Gigabit Solutions for 5G and Future Networks from Angie Wireless

Exponential growth in data consumption has pushed Network resources to the limits. Radio networks are already Gigabit-ready with LTE-A, WLAN 802.11ac/ax etc. Future networks and use cases (such as AI, VR etc.) are designed for Gigabit data rate, real-time applications and seamless Quality of service. Hence every network element would require reliable Gigabit Backhaul. Recently we came across Angie Wireless, the team has been successfully deploying and providing Gigabit Data rates to users (Home, Enterprise offices and Mobile Boats etc.).

We recently got a chance to speak to the Group CEO of Angie Communications Mr. Neal Lachman about Angie’s solution, deployment, and future strategy. Mr. Neal told us:

“Angie wireless specializes in Next-Generation Communications Infrastructure and is dedicated to realizing the convergence of brand-new infrastructures in order to provide a seamless, ubiquitous customer experience, as well as to enable Internet-of-Things, smart-city solutions and services. By building this next-generation MB/WA and FTTP infrastructures from the ground up, without being encumbered by ownership of any legacy systems and operations, Angie creates a fully converged nationwide infrastructure, operating ultra-high-speed MB/WA networks”.

Techplayon believes that Angie Wireless is uniquely positioned not only as a perfect fit Solution provider for Wired & Wireless Gigabit solutions, but also have very unique and innovative solutions for Smart cities, C/V-RAN and Small cell deployments.Here is a very interesting whitepaper by Angie Wireless on why smart cities/home still don’t exist by Angie’s here.

Here is our interview with Mr. Neal Lachman:

Techplayon: Please tell our reader more about Angie Wireless and the Journey?

Mr. Neal: Angie was founded by me and a group of telecom/technology people that focus on next-generation communications. The name is the phonetic spelling of NG, which is industry jargon for Next Generation. We pride ourselves in the fact that we pioneered the Fiber to The Home industry back in 2000. Fast forward, 2017/2018, we are pioneering what we call “Virtual Fiber To The Home”.

Techplayon: Recently we read about your deployments and solutions for both 10Gigabit FTTH (X) and Gigabit Express Wi-Fi please tell us more about it?

Mr. Neal: Well, 10-Gigabit FTTH is a bit overkill. Your home router or even at your office can’t handle more than 980 Megabits per second speed, so there is little use of activating a 10-Gigabit connection there. What we did is show the most effective way of doing it – but that means lots of equipment and thus lots of costs. We showed that it is doable, but it isn’t as simple as pulling a Gigabit connection – mainly due to the technological limitations on the customer premises equipment side.

This is the network diagram of our current status:

We invested heavily in a number of 10-Gigabit fiber hubs because we are using them for tests as well as hubs for our Gigabit Wireless network where all the benefits of FTTH can be had with one major exemption: instead of pulling fiber to homes, the gigabit connectivity comes over the air – wirelessly.

With the Wireless Extreme approach, the configuration is a bit different. The drawing below shows the overhead design.

Techplayon: FTTH, Fibre itself is very critical for not only for connectivity but also is considered to be the base of future network both wired and Wireless (C/V RAN), how does Angie wireless see the role of Fibre wrt to 5G?

Mr Neal: This is where we see major strength in Angie’s approach. Our approach allows us to create a multi-purpose infrastructure where all aspects are being converged. We explained this here:

As a matter of fact, if you’d do FTTH, it would only serve one purpose: service to that particular home. With our approach, we can bring equivalent service (over the air) and yet serve other purposes too.

Techplayon: Can we expect Angie wireless or Partner coming India soon? Any plans?

Mr Neal: Yes, we’ve decided to jump on recent regulatory improvements, where we split the market per city/region and then partner up with local powerhouses, entrepreneurs/operators and businesses. We’re creating a win/win/win situation where all stakeholders benefit and bring amazing services to the people and businesses in those markets.

Techplayon: How did customer react to your FTTX and Gigabit traffic, we saw speed test snapshots of 800+Mbps? More info here

Mr Neal: They absolutely love it! Our early adopters/customers are what we call Extreme Pioneers, they become part of our effort in many ways and forms. These Extreme Pioneers share Angie’s pioneering spirit and work with us, whether it be in testing and configurations or in other areas such as pilot project support.

Techplayon: We read about In Boat Wi-Fi , how did you /team achieve that? Please tell us more? Info here

Mr Neal: We can’t disclose details as of now due to project confidentiality, but the philosophy is identical to what you’ve seen in the network diagram.

Techplayon: In India still only ~20-25% cell sites are on fiber backhaul compared to 70%+ to developed countries, do you think using your quick deployment solutions the figure can be improved? Please tell us more about your secret sauce.

Mr Neal: Indeed, pulling fiber is expensive and time-intense. If you’d build infrastructure with limited options, you will never recoup your investments whereas the Angie Extreme approach (with fiber to many locations per square mile) creates a multi-purpose infrastructure with multiple revenue streams.

Also, see pages 4-7 of the 5G blueprint that we published here

Techplayon: Do you think India and developing markets with future and high capacity networks will need Independent/ Operator agnostic fiber operator like west?

Mr Neal: Yes, but India is finally getting there. This is why we changed our mind and now decided to enter the market after all.

Techplayon: With such high speeds, how do you think the content market developing, is Angie Wireless thinking of Edge Content Catching?

Mr Neal: We will partner up with local businesses. We do not intend to get into the content business in the near future.

More information about Angie Wireless solution and insight can be found here

We would like to thanks, Mr. Neal to be very kind to take out his time for this discussion. We saw one of his post on LinkedIn out Gigabit Wi-Fi deployment and approached him to share the experience.