstnet for the latest coverage information.

Firstnet offers many different tariffs for their wireless services, dependent on required contention ratios, size of bandwidth etc. Details of Firstnet’s two main tariffs: for home user/single office users and business users, are provided in Table 7-3.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 95

Single Office User Multiple User • Household, Small office, Home office • 24 x 7 unlimited Internet access • Download and upload speeds of up to

512kbit/s • Public IP address (Dynamic) • 5 email addresses • 20Mb web space • Virus scanning at the Internet level • 30:1 contention ratio • POP3 mail delivery.

• Small and medium businesses • 24 x 7 unlimited Internet access • Download and upload speeds to 512kbit/s • Public IP address (Fixed) • Unlimited users • Unlimited email addresses • UK domain registration or transfer • 20Mb Web Space • Virus Scanning at the Internet level • 15:1 contention ratio • POP3 or SMTP mail delivery.

• Set-up of £175, including: Installation and commissioning Customer Premises Equipment

• Monthly fee £34.99.

• Set-up of £175 • Monthly fee £84.99.

Table 7-3: Firstnet FWA Tariffs (Source: Firstnet)

7.3.2 Your Communications

Your Communications operates an FWA service in the licensed 28 GHz frequency band, with four regional licences covering: West Midlands, North West, Yorkshire and the North. Service is available in many of the larger towns and cities; current coverage is shown below.

Table 7-4: Coverage – Your Communications

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 96

Your Communications does not publish standard tariffs, as tailored packages are usually arranged.

7.4 Wireless LAN

7.4.1 Invisible Networks

Invisible Networks operates a public WLAN service using unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum in several communities around Cambridge. There is a range of tariffs on offer, from Internet connection for a normal household to connection for an enterprise network.

Details of two tariffs are provided in Table 7-5 below:

Standard Service Enterprise 64 Service • User Type: household, small office, home

office • 24 x 7 always-on service • Shared 5Mbit/s service within the community • Shared 2Mbit/s Internet access • Public IP address (dynamic) • Community email account • Multiple community access points (allows

laptops to roam to other access points) • Contention ratio not stated • Users of the service must not make

excessive use of the service to the detriment of other users – restrictions apply

• Service does not guarantee a particular amount of bandwidth per user

• Service is NOT intended to be a replacement for a leased line.

• Note: contention ratio not stated.

• User type: small and medium businesses • 24 x 7 always-on service • Shared 5Mbit/s service within the community • Shared 2Mbit/s Internet access (with

minimum guaranteed bandwidth of 64kbit/s) • Multiple public IP addresses (fixed) • UK domain registration • Multiple community access points (allows

laptops to roam to other access points) • Any usage over the minimum guaranteed

bandwidth will be contended at no worse than 50:1

• Users of the service must not make excessive use of the service to the detriment of other users – restrictions apply.

• Set-up of £199 (inc VAT), including: Service set-up Wireless card or client Internal antenna Cable.

• Monthly fee £29.99 (inc VAT), (£23.99 when

paid 15 months in advance).

• Set-up of £500 (ex VAT) • Monthly fee £125 (ex VAT).

Table 7-5: Invisible Networks WLAN Tariffs (source: Invisible Networks website)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 97

7.5 Broadband Satellite

7.5.1 Bridge Broadband

Bridge Broadband offers both one-way and two-way satellite services. The one-way tariff is shown below.

Bridge Single/Home User • User type: Small office, Home office • Downstream: 512kbit/s (off peak) • Upstream: uses PSTN dial-up. • Set-up:

Around £300 for standard wall mount installation and commissioning £399 for Customer Premises Equipment

• Monthly fee £49.

Table 7-6: Bridge Broadband Satellite Tariffs (Source: Bridge Broadband website)

7.5.2 BT Openworld

BT Openworld offers two main tariffs, as detailed below.

Business Satellite 500/1 Business Satellite 500/4 • User type: Small office, Home office • 24 x 7 always-on service • 1 PC supported • Downstream/upstream speeds up to

500/120kbit/s (typically 200/70) • 1 Public IP address (Fixed) • .co.uk domain name • 20 email accounts • 20MByte web space • Note: contention ratio not stated • Service Availability: 99.5%.

• User type: Small and medium businesses • 24 x 7 always-on service • 4 PCs supported • Downstream/upstream speeds up to

500/120kbit/s (typically 300/70) • 5 Public IP addresses (Fixed) • .co.uk domain name • 100 email accounts • 20MByte web space • Note: contention ratio not stated • Service Availability: 99.5%.

• Set-up of £649 + £250 = £899, including: Standard wall mount installation and commissioning Customer Premises Equipment

• Monthly fee £59.99.

• Set-up of £1,049 + £250 = £1,299 • Monthly fee £109.99.

Table 7-7: BT Openworld Broadband Satellite Tariffs (Source: BT Openworld website)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 98

7.5.3 Aramiska

Details of two of Aramiska’s main tariffs are shown below.

ARC500 ARC1000 • User type: Small and medium businesses • 24 x 7 always-on service • Unlimited PCs • Downstream/upstream speeds up to

512/128kbit/s • .co.uk, .com, or .net domain name • 100MB web space • Downstream/upstream contention 8:1/4:1 • Service availability 99.7%.

• User type: Small and medium businesses

• Features as per ARC500, except: • Downstream/upstream speeds up to

1024/256kbit/s.

• Set-up of £3200, including: Installation Customer Premises Equipment

• Monthly fee £99 Note: lease arrangement available

• Set-up of £3200 • Monthly fee £149

Table 7-8: Aramiska Broadband Satellite Tariffs (source: Aramiska website)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 99

Annex 1: Glossary Of Abbreviations

Abbreviation Definition 3G Third Generation Mobile 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line AP Access Point BFWA Broadband Fixed Wireless Access Bluetooth Bluetooth is a worldwide specification, developed, published and promoted by

the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, for a small-form factor, low-cost, short-range radio solution operating in the 2.4GHz waveband, that provides links between mobile computers, mobile phones and other portable handheld devices, and domestic appliances.

