Microcells and Single Provider Plug In Boosters

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Mobile Data Usage Is Growing!

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Most people now expect seamless service at all times.  With 75% of all calls originate in buildings this is an important factor for real estate developer and property owner to consider seriously.  The quality of their cell phone service will impact leasing velocity, impact resident retention, and property stabilization.  

According to iGR, a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry, the number of in-building LTE small cells is expected to grow at a rate of almost 200 percent over the next five years.

The Silver Bullet?

I attended a webinar earlier this year.  The emphasis was wireless data usage.  One of the main findings from the firm's research was that at lower speeds, users were more likely use their mobile device.  These features included communication, social network and cloud access.  Interestingly, even on more data intensive applications, the mobile usage was surprisingly high.

Why is that and what about WiFi?  There is definitely a place for WiFi as part of the broader cellular network; however, it likely will not be silver bullet that many are hoping for.

According to Mark Lowenstein, an industry analyst and managing director of Mobile Ecosystem, “Wi-Fi offloading is not really where the [wireless] operators want to be [the] wireless carriers' business models are completely geared toward encouraging users to buy larger and larger buckets of cellular data.  Thus, there's little reason for them to embrace Wi-Fi offloading since it generally gives users more data that they don't have to pay extra for.”

While there is potential in WiFi there seems to be a lot of issues that need to be addressed first.  Here is an excerpt from a recent FierceWirelessTech article titled, “Sprint, Google, Microsoft, Huawei, TWC and others tap into aggregated Wi-Fi but revenues remain lethargic” that does a good job outlining some of those challenges.

“First and foremost, of course, is the fact that a Wi-Fi network is not comparable to a cellular network. Wi-Fi coverage can be counted in yards, while cellular coverage can be counted in miles. And Wi-Fi works in unlicensed spectrum, which means that interference from other nearby users is a distinct possibility. Cellular networks, on the other hand, run in licensed spectrum, meaning that wireless carriers can take legal action against anyone interfering in their transmissions.”

“And every time a Wi-Fi user moves, they may have to deal with a completely new Wi-Fi network and login process, whereas cellular roaming is relatively seamless. (Though, to be clear, the Wi-Fi Alliance's Hotspot 2.0 technical specification, dubbed Passpoint, is intended to smooth the Wi-Fi roaming and login process.)” 

“Lowenstein said that the Wi-Fi market also suffers from a somewhat crude user experience. Some services--like Google's Project Fi, Republic Wireless and Cablevision's Freewheel--require users to purchase specialized handsets. And oftentimes users must negotiate ads and other obstacles, particularly when accessing free hotspots. And even if those issues are addressed, some Wi-Fi hotspots (usually free ones) are simply overloaded because they don't have the backhaul or RF design necessary to handle traffic from multiple users.”

"I think we're still very much in the experimental stage" in the Wi-Fi industry, Lowenstein said. "There's still a lot of work to be done to deliver an easy, seamless, best-connected experience."

In a recent article by Monica Allevan, an editor FierceWirelessTech, she wrote, “Verizon Wireless, which seems to be the last holdout among the big nationwide carriers, isn't revealing its cards when it comes to Wi-Fi calling, and while it has said it would support Wi-Fi calling at some point, COO David Small at a recent investor conference pointed out that the technology has not been perfected in terms of handoffs, and Verizon would rather position its own cellular network over Wi-Fi any day.”

My guess is the cellular network of the future will be a will consist of macro network upgrades, new outdoor sites, indoor and outdoor small cells, distributed antenna systems, (DAS), WiFi and microcells.  For those have potential needs now, it is best to be proactive, and look carefully at all of your available options.

The Next Battleground: OTT Mobile Video

Written by Iain Gillott, May 21, 2015 

Posted with permission from iGR 

Like most tech industries, wireless grows in phases, each characterized by a particular technology or marketing scheme.  In the U.S., the original growth in the industry (back in the early 90s) was started when the operators offered subsidized handsets.  Then we moved to the SMS phase, where it seemed every startup had some new solution for texting.  In the run up to the current LTE building competition ("I have more covered POPs than you." "My LTE speeds are faster." etc.), we have seen competition around laptop data modems, PDAs, smartphones and tablets (of course), unlimited data rate plans and push-to-talk, among other things.

With significant capital investment still going into LTE networks, the North American mobile operators have generally built robust networks. (We can debate who has the better LTE network ad infinitum.)  The same is true in other regions of the world, while other places are still deploying their initial build outs.  At the same time, demand for bandwidth is obviously increasing, driven mostly by the demand for video.  Simply put, video uses more mobile bandwidth and with big-screen smartphones and tablets, consumers are likely to consume more video.  We have seen this trend both anecdotally and in our survey statistics.

