Wireless Fundamentals Lesson 2: Implementing A New Wireless System Bellevue Community College Bob Young, Instructor

Questions about the type of system Function Licensing Capacity

Questions about the site(s) Number of sites Location Utilities Environment Leases Legal

Questions about the hardware Number of units Types of equipment Number of spares Installation Maintenance Operation

Questions about the costs Capital expense (CAPEX) Operating expense (OPEX)

Let's look at these questions in more detail...

Questions about the type of system Function Licensing Capacity

What information are we trying to distribute? Analog voice, digital voice, music, video, data, telemetry information...

What is the desired coverage area? In-building, campus environment, metro area, state-wide, regional, national...

Does the system require redundancy in case of equipment failure?

Can we use licensed or unlicensed spectrum? There may be multiple options - or there may be only one.

Will the system be one-way or two-way?

Will the system be point-to-point or multi-point?

What will be the input device(s) to the wireless system? Microphone, camera, tape or CD, another radio, LAN...

Will the inputs be local or remote to the transmitter?

If remote, how will the input(s) be connected to the transmitter? Telephone line, microwave, Ethernet cable...

If remote, how many control points will be connected to the transmitter?

How many users will there be?

How many channels are required?

Should the system be simplex, half-duplex, or duplex?

Questions about the site(s) Number of sites Location Utilities Environment Leases Legal

How many sites are needed for adequate coverage?

Will we need any radio relay points to connect the sites?

Where will the site(s) be located?

Can we rent space at an existing radio site?

Are there any required easements to access the site?

How many vertical feet of tower space are needed?

Will we need to build a tower (or towers)?

Will the tower need to be marked? Tower marking can include steady lights, strobes, paint...

Will the tower require zoning and permitting?

If the tower already exists, is it properly registered with the FAA?

Does the site have the necessary electrical capacity?

Does the site have the necessary telephone interconnect facilities?

Does the site need to be fenced?

Do we need to build an access road?

Does the site need to be alarmed?

What are the lease terms?

If we are subleasing, have we obtained a copy of the master lease?

Does new construction require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)?

Questions about the hardware Number of units Types of equipment Number of spares Installation Maintenance Operation

How many portable units will be needed?

How many spare portable units should be on hand for replacement?

How many other spares are required?

What is the physical size of the equipment?

What are the electrical requirements?

What are the air conditioning/heating requirements?

Does the equipment need to be monitored and/or alarmed?

Who will install the equipment?

Who will operate the equipment?

Who will maintain the equipment?

What sort of training is required? User/operator training, maintenance training...

Questions about the costs Capital expense (CAPEX) Operating expense (OPEX)

What is our budget to purchase the equipment?

How will we choose our vendor(s)?

How will we choose the manufacturer(s)?

What is our budget to maintain the equipment?

What is our budget for site rental and utilities? Utilities includes electrical power and telco interconnect.

??? Questions ???

Thank you for your participation in this course! --Bob Young