Home > WiDOX: Comparison With Other TechnologiesHow does the WiDOX technology compare to TV-White Space technology?
WiDOX complies to Rural Remote Broadband Systems (RRBS) regulation policy introduced by Industry Canada (now Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, or ISED) in mid-2000s to allow broadband Internet transmission over unused analog television channels in the 512–698 megahertz (MHz) spectrum (channels 21–51) to facilitate advanced communications services in Canada’s remote and rural northern communities.
In the past, RRBS suffered limited utilization by limited spectrum assignment (only 6 MHz bandwidth) and an eight-year moratorium on expanded use. In spite of this, Advanced Interactive Canada Inc. has continued to upgrade RRBS systems to new standards of performance, and has made application to ISED and the UBF for new high speed Broadband Wireless Systems in multiple communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We look forward in being able to install these new systems to provide service to many rural and indigenous communities.
| Licence | The fact that RRBS has a licence for the exclusive use of UHF channels ensures that the business will not suffer from unwanted interference. This can not be assured for TVWS, and thus for TVWS there can be no business case for investment in a business where interference could abound at any time. |
|---|---|
| Coverage | The power allotted to RRBS on a channel basis is up to 500W EiRP(302 W ERP) vs 10W EiRP (6W ERP) for TVWS. On an equivalent height basis, the theoretical coverage of RRBS has a radius of 32.3 Km vs TVWS at a radius of 14.7 km. But since the TVWS uses the Wi-Fi type technology, the data rate drops sharply with distance, while the data rate of RRBS does not drop with distance. So the effective coverage of RRBS is much greater and superior to TVWS. |
| Subscriber Services | RRBS Systems using DOCSIS Technology provides an modem with multiple ethernet connections, the latest Wi-Fi modem, POTS telephone connections, and a back-up battery to allow operation in case of power failure. TVWS equipment only provides an ethernet connection to the home or business. All other equipment such as a Wi-Fi router, telephone connection, etc. must be add-on units. In addition, the RRBS system Base Station includes a high quality server, standby power, and a great number of useful services not available in TVWS systems. These are all free additions for the subscriber. Thus, the usual services from RRBS are superior to TVWS. |
| FDD vs TDD | RRBS uses FDD which ensures continuous transmission upstream and downstream. TVWS uses TDD which limits the transmission time for both the Base Station and subscribers, and requires a loss of time between each transmission change. The result is that the data rate from TVWS is much less than RRBS. |
| Bandwidth | The bandwidth of an RRBS can be extended to many hundreds of MHz, only limited by the amount of spectrum assigned. This is inherent in the RRBS technology, since the Cable Industry CMTS is capable of downstream bandwidths up to 1000 MHz (soon to be extended to 1600 MHz). There is no such concept for TVWS. Existing TVWS equipment is limited to 18 to 20 MHz bandwidth, which ultimately limits the amount of data transmission. |
| Modulation capability | The modulation capability of an RRBS System can be from QPSK to 4096 QAM, providing for data rates that extend into the Gigabits/sec. The limitations are only the amount of spectrum and the signal to noise of the system. The TVWS modulation range, based on existing equipment systems, are limited to BPSK to 64 or 256 QAM. The difference in Modulation capability can make a big difference in data rate capability. |
| Data rate | There are several factors mentioned above that effect the data rate capability of the system (see 3, 4, 5 above). It is difficult to compare precise data rates of the two systems, but the fact that RRBS can bond an unlimited number of channels in the UHF spectrum (i.e. greater bandwidth), use much higher modulation rates, is a continuous signal, and the dates rate does not drop with distance, means that RRBS is much superior to TVWS |
| R&D | RRBS systems are based on DOCSIS Technology and the continuing R&D of the Cable TV Industry. Millions of dollars are spent each year by the Cable industry to upgrade and improve their designs which are made available to all users without licenses fees. There is no concept like this in the TVWS equipment. Each TVWS equipment is different and not common to other systems, and there is no overall organization spending millions of R&D dollars to upgrade the system |
| Economies of Scale | RRBS receives a huge benefit of economies of scale from the Cable TV Industry. Many suppliers compete to supply the Industry with the main components of the system which drives down prices and improves the features and capabilities. And all equipment must be compatible with all other units. There is no equivalent economies of scale for TVWS. All manufacturers are different and not compatible with each other. |
| Subordination | RRBS equipment systems are in a great position to respond to any opportunity for Subordination of spectrum use in spectrum under 6 GHz. In particular, RRBS could respond to subordination of spectrum in the upper 600 , 700, 900 MHz bands without any major equipment change. That feature is not available with TVWS equipment |
| Ability to scale | RRBS has a unique ability to scale with the aid of the Cable Industry. This is largely due to the ability of the incredible ability of the Broadcom Chipset to be able to bond or skip any individual channel from 240 – 1800 MHz. That ability means that high data rates can be achieved for many subscribers if the spectrum is made available. |
| Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) | Each TVWS equipment is different and not common to other systems, and there is no overall organization spending millions of R&D dollars to upgrade the system. Customer equipment in RRBS system includes commercially graded cable modem, with a built-in WiFi and a router with 4 x 1Gbps ports, telephone connection with high level of voice quality at a low bit rate g729 codec, pre-set speeds with quality of services prioritization, and remote provisioning and maintenance. |