The latest trend - one that we believe will be the basis of the next phase of competition - is mobile video content delivery.  Note that we are not saying that consumers will be able to access video from their mobile devices; as we know from our research, this already happens today. The most popular devices to watch Netflix on are tablets and smartphones.  Getting video over an LTE network today is not an issue.

But OTT video services and content are accessed independently of the mobile operator involvement (generally - there are a few exceptions).  So the consumer is accessing their Hulu account and content over an LTE connection simply because they can.  The mobile operator is not part of this transaction (other than providing data service) and the content generally has to traverse the entire mobile network (RAN and EPC) to reach the consumer.  This is not very efficient.

New competition is starting to come in the form of the mobile operators working with the OTT content providers, as well as potentially offering their own video service.  There are already examples of mobile operators hosting OTT video servers in their networks to reduce the transport costs and improve the customer experience.  And operators have announced partnerships with OTT service providers.  Plus there have been numerous stories of Verizon Wireless' plans to offer its own mobile video service later this year. (Buying AOL assists this with intelligent ad placement and delivery).  Partnerships are happening now and will become more common. In the next year, not having relationships with OTT video providers will be a competitive disadvantage for a mobile operator.

All of this, of course, assumes that the mobile operator has a robust LTE network that can handle the load.  As my son pointed out last night at dinner, Netflix is where most teenagers get their TV programming (his view) and that binge viewing is normal.  My son can easily burn through 15 - 20 GB per month on Netflix.  And while he may be at the extreme end now, the norm is moving closer to his usage pattern all the time.

For mobile operators that invested in LTE early - and continue to do so today - the video delivery challenge presents a massive competitive advantage opportunity.  I am not underestimating the challenge of meeting the demand for video from a network perspective, but for those operators that have the LTE reach and capacity, the next few years will be very interesting.  All of this will be done under the Net Neutrality rules, of course (or for as long as they last in the face of numerous court challenges), but there is little doubt that the OTT providers and the larger mobile operators are going to become friends, one way or another.  And for mobile operators offering their own video content services, the old saying of "keep your friends close but your enemies closer" will be very true.

Exceptional Service

JTM Group has been providing EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE to industry leading clients by helping them UNDERSTAND and UPGRADE their cell phone service needs since 1997.

Advisory Services

Important Trends to Consider

• Most people now expect seamless cell phone service at all times
• 75% of all calls originate in buildings and building materials impact cell phone service
• A weak cell phone signal can results in a missed call, text or other important information
• Additionally, not having consistent use of your cell phone can be aggravating  

Advisory Services for Residents and Homeowners

• Help individuals with personal "in-unit", "in-home" cell phone service solutions needs
• Advice on microcells, Wi-Fi calling, boosters and other service improvements
• Most issues fielded, assessed and resolved during the initial 60 minute consultation
• Payment can be made simply and safely by credit card through a secure invoice link 

In-Building Cell Phone Service: Upgrade Your Situation: Through Assessment, Planning, Service Provider Coordination, Project Management Services

I have been working on cellular real estate development since 1997.  During that time, I have worked on 500+ cellular projects and looked at thousands of developments. 

For those who have not worked with me recently, over the last 3 to 4 years, I have worked on approximately 70 projects for real estate developers and Class "A" property owners.

Clients usually start with an assessments.  Post-assessment, I coordinate, plan and manage the process for clients.  As an objective party consultant, I help clients with the broadest array of solutions, including but not limited to, service provider outreach/coordination, vendor pricing/design/management, microcells, Wi-Fi calling, small boosters, small cells, repeaters, and distributed antennas systems (DAS).

Basically, it is a partnership in which I take a large leadership and facilitation role, which allows clients to focus on their core business.

The Process Is Important

I think it is crucial for clients to understand their situation, available options, and for to discuss a strategy that takes into account all the project-specific factors.   That is why I recommend clients start the evaluation and planning process with a site assessment.

As a consultant, I perform approximately 20 site assessment on new projects, across the country, for premier real estate owner/developers each year.  Afterwards, I have the ability to work with the service providers, manufacturers and other vendors to determine what is the best solution for each project and work with various parties to implement it.  I have key contacts with the service providers who control their in-building solutions.  An important point to note is that most high-quality solutions, must be service provider approved and in most cases, the key components must be secured from them to make the solutions function.   

That is why, post-assessment, I almost always recommend service provider outreach/coordination to start; not only to understand what is happening with the outdoor sites within the area, but to get their feedback on how they can support any in-building needs that the project may have that are not supported by their outdoor upgrades.  This process allows me to help clients with a broadest array of solutions and strategies.    