BRAN Broadband Radio Access Networks CE The ce mark is the official marking required by the European Community for all

Electric- and Electronic equipment that will be sold, or put into service for the first time, anywhere in the European community

cm Centimetre CO Central Office CPE Customer Premises Equipment DFS Dynamic Frequency Selection DMZ Demilitarised Zone (and not used within document) DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer, connecting DSL lines to the

backbone network DTI Department of Trade and Industry DVB Digital Video Broadcasting EC European Commission EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility ERC European Radiocommunications Committee ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute EU European Union FDD Frequency Division Duplex FWA Fixed Wireless Access - a licensed wireless technology that can deliver either

high-quality ‘last mile’ services to customer premises as a wireless “local loop”, or backhaul from a local Point of Presence (PoP) to a backbone network

G-CAT Government Catalogue GEO Geostationary orbit GHz Gigahertz, i.e. a billion cycles per second GPRS (GSM) General Packet Radio Service GSM Global System for Mobile HIPERLAN High Performance Local Area Network: Radio LAN standards developed by

ETSI to provide high-speed communications between portable devices in the 5GHz band. The original standard, now known as HIPERLAN/1, operates at 20 Mbit/s; HIPERLAN/2 operates at up to 54Mbit/s and includes access to 3G mobile networks. Both are European competitors to 802.11a and b.

HLR Home Location Register HSCSD High Speed Circuit Switched Data ICNIRP International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection ICT Information and Communications Technologies IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEGMP Independent Experts Group on Mobile Phones IP Internet Protocol IPsec Internet Protocol Security – a framework for a set of protocols for security at the

network or packet processing layer of network communication. ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network ISP Internet Service Provider ITU International Telecommunications Union Kbit/s Kilobit per second, i.e. a thousand bits per second LAN Local Area Network LEO Low Earth Orbit

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 100

Abbreviation Definition m Metre MAN Metropolitan Area Network Mbit/s Mega bit per second, i.e. a million bits per second MBWA Mobile Broadband Wireless Access MEO Medium Earth Orbit MHz Megahertz, i.e. a million cycles per second NAT Network Address Translation, of an IP address used in one network to a

different IP address in another network NRPB National Radiological Protection Board OFCOM Office of Communications OFTEL Office of Telecommunications OGC Office of Government Commerce OJEC Official Journal of the European Community PC Personal Computer PDA Personal Digital Assistant PIN Personal Identification Number PMP Point to Multipoint PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network POTS Plain Old Telephone Service PTP Point to Point QoS Quality of Service R&TTE Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment RA Radiocommunications Agency RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service RCS Return Channel System RDA Regional Development Agency RF Radio Frequency S-CAT Services Catalogue SDSL Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line Secure-ID Two-factor authentication from RSA Security based on a password or PIN

together with a dynamic authenticator. SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node SIM Subscriber Identity Module SLA Service Level Agreement SME Small/Medium Enterprise SMP Significant Market Presence SOHO Small Office/Home Office TDD Time Division Duplex TPC Transmit Power Control UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service, third-generation (3G)

broadband, packet-based transmission VDSL Very high data rate Digital Subscriber Line VoD Video on Demand VPN Virtual Private Network – simulating private connections over shared public

infrastructure, while maintaining privacy through security procedures and tunneling protocols

VSAT Very Small Aperture Antenna WAP Wireless Application Protocol W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity – a popular term for WLANs conforming to the 802.11 family of

standards. Strictly Wi-Fi is the certification logo given by the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org) for wireless networking equipment that passes the Wi-Fi Alliance tests for adherence to IEEE 802.11 standards and for interoperability.

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network – a LAN deployed over wireless infrastructure conforming to one of the IEEE502.11x family of standards

WLANA Wireless LAN Association xDSL Digital Subscriber Line - the suite of DSL technologies (ADSL, SDSL, VDSL)

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 101

Annex 2: Wireless Suppliers

This list is not exhaustive and is for information only; therefore procurers should also investigate whether other suppliers could meet their requirements. Organisations which hold licenses to offer a wireless service (e.g. 28GHz FWA), but which are not yet offering a service have not been included.

Infrastructure Function

Company

FWA

WLA

NM

obileSatelliteC

ableD

SLLeased lineB

ackboneService providerN

etwork operator

Consultancy

Manufacturer

URL

1st Broadband Ltd www.1stbroadband.com 4everweb Ltd www.4everweb.com 52 Telecom www.52telecom.net AgilIT www.agilit.co.uk/AWE Airspan Communications Ltd www.airspan.co.uk Alvarion UK Ltd www.alvarion.com Aphelion UK Ltd www.satellite-adsl.co.uk Applied Satellite Technology www.satcomms.com/broadband Aramiska www.aramiska.com Avanti Commuications Ltd www.avanti-communications.com Avonline plc www.avonline.co.uk Bentley Telecom Ltd www.bentleywalker.com Benugo/Broadscape Ltd www.broadscape.net Beyondsl.net Ltd www.beyondsl.net Bignet Ltd www.bignet.co.uk Boingo Wireless Inc. www.boingo.com Boston Networks Ltd www.bostonnetworks.co.uk/ Bridge Broadband www.bridgebroadband.co.uk Broadband Business Ltd www.rwbbn.net Broadband Wales Ltd (Bandeangcymru) www.bandeangcymru.net

