Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
This week saw me whisk away to lovely Atlanta for the DAS Forum’s DAS in Action event. Now, this is not one of the bigger events on the yearly wireless telecommunications calendar, though I do give it credit for having one of the better names. Despite its lack of size, the show does cover a topic that the industry is increasingly turning to in order to solve its most pressing need.
No, not the need for more “action,” though more action is usually always a good move. In this case that need is for systems like DAS and small cells that are being used to supplement traditional macro-cellular networks in providing greater capacity in highly stressed network areas.
Where was I? Oh yeah … Atlanta.
So, since many of you did not make the trip, let me give you the two biggest takeaways from the event so you can show up at your next dinner party and spout off some interesting facts that can be attributed to DAS in Action.
First, video has killed the radio star. And by that I mean that consumer fascination with streaming high-definition videos of kittens and Kleenex boxes are bludgeoning the life out of multi-billion dollar wireless networks. And there is not a damn thing those Poindexter engineers can do about it.
Well, maybe there is something they can do about it, but it’s going to take some sort of robot-human hybrid to make that something happen.
Another option could be more spectrum. Wireless industry analyst Iain Gillott from iGR Research summed up that sentiment best when he suggested that YouTube be forced to fork over money for new spectrum. (And you know it’s a good idea because Gillott has the necessary British accent required to make any idea or comment seem brilliant.)
Of course, YouTube, or more accurately its parent company Google, has a history of money and spectrum having games the system during the 700 MHz spectrum auction in a move that forced wireless carriers to fork over extra money in order to get their hands on those valuable spectrum assets.
For those that may not remember, Google badgered the Federal Communications Commission to attached open access requirements to a chunk of that 700 MHz spectrum under the caveat that if bids on those licenses hit a certain amount then whoever won those licenses would have to allow unimpeded access to the network utilizing that spectrum.
Once this stipulation was in place, Google made sure those licenses hit that threshold by bidding itself to the amount required to trip that requirement before then dropping out of the auction. (If Google has a British accent I would dare say the move was brilliant.)
Of course, putting this blame on Google is really just passing the buck from our own fascination in watching cats and paperboard boxes.
The second big takeaway from the event is that no industry gathering is complete unless trying to gain wireless access to the Internet and a lesser extent to place a phone call is akin to draining blood from a turnip. Has anyone ever attended a mass gathering of people engaged in the wireless space without having to wrap their bodies in tinfoil in order to garner a cellular signal?
The location where this event took place was behind the 8-ball from the get go as it was in the middle of a ginormous hotel and slightly below ground level. There was a local Wi-Fi connection in the room, but obviously not designed to handle 300 Facebook/Twitter/Instagram-hungry people all at once.
“But, wasn’t the event centered on technology designed to handle just such a scenario?” you may cleverly be asking? Why, yes it was, and that is what makes the wireless failure even more spectacular. And failing in a spectacular fashion is an action I am guessing the wireless space could do a bit more without.
OK, enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Worst of the Week column. And now for some extras:
–You gotta hand it to the people at LightSquared, who despite some big odds are not going away. Sure, they have probably been given a raw deal in their attempt to gain access to their 1.6 GHz spectrum assets, but raw deals are what life is about.
And instead of slinking away quietly, LightSquared has managed to pop up at recent events and with some powerful friends in its quest to remain a viable entity. I guess that’s what happens when you have a multi-billionaire backer and claims to valuable airwaves.
Here’s hoping LightSquared never takes the hint and remains a thorn in the side of someone, anyone for years to come.
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