Tag Archives: bandwidth

Netflix updated its video encoding to make downloads look better

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From time to time, Netflix updates the technology it's using to convert and compress each of the digital copies of movies it streams to customers. Because people watch from so many different platforms, in so many different situations, it has to be re...

Netflix is the one limiting its video quality on AT&T and Verizon

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Last week as T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced that his company's Binge On program would expand to cover YouTube, he mentioned a strange point: that even the "mobile optimized" 480p Netflix streams T-Mobile offers were higher-res than what you get s...

5Ghz LTE Means More Data for More People

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As more an more people use more and more data, two companies have tested new LTE technology that helps prevent data bottlenecks in dense population areas.

Since carrier’s began providing high speed 4G LTE service over their networks, the number of people streaming music and movies, or downloading large apps and games has skyrocketed.

Data speeds have gone way up, and with it, so have data demands, as more people switch to cell phones with faster radios on faster networks and carrier’s like T-Mobile and Sprint both push for unlimited data, or at least high data caps.

This new access to content due to faster data access is awesome for many people, but just like any transportation system, such as highways, the system that transports our data can get clogged, which sort of negates the whole point of high speed data access.

That’s where Huawei and NTT DoCoMo come in. The two companies have just recently performed a successful test of an LTE broadcast using the unlicensed 5Ghz spectrum normally used for WiFi.

Most carriers broadcast over spectrum licensed by national regulating authorities (such as the FCC in the United States). Licensed spectrum is well regulated and ensures that consumers can purchase service from one company without another company blocking or clogging the system.

The 5Ghz frequency is an unlicensed frequency, because it is used by consumers and businesses for WiFi, which would be a little excessive to regulate in the same way as the frequencies used by carriers.

5Ghz typically has lower range (only a few hundred meters) and doesn’t penetrate solid objects very well, but it does not require a large open space to broadcast, making it very well suited for mesh style networks in capacity laden cities.

Some people may find the concept of 5Ghz LTE deployment a bit redundant, considering most WiFi broadcasts use the same frequency, the two broadcasts would usually be suited for the same areas, and many people are already accustomed to to using WiFi when available since it can be more reliably and some people with data caps are looking for ways to avoid using up their cap.

This homogenization of radio frequencies is only a necessary component of wireless technology as we move forward, though. Carrier aggregation (use of multiple frequency bands in a single broadcast) is an essential component of next generation LTE Advanced, and many cellular providers are already moving towards WiFi calling and offering more “smart” network features.

The benefits of such service is undeniable. Besides the benefits of carrier aggregation, 5Ghz WiFi alone offers 1.6x the capacity of current methods, but the more networks can do, the more concerns are raised over issues like net neutrality, where wireless providers’ smart networks will prioritize traffic to offer the best quality of service.

The technology isn’t available immediately (it seems that’s always the case), but Huawei and NTT DoCoMo will continue testing through 2015, and we may actually start seeing 5Ghz deployment in 2016.

Source: PC World

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Verizon Launches Screaming Fast XLTE

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T-Mobile has boasted it’s speed tested LTE is the fastest in the industry, but Verizon is about to leverage is behemoth spectrum holdings for even faster LTE.

Sprint may have been the first carrier to launch a 4G network with their WIMAX network, but Verizon was the first to launch the first superior 4G LTE network.  Verizon’s LTE rollout also included a much larger coverage area and the carrier still boasts the largest LTE Network in the world (for now).

The United States Government licenses spectrum through spectrum auctions and Verizon has found themselves in the fortunate position to have been the highest bidder on all the available 700Mhz spectrum nationwide, which not only allows them to launch a national network without having to worry about as many frequencies as competitors, but the spectrum that they own is also enables them to support much more bandwidth than other carriers.

In 2012, Verizon bought up a large chunk of AWS spectrum, which is traditionally reserved for cable companies.  It was beginning to look like Verizon was turning into a spectrum hoarder, but the Big Red carrier has finally announced network enhancements that will utilize their treasure trove of wireless Spectrum.  XLTE.