BrownstoneIT www.brownstoneit.com BT Openzone www.bt.com/openzone Bulldog Communications Ltd www.bulldogdsl.com Cable & Wireless plc www.cw.com Caladan Communications Ltd www.caladan.net Cambridge Broadband Ltd www.cambridgebroadband.com CDV Technologies Ltd www.cdv-technologies.com Chronos Technology Ltd www.chronos.co.uk COLT Telecom Group plc www.colt.net CommBroker Ltd www.commbroker.co.uk Consume Wireless www.consume.net Crystal Data www.crystal-data.co.uk Customnet www.custom.tv/broadband Dantech Digital Ltd www.dbroadband.co.uk Datanet International Ltd www.data.net.uk DC-Sat.Net Ltd www.dc-sat.net/smebroadband Digital Parish Project www.digitalparish.com DSL Telecom Ltd www.dsltelecom.co.uk DSL-SAT Ltd www.dsl-sat.co.uk Easycornwall.com www.easycornwall.com Easynet Ltd www.easynet.net Eclipse Networking Ltd www.eclipse.co.uk Ednet www.ednet.co.uk

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 102

Infrastructure Function

Company

FWA

W

LAN

M

obile Satellite C

able D

SL Leased line B

ackbone Service provider N

etwork operator

Consultancy

Manufacturer

URL

Educom www.educom.ie Efar Ltd www.efar.co.uk Energis Communications Ltd www.energis.co.uk Equinox Converged Solutions Ltd www.equinoxsolutions.com Ethnet Ltd www.ethnetuk.com Exenet Solutions www.exenet.co.uk Fibrenet UK Ltd www.fibrenet.co.uk Firstnet Services Ltd www.firstnet.net.uk GCL www.gclocations.com General Technologies Ltd www.wavesatellite.net GKD Datacom Solutions www.gkddatacoms.co.uk Global Village Ltd www.globalvillage.ltd.uk Groupe Pathfinder Ltd www.groupe-pathfinder.com Hi-Wide www.hie.co.uk/broadband Hollycroft Associates www.hollycroftassociates.com Hughes Network Systems Ltd www.hnseu.com Hutchison 3G UK Ltd www.three.co.uk Ildána Teoranta www.ildana.ie Inspired Broadcast Networks www.inspiredtg.com Interactive Satellite Services Ltd www.satdrive.com Intercai Modiale www.intercai.co.uk/wireless.html Internet Access Point www.iap.uk.net Internet Interchange www.internetinterchange.co.uk Internet Central www.internet-central.co.uk Invisible Networks www.invisible.uk.net Loop Communications www.loopcoms.com Loop Scorpio Ltd www.loopscorpio.net Marble Communications www.marblecommunications.com Marconi Communications Ltd www.marconi.com Megabeam Networks www.megabeam.com Mistral Internet Group Ltd www.mistral.co.uk MLL Telecom Ltd www.mlltelecom.co.uk Net4 Ltd www.net4.org.uk Netscalibur UK Ltd www.netscalibur.co.uk Network Impact Ltd www.network-impact.com Networks by Wireless www.networksbywireless.co.uk New Wave Communications Ltd www.wirefreeuk.com NewNet plc www.newnet.co.uk Nottinghamshire Enterprises www.nelearner.com NTL www.ntl.com O2 Ltd www.o2.co.uk Orange plc www.orange.co.uk Orbit Research Ltd www.orbitresearch.co.uk Paston Chase Ltd www.paston.co.uk Pipemedia Ltd www.pipemedia.net Piping Hot Networks www.pipinghotnetworks.com Positive IT Systems Ltd www.positiveit.co.uk PSINet UK Ltd www.psi.co.uk Radiant Networks plc www.radiantnetworks.com Redstone Communications Ltd www.redstone.co.uk RMS Broadband www.rmsbroadband.net Sat-Net www.sat-net.co.uk

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 103

Infrastructure Function

Company

FWA

W

LAN

M

obile Satellite C

able D

SL Leased line B

ackbone Service provider N

etwork operator

Consultancy

Manufacturer

URL

Satweb Ltd www.satweb.co.uk Scotland On Line www.scotlandonline.co.uk SCS Broadband Ltd www.scsbroadband.com Serv-IT Ltd www.air-band.co.uk SKYLinc Ltd www.skylinc.co.uk SM Technology.com www.smtconnect.com Smile Broadband Ltd www.smilebroadband.com Space IP www.spaceip.com Synetrix Ltd www.synetrix.co.uk Telenor Business Solutions UK Ltd www.telenor.co.uk

Telindus Ltd www.telindus.co.uk Thus www.thus.net Tiscali www.tiscali.co.uk T-Mobile (UK) www.t-mobile.co.uk Transcom ISP www.transcom.co.uk UK Explorer Ltd www.ukexplorer.com Ulidian Networks Ltd www.ulidian.com Vodafone Ltd www.vodafone.com West Dorset Internet Ltd (Wessex Broadband, Abbtel) www.wdi.co.uk

Westcomm Ltd www.westcomm.co.uk WFI Ltd www.wfi-emea.com Wireless CNP www.cnpgb.com Wireless Edge Networks www.wirelessedge.net/ Wireless Rural Broadband www.wrbb.net Wyenet Ltd www.wyenet.net Your Communications Ltd www.yourcommunications.co.uk Zipcom Telecommunications Ltd www.zipcom.com

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 104

Annex 3: Broadband Wireless Projects

The following table contains information on a selection of wireless broadband projects in progress as at July 2003. The list is not exhaustive, and is largely based on research for the Countryside Agency by Intercai Mondiale, with additional material from various sources.

The Countryside Agency is in the process of preparing a Best Practice Study of Broadband In Rural Areas, which will include comprehensive case studies of projects incorporating wireless technologies. For further information see www.countryside.gov.uk.

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

Alston CyberMoor project www.cybermoor.org

North West Highly rural and remote

Started July 2002

1200 homes, 3 schools, 10 businesses

WLAN, satellite. Microwave backhaul with leased line backup

Schools, community buildings, SMEs, residential

Partnership Objective Two area

DfES Wired Up Communities, NWDA Social Inclusion Grant, Cumbria CC Rural Dev’t Programme

This Wired-Up Communities project has 325 domestic users already connected to an ISP run by a community enterprise. The backbone is almost complete, all connections are wireless. Plan to connect all 3 schools, 1200 households and 10 businesses with broadband. Issues with exposed antennas, backhaul resilience, resource & project management, SLA imposition.

