RTÉ NL gets up to speed with licensed wireless
RTÉ
NL, the operator that carries television and radio signals for
broadcasters including RTÉ, needed to give one of its
remotest studios a new lease on life by dramatically increasing its
bandwidth. Licensed wireless was the answer.
These
days there are few places in Ireland, or indeed the world, that are
totally inaccessible to communications. In even the remotest areas,
wireless and satellite technologies can be used to get a signal,
make a call or check e-mail. But as user demands grow, just having
a connection isn't enough. Without LAN speed broadband, any
business with remote operations cannot operate effectively -- and
its users face unnecessary delays, costs and frustration as
narrowband technologies fail to meet their rising expectations of
what a company network should do.
That's the predicament RTÉ NL found itself in with its
remote studio in Ballydavid, a small radio-only outpost
broadcasting from the Dingle peninsula. RTÉ NL's existing
connection to the site was only 2Mbps, using older licensed
wireless equipment installed in the 1990s. As RTÉ NL
contemplated an upgrade, it was keen to offer Ballydavid users much
higher bandwidth.
"There's a demand for capacity from the studios that's increasing
all the time, especially for Ethernet type data transfer capacity,"
explained Ciaran Sinclair, Project Manager for RTÉ NL.
"Producers at Ballydavid have a huge desire to scan our archives in
Limerick or Donnybrook and browse or download content. Ballydavid
does a lot of programming with Irish traditional music, culture and
folk tales -- material recorded from the 1930s to the 1950s on all
kinds of devices. All that content is stored remotely."
An issue of cost -- and quality
Pressure on the 2Mbps link meant slow service for Ballydavid
producers, who often had to resort to ordering physical tapes to be
delivered by courier. A truly high bandwidth solution would help
eliminate network delays and unnecessary shipping costs, and
dramatically improve the network experience for all Ballydavid
users.
After considering its options, RTÉ NL decided to replace
its older generation equipment with an updated licensed wireless
service based on the new and more powerful generation of microwave
radio technology:
- Truly
high bandwidth, to Ballydavid and back: The upgraded network
is successfully pushing 20Mbps out to Ballydavid, following
establishment of a four-hop licensed wireless link using
microwave radio. The link, designed and managed by AirSpeed
Telecom, spans 140km, connecting Ballydavid to its Cork city
studio. The broadcast-quality network will carry some hours of
radio transmission, plus all LAN traffic, including remote access
to content archives in Limerick and Dublin.
- Long
distance, strong signal: "One hop of the link is a long, 90km
over-sea path, which is very demanding on microwave radio
technology. The existing link we have is reliable, but it's
narrow at 2Mbps. With 20Mbps, the signal is more prone to fading,
especially over water, and this is a big over-water path," Ciaran
said. "But we have had no problems with the link. The local
engineers say it's holding up fine, and we're delighted that it
seems to be working so well."
- VoIP
ahead: The new network will allow RTÉ NL to deliver
Ballydavid users with voice over IP for the first time, thus
cutting communication costs further.
Licensed wireless has some way to go before it gathers enough
mindshare to challenge the pre-eminence of fibre-based wide area
network services. But with budget concerns pressing ever harder on
enterprises -- and with licensed wireless networks now delivering
the kind of speeds never before possible with earlier generations
of the technology -- this is one networking option that may be
about to have its day in the sun.
|