Smartphones are the rule, not the exception. Be prepared!

According to survey data shared with me at webinar this week, 80% of respondents own a smartphone.  So now, smartphones are the rule, not the exception.  Interestingly 38% of those surveyed had unlimited data plans, which is a surprisingly high percentage considering how hard service providers are trying to migrate users off those plans.  Also noteworthy is that 28% of the respondents used their smartphones to steam Netflix.  

This signal a clear move toward smartphone users wanting and expecting ubiquitous cell phone service availability, especially where they work and live.  In some cases, with the ability to telecommute, this can be the same place.  Cell phone service impacts where people choose to live.  Most people now expect seamless service at all times.  With 75% of all calls originate in buildings this is an important factor for real estate developer and property owner to consider seriously.  The quality of their cell phone service will impact leasing velocity, impact resident retention, and property stabilization.  

Be prepared!

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Carrier Grade Wi-Fi, Small Cells, and DAS

It is the goal of most manufacturers to work very closely with the major service providers on emerging technologies.  The service provider needs to control the quality of service, monetization and implementation of this type of paradigm shift.  To be successful, equipment suppliers will have to align their product offerings with the broader service provider objectives.

According to a recent Light Reading article, the service providers will not be ready to start certifying products with WiFi technology as carrier-grade until 2015 or 2016, which probably means official deployments are even further out.  According to iGR, a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry, the number of in-building LTE small cells is expected to grow at a rate of almost 200 percent over the next five years.  iGR concludes that in-building small cells will be an important part of the heterogeneous network (HetNet) concept that many mobile operators are moving toward.  HetNet will consist of macro network upgrades, new outdoor sites, small cells of various types, WiFi and distributed antenna systems (DAS).

Previously, the primary infrastructure was large outdoor sites; however, due to the intense need for data, especially in-building, the industry equipment manufacturers are in the process of realigning their product offerings to meet this need.  Understanding relationship of the parties, the strategic synergies, available offerings, and their viability will be important in aligning client projects with the proper carrier-grade best in class technologies.  The service providers, like all other businesses, have limited time and resources.  Therefore, having a team member with the proper service provider connections will be crucial to the success of your cell phone service acquisition efforts.

Small Cells, WiFi and More!!!

I recently attended a webinar that discussed issues related to in-building cell phone service.  The presenter projected that the growth of cellular based broadband data usage will be tremendous over the next four to five years.  Most of this usage will occur in the indoor environment.  He went to discuss the tools that the service providers have to support and manage this growth. These included outdoor macrocells, femtocells, picocells, metrocells, microcells, WiFi and DAS.  

With respect to the outdoor macrocell sites, there was mention of how expensive and timing consuming they were to deploy.  Moreover, in dense urban areas, outdoor sites were not likely to have enough capacity to meet all the customer’s needs.

A major weakness with femtocell and WiFi, is that neither support LTE nor do they hand off to the outdoor network.  Moreover, with respect to WiFi, there are concerns about Quality of Service as well as the service providers' ability to manage them properly.  Regarding Small Cells, some of the issues that will need to be resolved are who will pay for the CapEx to install them, how backhaul will be provided, and how can they can be managed in connection with the broader network.

There were a lot interesting concepts discussed.  As with all other things cellular, it all about understanding your situation, being connected with the service providers as well as the ability to execute your plans in a timely manner.    

Sprint's next steps

Written by Iain Gillott, August 8, 2014 

Posted with permission from iGR 

By now, you will all have read umpteen different stories about how Sprint has decided to drop its (likely doomed) attempt to acquire T-Mobile US and replace CEO Dan Hesse with Marcelo Claure, founder and CEO of Brightstar.  Rather than rehash what you already know, we are going to discuss what Sprint could and should do next.  While Claure has some big challenges ahead, his task is far less daunting than that faced by Hesse back in 2007; Sprint today is in relatively good shape (one network, lower costs, lots of spectrum, outsourced network operations, full line of smart devices, etc.) and is not facing the need for a complete and massive overhaul. More on Dan Hesse in a later column.

So for now, here are my thoughts on what Sprint needs to do to get on an even footing with T-Mobile (never mind AT&T and VZW) and compete.

It's the network, stupid

Sprint has always loved big, expansive network projects - they like to slap a name on a project (Network Vision, Spark, Ion, etc.) in the hopes consumers will all be shocked and awed by the company's vision and flock to the stores in droves. Sprint's tendency to try this tactic is not new; Ion predated the Nextel merger, LTE and Hesse.  But contrast this approach with that of Verizon, who quietly builds its network and then relentlessly tells everyone how good it is and implies you are an idiot for not using the VZW network.  That approach worked, big time.