Anglesey Connected www.anglesey.gov.uk/english/anglesey_connected

Wales Rural Apr 2003 – Sept 2004

Whole island WLAN, point-to-point

All Groupe Pathfinder Objective One £1.3m under EU Objective One scheme, see next box.

IP-based wireless network wholly owned by Angelesey Count y Council. 100Mbit/s backbone serving primary sites, 34Mbit/s to secondary sites, >8Mbit/s tertiary. Phase 1 educational establishments, council buildings, libraries, leisure, tourism. Phase 2: SMEs. Phase 3: individuals, emphasis on social inclusion. Funding from Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), National Grid for Learning, New Opportunities Fund, Objective One ERDF, Local Regeneration Fund.

Arwain www.arwain.com

South Wales Urban Functioning Cardiff Wireless All Collaborative venture

n/a This is a not for profit collaboration between end users who make their internet connections available publicly using IEEE802.11 infrastructure.

Advantage West Midlands www.advantagebroadband.co.uk

West Midlands:

Mixed rural and non-rural

Started 2002, implementation during 2003

1500 SMEs in the West Midlands

ADSL, SDSL, WLAN, FWA

Primarily SMEs, extending to SoHo and residential

Various including Independent Networks, Pronet, Internet Central, Alvarion,

Some Objective Two areas

Funding provided by AWM & DTI UK Broadband Fund,

Provision of broadband services to 1500 SMEs in the West Midlands. Various community projects including Bredon Hill, Ledbury, Leominster, Upton Magna and Lymedale Business Park in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Belfast Beacon www.flaxtrust.com/beacon.html

Northern Ireland

Urban and rural

Starting 2003

Point-to-point, FSO, WLAN, Cable

SME, SoHo, residential

NTL, Unisys, Flax Trust

B2B and B2C managed services via a high speed urban Intranet for SMEs, SOHOs and individuals. Project aims to develop Belfast as a test bed for broadband-based information, communication and business technologies. Services include net-based application software, IP telephony, web marketing, virtual storefronts, e-mail, secure data storage and Internet access.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 105

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

Buckfastleigh Broadband Ltd www.buckfastleigh.net

South West Rural 2002-04 Buckfastleigh Leased line to school, WLAN access network from school node.

Library, schools, town hall and public access centre in town centre

Buckfastleigh Broadband Ltd, comprising Buckfastleigh Town Council, Dartmoor National Park Authority, DTI , Devon CC, SWGfL,SWRDA, Teignbridge DC, UK Online

Objective One area

Funded - £500K from DTI UK Broadband Fund

Buckfastleigh.net is working with a number of suppliers to provide a mixed technology broadband network, both wired and wireless, for the community of Buckfastleigh in Devon. A newly launched project programme supported by the DTI and the SWRDA to bring Broadband connection to key facilities in the town & to the community as a whole. This project will establish a model, including hotspots and Internet cafés, which can be taken up by other communities. Use of the school backhaul link precludes commercial use, so an alternative is being sought to enable broadband services to be sold to industry.

Cambridge FWA Evaluation Project www.cambridgebroadband.com

Cambridge Urban+rural June 2003 – early 2004

Around Cambridge

3.4GHz FWA + WLAN

All Cambridge Broadband with consultancy Cotares, commissioned by Radiocomms Agency

Contracted by RA

A consortium including Cambridge Broadband has been awarded a contract by the UK Radiocommunications Agency to deploy a fixed wireless access network in the 3.5GHz band. The project is funded by the Radiocommunications Agency as part of its Spectrum Efficiency Scheme, and the results will be made publicly available to help potential operators of these services. The consortium aims to characterise the operation of commercial FWA systems, from initial deployment using in-band wireless backhaul, through to network optimisation for optical backhaul. It will investigate issues such as building for growth, multi-operator boundary planning, rural access, and integration with WiFi networks and hotspots.

Cambridge Ring North (Carnet) www.carnet.uk.net

East of England

Wholly Rural, partly remote

Started September 2002

1 village: Cottenham

Wireless SMEs and residents

Invisible Networks Funded and in further development

Part of the Better Broadband for Britain Initiative http://www.bbb.uk.net/ of Community Wireless Local Area Networks

Cambridge Ring North-East www.carnet.uk.net

East of England

Wholly Rural, partly remote

Started August 2002

3 villages live, 2 in roll-out, 2 planning

Wireless SMEs and residents

Invisible Networks Funded and in further development

Part of the Better Broadband for Britain Initiative http://www.bbb.uk.net/ of Community Wireless Local Area Networks

Cambridge Ring South East www.crse.uk.net

East of England

Wholly Rural, partly remote

Dependent on funding

Wireless SMEs and residents

Invisible Networks Funding sought from EEDA.

Part of the Better Broadband for Britain Initiative http://www.bbb.uk.net/ of Community Wireless Local Area Networks

Cambridge Ring West www.crw.uk.net

East of England

Wholly Rural, partly remote

Started September 2002

Up to 6,000 users. 5 villages connected, 1 rolling out, 5 planning roll-out.

Wireless SMEs and residents

Invisible Networks Funded and in further development

Part of the Better Broadband for Britain Initiative http://www.bbb.uk.net/ of Community Wireless Local Area Networks

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 106

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

CLEO – Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online www.cleo.ucsm.ac.uk

North West Mixed rural and non-rural

Started 2001 400 schools, to be extended to > 1000 schools & colleges, libraries, museums, rural community centres, SMEs.

Backbone licensed 7.5-38GHz mix, 155Mbit/s. Access licence-exempt 2.4GHz 10Mbit/s.

Education CLEO (NGfL) Majority of Cumbria & parts of Lancashire designated Less Favoured Areas (LFA), most of which Severely Disadvantaged (SDA).

