Can licensed wireless support videoconferencing?
Q. I’m thinking of investing in web and videoconferencing in order to
save time and money. What kind of bandwidth do I need, and will my
licensed wireless link support those kinds of applications? -- Tony O’Connor, Head of IT, Keelings
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| Peter Hendrick, Technical Director,
AirSpeed Telecom |
A. Licensed wireless is probably one of the best telecommunications options you could choose. It not only provides the high bandwidth, but also the symmetric speeds and quality of service that deliver effective videoconferencing, especially high-definition (HD) video conferencing. An increasing number of organisations are examining the potential of videoconferencing to reduce travel costs and improve staff productivity. But be aware that the effectiveness of videoconferencing can be severely impacted by even minor deterioration in transmission quality -- this may be caused by congestion from other network traffic, insufficient bandwidth, or an inability of the transmission network to protect against latency and jitter. Make sure your supporting telecommunications network is designed to reduce these effects with features like synchronous bandwidth and quality of service (QOS) guarantees, or frustrated users may avoid the service, leaving you unable to realise those targets for improved productivity and cost efficiency.
Because a licensed wireless network is architected to support bandwidth intensive applications, it's ideal for videoconferencing, with synchronous up/down speeds and extremely low latency and jitter -- equivalent, in fact, to a fibre optic network. Videoconferencing equipment and service vendors often suggest a range of bandwidth recommendations, based on what you need to achieve good, better or best results. But given the sensitivity of videoconferencing participants to any quality problems, it's advisable to lean towards the high end of the vendors' recommendations.
For standard-definition videoconferencing, 1.5 Mbps per participant would give good quality, while high-definition videoconferencing could require up to 4 Mbps per participant. Both require an estimated additional 20% bandwidth on top for IP packet overhead. More guidance is available online from vendors and industry watchers, including Polycom and Radvision. Exact bandwidth requirements will vary, depending on factors including the compression equipment used. The main point to remember is that bandwidth must be uncontended and symmetrical to protect the quality of the videoconferencing experience.
Your telecommunications partner can talk you through the options available to you based on projected number of participants, probable conference frequency, required quality levels, and your potential need for HD. AirSpeed Telecom's licensed wireless network delivers fully synchronous, QOS-protected bandwidth for high-quality videoconferencing up to high-end Cisco Telepresence applications, as detailed last issue. Whichever provider you choose, asks to see live reference sites and inquire about forward support contracts. AirSpeed Telecom Technical Director Peter Hendrick answers readers' questions, which may be edited for brevity. Email your questions to Peter.
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