Wireless spectrum use with smart devices

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yuxek

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#57141 4-Feb-2010 02:06

so what happens when everyone has a ipad and using it on the cellphone network and uses up all the spectrum? some people in the usa are already talking about this. i know you can reuse spectrum from analogue tv broadcasts but what about when all that runs out?

why can't you just make a new spectrum frequency like 100000mhz or anything?

sbiddle

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#295916 4-Feb-2010 06:54

You can use higher frequencies and there are plenty of other bands available including 2600Mhz that will be used for LTE.

The problem is lower frequencies typically offer better coverage, range and will penetrate through materials such as concrete far better. 900Mhz works better than 2100Mhz for example.

wtf

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#295967 4-Feb-2010 09:57

OK, first thing that happens is the mobile companies make a truckload of money, so if you are sure this is going to happen buy shares in them....

There has always been a shortage of spectrum, not always in the same part of the spectrum. Once the problem was lower down, eg shortage in the old AM broadcase band and in the HF bands. You can open up new bands, but this is a slow process, since it all has to be standardised first at the international level, then the actual devices have to be made and the operators have to get the gear into their base stations.

But there is also the possibility of increasing bandwidth by increasing the number of base stations and hence reducing the area covered by each one. This has already and is still being done as an ongoing process by the operators, but is a difficult process since people seem to have this odd prejudice against cell towers. Funnily enough we don't seem to hear much complaint about television and AM radio towers, which radiate at up to about a thousand times the power levels. This was touched on in an earlier thread which I tried to reply to, but the board had timed me out. Suffice it to say that you can put the cells sites closer and reduce the power level, This reduces the interference from the local ell into distant cells and vice versa so that it all works out the same. Things like in building coverage are not adversely affected since although the power levels are reduced, the buildings you need to penetrate are all closer. But of course there is the cost of planning permission, actual acquisition of the right to use the site, the material cost of actually building the thing, and the cost of linking it up to the network.

yuxek

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#296128 4-Feb-2010 17:06

cool so the international community can just make a new frequency standard?

wellygary

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#296131 4-Feb-2010 17:15

yuxek: cool so the international community can just make a new frequency standard?

The problem is that the electro magnetic spectrum has a few built in hard limits, such as Infrared and then the entire visable colour spectrum which sits above microwave frequencies.

There is plenty of spectrum to go around, all that needs to happen is that people have enough $$$ to purchase devices that use the most upto date methods of using it.

I mean both 2G and 3G operate at 900Mhz, but 3G is a much more efficient user of bandwidth (spectrum), and when that gets filled up you can install LTE in the same frequencies and make even better use of it.

It is a bit of an arms race, but once you start to pushout big frequency hogs like analog tele you find there is a fair bit of space that can be used much more efficiently.