Funded under NGfL

National Grid For Learning Broadband Initiative for Broadband to Cumbria and Lancashire Schools. Delivering cost effective and secure solution for providing 400 schools within the Cumbria and Lancashire area with broadband connections to each other and Lancashire University. The project is expected to be extended to over 1000 schools and colleges, plus libraries and museums. CLEO has also obtained a licence to provide service to rural community centres and SMEs. The network spans extensive rural locations in both Counties, primarily using a licensed microwave backbone and over two hundred unlicensed radio connections. Plans to offer the network as a commercial service to rural users.

Cromarty Broadband

Scotland Highlands & Islands

Rural June 2003, extension plans

5 villages 2.4GHz licence-exempt

Private Boston Networks, Alvarion

Grant from Highland and Islands Enterprise

One of six pilots funded by Highlands & Islands Enterprise Board. Further community wireless broadband demonstrations being set up in Newtonmore, Westray and Papa Westray in Orkney, Achiltibuie, Acharacle and Tobermory.

Cumbria See also DigitalDales, Edenfaster www.cibi.org.uk

North West Mixed Cumbria All All NWDA Objective Two area

Tendering underway

Cumbria – partnership of all councils and other local bodies started tendering process which will lead to the award of a contract for a broadband service which will be available to up to 95% of all people/ businesses in the county. Contract will be awarded in Autumn of 2003

Derwentside www.derwentside.org.uk

North East Rural Ongoing 10 towns & villages; Council, schools, libraries, SMEs, publc access points

155Mbit/s ATM core, wireless LAN access

Telewest Objective One area

Funded from Single Regeneration Budget, Vital Villages, Countryside Agency

Derwentside DC – local initiative funded by UK and EU regeneration money following closure of Consett steel works. Started in mid 90s. Organic growth to regional network in partnership with other Co Durham DCs underway.

Digital Dales www.digitaldales.co.uk

North West Highly rural and remote

During 2003 - Wireless Not yet Funded The actions by Digital Dales (a community project set up as a rapid response to FMD) to bring broadband into the Yorkshire Dales includes promotion and education through a series of 10 seminars through 2003, as well as primary involvement with ABC (Access to Broadband Connections), the Broadband Stakeholder Group, local authorities, statutory support agencies and suppliers through NYCII (North Yorkshire Communications and ICT Initiative). A community wireless network in the Dales is one of the main objectives for 2003, and funding is currently being sought.

DurhamNet www.durhamlea.org.uk

Yorks. & Humber

Mixed, includes rural

end of March 2003

500+ buildings organ-isations

155Mbit/s licensed wireless backbone, wirless and wired distribution.

Schools, public sector buildings in phase 1; future expansion to SMEs.

Networks by Wireless Ltd

Mainly Objective Two area

Funded; to be commissioned for end March 2003

A 155Mbit/s Microwave backbone is being built across County Durham to allow broadband access to 13 specific areas that are required to meet SRB6 and Objective 1 funding requirements, the network is due to be commissioned for end of March 2003, phase two is to connect spurs and other unlicensed and DSL type connections for 500+ buildings/organisations

E of England Community Wireless LANs www.bbb.uk.net

East of England

Wholly Rural, partly remote

In development

Wireless In development not yet funded

Part of the Better Broadband for Britain Initiative of Community Wireless Local Area Networks

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 107

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

East of England NGfL Regional Broadband Consortium www.e2bn.net

East of England

Mixed, includes highly rural and remote

Started 2000 60% of all schools in the region by Aug. 2003

All Education EENGfL Some Objective Two areas

Funded Contracted Started 2000 Well established

The membership of the broadband consortium is drawn from a wide range of organisations concerned with learning and education in its widest sense. In addition to the region's eleven Local Authorities (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Norfolk, Peterborough, Southend, Suffolk, and Thurrock) there are representatives from Further and Higher Education, University for Industry, Education Action Zones and the Government.

East Midlands Satellite Project

East Midlands

Rural, highly rural and remote

Trials Oct/Nov 2002 roll-out imminent

Many 100s, depends on demand

Satellite Some Objective One and Two areas

Funded To provide asymmetric satellite connections to “hard to reach” locations in the East Midlands such as Peak Forest and Bamford villages in the Peak District, Sherwood Forest, South Lindsay and South Holland in Lincs, Rutland and Northamptonshire. These are locations where no existing fibre or ADSL services exist and provision of broadband over copper or wireless via BT is prohibitively expensive. All connections would be provided by a third party satellite provider, traffic would be routed to the EMBC server farm in Nottingham and then to the Internet.

East Riding of Yorkshire

Yorks. & Humber

Wholly rural Started in 1996 with CSCs and Citizen Links coming on stream since mid 2001

30 access points 12 Customer Service centres 18 Citizen Links

All Schools, FE college and libraries

Some Objective Two areas

Funded Focussing on rural broadband provision based on service delivery - bringing services to people (e.g. remote face-to-face legal advice) by broadband which would otherwise not be available. 30 access points at present - 12 Customer Service centres and 18 CitizenLinks - all operational with video conference facilities, links to partner agencies including CABs, solicitors, and the Police. All 18 secondary schools and a local FE College using the network by the end of this year 135 Primary schools, 8 libraries on the peoples network with free internet access. Potentially available to everyone i.e. 315,000 people

Eden Faster www.edenfaster.com

North West Highly rural and remote

Early 2003 10,000 people 500+ businesses and 10 schools

WLAN, Mesh

SMEs, residents and schools

Eden Faster, CLEO, Locust World

Objective Two area

Funded Digital Dales has one broadband project in Cumbria -Edenfaster - a community wireless broadband project, recently awarded funding by the North West Development Agency. EdenFaster will be able to offer broadband to the local community of 10,000 people, 500+ businesses and 10 schools during early 2003. Local services can be delivered across the network at 40Mbit/s. Focusing on sustainability, resilience, security, social exclusion issues; using facility to attract new business to region.

EMBC www.embc.org.uk

East Midlands

Mobile, incl. rural and remote

- 20 laptop based mobile learning units

GPRS Education O2 and Fujitsu Mixed Funded EMBC is establishing a GPRS service from the Nottingham server farm in partnership with O2 and Fujitsu. The in house GPRS service can then be extended to support other mobile connectivity in rural areas throughout the East Midlands.