XLTE is not yet 5G.  It’s just a faster and rebranded version of LTE, similar to Sprint Spark.  Verizon claims that XLTE will have double the bandwidth and be capable of surpassing the peak speeds of its current 4G LTE network.  Anyone already on Verizon will know that the carrier already has quite capable coverage with proficient speeds, but with the exponential increase in data use from mobile media streaming and video chat, XLTE helps keep Verizon ahead of the curve.

The blazing speeds will be available in 44 states at launch and cover a large number of existing devices, meaning a full 35% of phones will support XLTE right out the gate.

The massive speeds and reliability promises for Verizon are definitely attractive, but it is also one of the few carriers in the United States not currently offering unlimited data plans.  This means that at peak speeds, the typical 2GB data cap could hypothetically be surpassed in under 5 minutes.  Obviously that doesn’t match the typical data use pattern, but it is an example that such speeds aren’t much use if the available plan data does not support consistent use of the high speeds.

Hopefully more carriers find a way to support increased or unlimited data pools, otherwise their promises of blazing speeds, which are only going to increase in speed over the years to come.  It is possible the combination of high speeds with matching high data caps won’t be the norm until Google expands its fiber service to include wireless coverage.

Either way, speeds are going to continue to increase, following the example set by Verizon, and features that harness that speed won’t be far behind.  The wireless industry is fast moving in more ways than data speeds and the offerings available in the next few years are quite enticing.

Source: Engadget

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Artemis Brings Much Needed Change to Old Cellular Technology

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When current cell networks were first built, Netflix, Youtube, and Snapchat were unthinkable, yet data use is growing, and networks need to adapt.

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Cellular Data use has double on a per capita basis over the last few years.  This is a trend that will only get more significant as time goes on and people consume more higher quality video content.  This is definitely not the type of use that was considered when our existing infrastructure was built, and it often strains to provide proper signal depending on circumstances.

If you’ve ever been to a large concert or sporting event, you’ve probably noticed that your cell phone is basically completely useless.  At least for data.  If you’re lucky, you might be able to place a call or text.  This is because the current cellular tower technology doesn’t play nice when towers overlap signal.  As a result, towers that support stadiums or other places with dense groups of people have to be able to provide enough bandwidth to support every single person, which they don’t, so you don’t get a good signal in these places.

Some areas have resorted to providing blanket coverage with a lot of smaller micro-cells in order to cut down on the number of people using each “tower,” but even this is an extraordinarily inefficient system as every micro-cell or tower has to be individually tuned and the more there are, the more expensive it is to support them all and the more likely it is something will go wrong.

Enter Artamis.  Artrmis claims to be a solution that eliminates these issues by allowing tower signals to overlap and actually mesh them together to allow for a single coherent signal.  It isn’t clear exactly how this is done, and Steve Perlman—the man behind Artemis—hasn’t released any technical details as to why it works, so we can only explain what it looks like while it works.

Perlman recently performed a demo for the New York Times where he lined up half a dozen devices connected to wireless hotspots surrounded by Artemis PCells and streamed perfect 4k video on every device without a hiccup.  Perlman claims that it doesn’t matter how many devices are running in any geographic area, using his technology they will all be able to simultaneously run at full speed non-stop without any stuttering or loss in bandwidth.

If these results can be replicated outside of a controlled environment, then this is great news for a wireless infrastructure in need of a refresh.  Of course it would need a buy in from the carriers, who tend to be resistant to change.  Carriers may not have a choice in the matter, though, because if they don’t act quickly, this same technology might be able to be used by smaller companies to get fully functioning networks built quickly and for much less expense than older technology would require.

Of course technology like this is always a few years off from hitting the main stream, but at the rate current data consumption is increasing, something needs to happen to cure our bandwidth woes, and Artemis just might do the trick.

Source: Engadget 

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