So, Sprint, enough with the big plans.  Just finish Network Vision, get LTE out there and launch more Spark markets.  Fast.  Just do it and then tell everyone how great the network is.  Do not worry about branding it with some fancy name (just call it 'The Sprint Network’).  Users will find out soon enough about the improvements and they will tell others;  word of mouth recommendations are still one of the main reasons people switch carriers.

Don't brag about planning to improve the network, get it done.  Consumers do not care about 2.5 GHz, PCS, AWS, 700 MHz, TD-LTE, etc. They just want a fast, reliable network that works where they are.  So finish the current plans and then tell anyone who will listen.

Sell what you have, now

That said, Sprint's network is not bad today (certainly compared to a few years ago).  After all, they offer LTE and have the same CDMA technology for 3G that VZW uses.  So start selling now, aggressively.  The network needs more subscribers, so get some on there fast.  T-Mobile has demonstrated in the last year or so that you can change the marketplace and have positive net adds when competing with AT&T and VZW.

One idea: dump unlimited.  While it sounds good in principle and people may say they want unlimited, the reality is that few people actually do.  Look at the number of people switching to tiered plans in exchange for a lower price and it is clear that unlimited is not the carrot it once was.  Yes, there are some people who will swear they need it; let them stay.  But offer some lower priced plans with 2GB, 4GB, 6GB of data.  And do not be afraid to start a price war; you need more customers and Claure says Sprint is going to be the most cost-efficient operator, so hold him to it. 

  

AT&T and VZW have deep pockets and can lower prices further, if needed.  But it will hurt them.  So put more pressure on them with pricing and effectively double the efforts of T-Mobile.  Then it will get interesting.

Find the Pin Drop

Everyone remembers Sprint's long distance ads with Candice Bergen and the Pin Drop.  Heck, I remember them and I was fresh off the boat from Blighty at that time! Sprint needs to find a new Pin Drop, and 'Framily' plans are not it.  Find something that catches and people notice.  VZW has the network test guy, T-Mobile had The T-Mobile Girl (Carly Foulkes) and now AT&T has network engineers up in the roof putting in small cells.  Sprint needs to trump them all and come up with something new and unique, like the Pin Drop was.

Give ME a reason to switch to Sprint

So with a better LTE network, lower priced plans with good amounts of data, and some new ad slogans, is that still enough for me to switch?  While it looks good on paper, probably not.  We have a family plan with lots of data on a network that works well for us, at a reasonable price.  And my operator has dropped my price plans as well as giving me a better bundle with other telecom services.  So what is going to make me switch, or even consider it?

To be honest, I am not sure. I have not really considered it.  So first of all, Sprint needs to make me sit up and think about it.  

Our cable operator just averted a probable switch to U-Verse by increasing our cable modem speeds from 15 Mbps to 100 Mbps for free.  Now, U-verse's 45 Mbps top speed looks inadequate.  Sprint's faster Spark network may be enough to make me think about switching and then with some compelling pricing, it may be too compelling to avoid.  Data speed matters and people understand faster. Going back to T-Mobile, remember when they had HSPA+ running fast and The T-Mobile Girl was zipping around on a motorbike in the ads?  Speed sells.

The reality is that Sprint does not need too many people to switch to be successful; just taking two percent of AT&T's and VZW's subscriber base would create a massive upset in the industry. Sprint does not need 10 percent of their base...just two percent. Find those people and give them a reason to switch. Network....Price....Pin Drop....Speed...

Don't forget the next area of growth

Finally, Sprint also needs to be pushing the next area of growth for the industry. While connected tablets are enjoying some success, the Internet of Things (a fantastically nebulous term!) is going to massively increase the number of devices on the networks.  Homes, cars, watches, alarm systems, thermostats, washing machines, stuff - all will be connected.  AT&T has jumped into this fray in a big way (more so than VZW and Sprint, although I am sure they would argue this). Sprint needs to push IoT forward as fast as they can and show the wide range of vendors that there is a viable alternative to AT&T.  While there has been some movement on IoT, it is not enough - push harder.

The Latest

Here is a quick update.

I have been very busy of late with completing assessments as well as beginning new follow up coordination work for clients. 

I was on the road approximately 75% of the time between mid-March and late May. 

During that time, I evaluated 10 new projects (4x Florida, 2x New Jersey, 2x Houston, 1x Austin, and 1x DC area). 

I am currently working on some Distributed Antenna System projects (4x) as well as Outdoor Macro site (3x) installation deals.

I am looking forward to getting out in the field again soon to help clients with projects in Florida, DC area and possibly California.