Essex Broadband www.essexbroadband.com

East of England

Rural Initially Basildon

WLAN All Essex Broadband Not-for-profit project to provide wireless broadband Internet access to specific areas of Essex from as little as £15 per month. All money is put directly into maintaining and building the network further.

Highlands & Islands Enterprise

Scotland Highlands & Islands

Rural Ongoing Initially 50+ communities further 100

Wireless All European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

HIE is setting up a not-for-profit community company to be responsible for installing wireless networks in at least 50 communities in the next 12 months, and another 100 in the six months thereafter. An application has been submitted to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to finance the first phase. Working closely with AIMhi, an organisation representing creative content industries in the Highlands and Islands. Demonstrations currently being set up in Cromarty, Newtonmore, Westray and Papa Westray in Orkney, Achiltibuie, Acharacle and Tobermory.

Kingsbridge Community Network www.kingsbridgelink.co.uk

South West Small town / rural

Launched October 2002

Kingsbridge, Salcombe

WLAN, leased line backhaul

SoHo Kingsbridge Link Community Wireless

None Privately funded Small local private initiative started with 8 nodes and £1000 on “proof of concept” basis.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 108

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

Manchester Central Healthcare Trust www.cmht.nwest.nhs.uk

Manchester City Operational 3Km WLAN 2.4GHz

Health Networks by Wireless

Funded by Directorate of Psychiatry & Central Manchester Healthcare Trust

Information Link for Psychiatry Directorate of Central Manchester Healthcare Trust. Connects 5 centres within 3km, replacing ISDN links. Allows close monitoring and management.

Martlesham Heath Community Broadband Network Project www.martlesham-heath.uk.net

East of England

Mixed rural & non rural

Start due Summer 2003

100 to 300 Wireless Campaign not yet funded

a local community-based wireless network designed especially to meet the needs of rural communities. A company who are delivering similar services in other parts of East Anglia are proposing to develop a new network in Martlesham Heath, which will work in every part of the village. In order to get this project underway they need to identify at least 50 households who will be willing to pay around £25 - £30 per month for broadband.

Milton Keynes Bedfordshire Rural Initially 200-300 pilot connections; 28 villages

Licensed FWA 34Mbit/s + unlicensed 2.4GHz

All Networks by Wireless

Backbone ring with 7 nodes based on use of licensed spectrum operating at 34 Mbit/s. At each node up to 3 schools are connected using 11Mbit/s licence exempt spectrum operating at 2.4 GHz. In addition to connecting the schools some colleges and the Open University have direct access to a backbone node.

North Norfolk Broadband www.nnbroadband.co.uk

East of England

Wholly rural, partly remote

In develop-ment

- WLAN Campaign not yet funded

North Norfolk Broadband is a Campaign to bring Broadband to Sheringham, Cromer and Holt. It is a private sector project that aims to provide affordable broadband services to homes and businesses, looking at wireless LAN technology. A team of businesses, some with local links, has investigated the options and is seeking support from the EEDA 'Connecting Communities Competition' in order to build a network to cover these three rural towns.

Northamptonshire Partnership www.northamptonshirepartnership.org.uk

East Midlands

Rural Start April 2003

- Satellite and WLAN

Residential Funded by ESA and NP

Distributed Satellite (Rural Broadband) project is funded (by ESA and NP) it is live in the start-up feasibility analysis phase. The satellite will supply the high bandwidth connectivity, distribution will be via WLANs. Up to 30 rural households will be served by the project. The Northamptonshire Partnership's prospectus - http://www.northamptonshirepartnership.org.uk/publications/default.asp sets out this opportunity and asks for expressions of interest in taking it forward.

NYNet : North Yorkshire County Council WAN development project

Yorks. & Humber

Mainly rural July 2002-2004

North Yorkshire - over 30 service points in major towns, over 100 sites

WLAN, Point-to-Point

All MLL Telecom Not yet funded A rural access project, supported by the RDA, and based on connecting public buildings and industrial parks as a first stage. Public access is being offered at schools, libraries and community centres; initial network to connect more than 100 offices and libraries, and provide public Internet access. Business model allows supplier and its local ISP and integrator partners to sell services over the broadband infrastructure established by the contract. In return, NYCC receives increased usage credits to reduce the cost of the service being provided to the council or any other public body that subscribes, such as a district council, a health authority or the fire service – example of public sector aggregation.

Oxfordshire Community Network www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

South East Mixed, mainly urban

Oxfordshire Various Public sector including NHS

Oxfordshire CC and Synetrix

Funded and in further development

Public sector only including the NHS.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 109

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

Rhondda Cynon Taff www.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk

South Wales - - Initial 312 organ-isations

Wireless – Pt-Pt, FWA, WLAN

Funded from the WDA

One of the poorest areas in South Wales has received funding from the WDA as well as the Welsh Assembly, to build its own Broadband service, it encompasses a 155Mbit/s licensed Microwave backbone with 34Mbit/s Licensed spurs and unlicensed radio as well, to connect 312 organisations in the first instance.

Rutland Broadband – see Welland

Scottish Enterprise www.scottish-enterprise.com/broadband

Scotland Mainly rural All All Various broadband projects including Wireless Excellence Network and Community Broadband Project. Pilot wireless-based broadband Rural Area Network (RAN) for a number of businesses and home users in the Borders. Also Power Line trial in Crieff.

SEEDA satellite broadband programme (RABBIT) www.seeda.co.uk

South East Mainly rural Started 2002 Satellite SMEs Supplier selected for each project independently

Specific areas of need around Hastings, Rother and Ramsgate

Underway The broadband project will provide low-cost broadband services to 500 businesses, mostly in rural areas of the South East. Led by Wired Sussex, it aims to reduce the cost of satellite broadband installation and first-year running costs towards BT ADSL Business 500 levels, as well as raising awareness of the benefits of satellite broadband. Grants up to £1060 available to SMEs with < 250 employees and no other broadband access. Currently approx 250 grants have been provided.

