Fixed Wireless in Cities

I am often asked by cities about the option of building a municipal fixed wireless broadband network. My response has been that it’s possible but that the resulting network is probably not going to satisfy the performance goals most cities have in mind. There are several limitations of fixed wireless technology in an urban that must be considered:

• The first is the spectrum to be used. Cities tend to be saturated with unlicensed Wi-Fi signals, and the amount of interference will make it a massive challenge to use unlicensed Wi-Fi for broadband purposes. 
• Licensed spectrum can provide better broadband results. But in cities of any size, most of the licensed spectrum is already spoken for and belongs to cellular companies or somebody else that plans to use it.
• Even if licensed spectrum is available, most fixed wireless radios can only serve a relatively small number of customers. Cities are probably not going to be willing to make an investment that can only serve a limited number of people.
• Another issue to consider is line-of-sight. In practical terms, this means that neighbor A’s home might block the signal to reach neighbor B. In the typical city, there are going to be a lot of homes that cannot be connected to a fixed wireless network unless there are a lot of towers – and most cities are averse to building more towers.
• Even when there is a decent line-of-sight, an urban wireless signal can be disturbed by the many routine activities in the city, such as seasonal foliage, bad weather, and even traffic.
• A point-to-multipoint fixed wireless system is also not a great solution for multi-tenant buildings. These networks are designed to provide bandwidth connections to individual users, and there is not enough bandwidth to deliver broadband from one connection to serve multiple tenants.