F.A.Q.
Direct to Mobile. How does it work?
Standard 4G/5G mobile phones must comply with standardized specifications that limit the transmitter power to just 200 mW – communicating directly with a satellite is no small feat. Surprisingly, no software or hardware modifications to the phone are necessary & you can remain with your current carrier.
The Opencell.Space Satellite network reuses available spectrum in each spot beam directly multiplying capacity. This is similar to how the cellular network reuses channels at each base station to support millions of subscribers across the mobile network. Because the Opencell.Space satellites are in low Earth orbits the spot beams can be many times smaller than spot beams from satellites in Geostationary orbits and the capacity per satellite is so much higher.
Communicating with a satellite in orbit requires new, specially designed satellites. The Opencell.Space satellites have large aperture digital phased array antennas that are exquisitely sensitive to the minute mobile phone signals arriving from phones that can be 1000km away on the ground. These are by far the most advanced satellites ever developed. Additional digital signal processing is required to remove the extreme Doppler shift from the mobile signal due to the satellite traveling at Mach 28 and also to pre-compensate the expected Doppler Shift such that the downlink signal received at the mobile is received without a Doppler Shift. Further timing adjustments are done to ensure mobile signals do not interfere with one another when they share the same channels to account for the much larger than expected transmission range.
How is this different to offerings from other vendors?
The Air@Wave technology is unique in the market and is a decade ahead of current cellular network concepts while maintaining compatibility with existing subscriber side devices.
Air@wave Virtual Private Cell™ technology multiplies capacity and improves the customer experience while preserving existing investments in 3G or 4G systems.
Does Air@wave technology require new mobile handsets or user equipment ?
Air@wave works with existing handsets up to their maximum rated speeds. Beyond 4G, carriers can order custom Air@wave integrated technology enabled user equipment.
Air@Wave can instantly increase ARPU and dramatically improve the customer experience without the usual requirement to upgrade handsets – which regularly causes existing customers to churn to competitors.
Cellular Network rollouts are a Herculean task- how does your technology make this easier?
The Air@Wave technology was developed to specifically address network rollout issues such as rights of way and access to “pits, pipes and ducts” that impede, complicate and prolong network rollouts.
The Air@wave rollout models can eliminate virtually all barriers and network deployment costs and even ongoing operating expenses are a fraction of conventional deployments. A modest amount of existing infrastructure can be used to achieve the highest capacities possible – but without civil works.
In existing macrocell deployments, no new cell towers are required. In fact, in greenfields markets Air@wave can plan and design networks which require no towers whatsoever.
I don’t want a new cell tower in my neighborhood – How can you help?
Air@Wave Metroscale solutions do not require any more towers in metropolitan areas with existing cellular networks. Lobby your local member and show them the Air@Wave Metroscale alternative.
Carriers are already using microwave backhaul at their cell sites – how is this different ?
Cell towers often carry large, ugly, parabolic dishes for microwave backhaul, such dishes are completely unsuitable for small cell deployments. No such dishes are employed in the Air@wave Metroscale network. Air@Wave Integrated Backhaul technology delivers lower cost of deployment than all other competing products, the lowest operating expense and yet delivers capacities and speeds many times faster.
Air@wave Metroscale is clean, green and friendly to those who live in the proximity of your new network by reducing tower emissions to zero relative to the emissions from mobile handsets.
Are fixed wireless deployments supported ?
Yes. Using the Air@Wave Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), customers can access the full speed of the Air@Wave Metroscale solution which by design matches the speeds available on current generation GPON fiber deployments – at far lower costs.