SomerNet www.somerset.gov.uk

South West Rural & mixed

County wide -600 locations

ATM backbone and unlicensed wireless access

Networks by Wireless Ltd

Funded Somerset County Councils broadband project relies on 34-155Mbit/s ATM backbone running county wide over licensed microwave. Over 70 unlicensed connections are currently in place, including schools, libraries, council offices and the emergency services. SomerNet has been running for three years.

Southend Wireless Broadband

East Urban Jan-Jun 01: 12 schools Mar 03: 50 schools + libraries

Southend Licence-exempt WLAN + 155Mbit/s wireless backhaul

Education + LG

Networks by Wireless Ltd

Southend LEA aims to connect every one of 119 educational establishments to broadband by 2005. Phase One between January and June 2001, involved the connection of the first 12 schools. 34Mbit/s licensed radio backbone, from which two 11Mbit/s 2.4Ghz licence-exempt radio nodes connect 12 junior, primary and senior schools to the network. Phase Two connected 50 more infant, junior, secondary and special schools, as well as 7 libraries. Phase 2 also upgrades the wireless backbone to 155Mbit/s, which can support 4 additional 11Mpbs unlicensed links that will provide broadband connection to the rest of the Southend region. Claimed benefits include financial advantage through network ownership rather than lease, cost and speed of deployment, environmental friendliness as well as uncontended 2Mbit/s Internet access.

Strathclyde Fire Service www.networksbywireless.co.uk/sc_fire.shtml

Scotland Urban - within Fire Station environs.

2003 113 Fire Stations

Licence-exempt WLAN

Fire Service Networks by Wireless Ltd

Not relevant. Information transfer within station garage and yard areas between fire appliances and stations.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 110

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

Tendring Wireless Trial www.micrologic-ltd.co.uk/tcb/technology.htm

East of England

Rural but trial signal will cover urban areas

Trial should commence in late February early March 2003

Project will be trialed at 30+ sites Infra-structure has capacity for up to 45,000 users

2.4GHz & 5GHz WLAN & FWA

Local Govt; SMEs and residents

Networks by Wireless Ltd, Micrologic Ltd, Internet Broadcast Corporation

Funded by EEDA and in development

Haven Gateway Partnership secured over £200,000 from EEDA for a technology trial to provide broadband access across the whole of the Tendring District. Initially the project scheme, which is being led by Tendring District Council, will involve 30 users with the eventual aim of extending this technology to the rest of the Haven Gateway Sub-Region which covers Colchester, Babergh, Ipswich and parts of Suffolk. Tendring District Council is inviting both local businesses and residents to join the scheme, which will involve a three-month trial period ending in June 2003. Participants will be loaned specialist hardware to access this technology with the option of purchasing the equipment at cost price when the trial period is over. The technology involved in the trial is long range wireless broadband and this will be the first trial of this particular equipment in the UK although similar networks have been running successfully in Texas as a part of the Trans Texas Corridor project. Also existing 2.4GHZ WLAN public sector network.

Thurrock Broadband Network www.networksbywireless.co.uk/council.shtml

East of England

Rural Started 2002, continuing during 2003-4.

112 square miles

Licensed microwave backbone 34-155Mbit/s, licence-exempt WLAN 11Mbit/s access.

Education, LG

Networks by Wireless Ltd, sub-contracted to Cable & Wireless

Three phase project using licensed microwave and unlicensed radio technology to supply high-speed broadband for secondary and primary schools, libraries and adult education establishments, and support links to CCTV collection centres, becoming infrastructure for borough-wide CCTV project with 250 digital cameras. Phase One, complete, implemented 34Mbit/s licensed microwave backbone, with connection of 19 sites using unlicensed radio. Phase Two will increase geographical coverage and backbone capacity from 34Mbit/s to 155Mbit/s, to facilitate connection of 56 more local sites linked at 8Mbit/s, as well as implementation of the Council’s CCTV system. On completion of Phase Two in 2003-4, the network will span a whole borough of 14 x 8 miles, connecting 75 sites. Phase Three will continue to expand the network, connecting further educational sites.

Torpoint Community Development Trust

South West Highly rural and remote

- <300 businesses

Wireless Not yet funded There are approximately 300 sole proprietors who work from home in the East Cornwall area.

Upton Magna www.advantagebroadband.co.uk/about/pilot/uptonmagna.asp

West Midlands

Rural Started June 2003

14 businesses outside DSL reach; plan to extend.

WLAN 2.4GHz licence-exempt

SME InternetCentral, Analysys, Alvarion

Grant from AWM Rural Broadband Pilot Programme

Wireless broadband service to 14 businesses in a business park on the edge of the small Shropshire village of Upton Magna, outside existing broadband coverage. After signing up 10 companies for broadband services, letting agents Balfours selected Internet Central to install and manage the service, with a grant from Advantage West Midlands as part of their Rural Broadband Pilot Programme – the fourth such pilot. The broadband service will be delivered using 2.4Ghz licence-exempt wireless technology supplied by Alvarion. The Rural Broadband Programme is managed for AWM by telecommunications consultants Analysys. Plan to extend services to other businesses and residential customers in range of the base station.

Warwickshire County Council www.warwickshire.gov.uk

Warwickshire Rural + Urban

In place 400+ sites inc schools, libraries and council offices.

Wireless + wired. Licensed 38GHz 155Mbit/s backbone, some 2.4GHz

All Currently rolling out a wide area network mainly comprising wireless links but contains some wired links. It is planned to link over 400 sites that include schools, libraries and council offices with priority given to connecting schools. The main backbone operates at 38GHz with a 155 Mbit/s data rate though there are other links operating at 38GHz with a lower data rate. Additionally there are some links using licence-exempt spectrum operating at 2.4 GHz.

Welland Partnership – Rutland Broadband Group

East Midlands

Rural Not known Not known ADSL, wireless, satellite

Funing from EMDA; pursuing other sources

The Welland Partnership: East Northants. District Council, Harborough District Council, Melton Borough Council, Rutland County Council, South Kesteven District Council has three Broadband projects in development. Rutnet is about to participate in a broadband technology trial involving wireless radio. Involved in Rabbit satellite

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 111

Project Region Degree of Rurality

Project Timetable

Extent Technology Sector(s) Supplier organisation(s)

Economic status (Objective One or Objective Two)

Funding Status

Project details

www.rutnet.co.uk scheme.

Wessex Broadband www.wessexbroadband.com

South West Rural Live July 2002

West Dorset coastal areas

Wireless Residential, Business, Local Government

Wessex Broadband Funded, operational

West Dorset. Originally Abbtel, initial deployment in Bridport, Abbotsbury and Portland; coastal strip from Bridport to Bournemouth in place September 2002. Plan to extend coverage West along coast into Devon, North to Sherbourne and Blandford. Full-fledged ISP, variety of residential and business tariffs & services.

Western Isles www.connectedcommunities.co.uk

Highlands& Islands

Rural Phase 1 planned to go live Nov 2003

6 main islands

Wireless & fibre

All DTI, UKOnline, Scottish Exec, Western Isles Enterprise and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Broadband wireless network connecting organisations and individuals across the six main populated islands of Lewis, Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra, piloting a number of technologies as a model for other rural and island areas. The 'Connected Communities' island network will utilise a combination of fibre and leading edge Wireless Broadband Base stations and multipoint in-community links. Initially schools, healthcentres and Council offices will receive a high speed connection, then through this same infrastructure the rest of the community – teleworkers and local companies – will gradually have high speed access through wireless antennas as the network develops.

Westminster (London) www.westminster.gov.uk

South East Urban Start June 2003

Soho - 2000 nodes by end-03, 1 Km2

WLAN LG, CCTV, Public Access

The network will be used for a whole range of council functions including supporting Soho's CCTV network, keeping in touch with elderly residents, supervising cleaning and litter regulations and noise monitoring requirements

Wireless Broadband Community Network Badingham Suffolk www.solitair.net

East of England

Wholly rural, partly remote

Not known Suffolk Wireless All DfES Funded SOLITAIR is a facet of Suffolk ACRE's SuffolkOnline.net project to distribute high speed internet access to a rural community by using standard 802.11b wireless equipment. SOLITAIR stands for "Suffolk Online Internet Access via Air" and is funded by The Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Badingham has been selected to trial a new form of high speed Internet access as part of the SuffolkOnline.net community internet project. This is a community based wireless Internet system that should cover most of the population of Badingham. The system is being designed and planned in conjunction with the Badingham User Group. The Badingham network is part of the main SuffolkOnline.net project and shares the same aims – to explore the benefits that computers and internet access can give the community. Installation is free and may require a small aerial mounted on the roof of the property. All the necessary equipment required – apart from the computer- will be supplied for participation in the project. Participants will be charged around £20 per month for unlimited access.

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 112

Annex 4: Further Information

The following organisations have either provided information used in this report (in which case it has been attributed in the footnotes) or may be useful sources of further guidance on certain issues. UK Government Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) www.cesg.gov.uk Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) www.dti.gov.uk Her Majesty's Stationery Office www.hmso.gov.uk HM Treasury www.hm-treasury.gov.uk National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) www.niscc.gov.uk Office of Government Commerce (OGC) www.ogc.gov.uk Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) www.oftel.gov.uk Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) www.odpm.gov.uk Office of the e-Envoy www.e-envoy.gov.uk OGCbuying.solutions www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk Radiocommunications Agency (RA) www.radio.gov.uk UK Broadband Task Force www.broadband.gov.uk Unified Incident Reporting and Alert Scheme (UNIRAS) www.uniras.gov.uk Countryside Agency www.countryside.gov.uk Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) www.defra.gov.uk Regional/Devolved Authority Central RDA Coordination Unit www.rdauk.org/rdauk East Midlands www.emda.org.uk East of England www.broadbandbrokerage.com North East www.onenortheast.gov.uk Northern Ireland www.broadband.detini.gov.uk Scotland www.scottish-enterprise.com South East www.seeda.co.uk South West www.connectingsw.net Wales www.wda.co.uk West Midlands www.advantagebroadband.co.uk Wired Sussex www.wiredsussex.com Yorkshire www.yorkshire-forward.com Websites promoting rural broadband/listing community projects Better Broadband for Britain www.bbb.uk.net Access to Broadband Campaign www.abcampaign.com Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial (RABBIT) www.rabbit-broadband.org.uk Multithread www.multithread.co.uk/adsl/local-

initiatives.php Other Analysys Consulting www.analysys.com British Educational Communications and Technology Agency www.becta.org.uk

OGCWG-V1.03 Page 113

(Becta) British Standards Institute (BSI) www.bsi-global.com Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) www.broadbanduk.org Broadband Wireless Association (BWA) www.broadband-wireless.org Business Link www.businesslink.org EC Information Society http://europa.eu.int/information_society European Commission (EC) http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations

www.cept.org

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) www.etsi.org Independent Expert Working Group on Mobile Phones (IEWGMP)

www.iegmp.org.uk

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) www.ieee.org International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)

www.icnirp.org

International Telecommuncations Union (ITU) www.itu.int Mason Communications www.mason.biz National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) www.nrpb.org Office of Communications (Ofcom) www.ofcom.org.uk US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) http://csrc.nist.gov Wireless LAN Association www.wlana.org Additional Reading Wireless LANs: Guidelines for Implementation, Security and Safety

Access Services, NHS Information Authority

Wireless Networking in Schools Technology Colleges Trust, Becta Wireless Office Project OGC Technology & Innovation Centre Broadband in Rural Areas Countryside Agency (publication due

September 2003) BSG Second Annual Report and Strategic Recommendations – November 2002

Broadband Stakeholder Group

UK Online – The Broadband Future UK Online