Current Trends in Networking - Essay Example

URRЕNT ТRЕNDS IN NЕTWОRKING Name Institution Date Introduction The present scenario requires that telecommunication technologies (wired and wireless) that will aid in internet communication. The area that requires connection is Cean a Bhaigh in the island of Sgalpaigh. The area is located (N57:51: 26) (W6: 40:11). The present paper is dedicated to making recommendations of several technologies of telecommunications which can enable a person access the Internet. The remoteness of the scenario area makes communication difficult restricting availability of many communication technologies accessible in urban and certain rural areas. The emergence of telecommunication technologies that can enable access of remote area is very important. A review of different technologies represents the focus of this paper, specifically, telecommunication technologies that can avail internet in Cean a Bhaigh. Some of the most important transmission technologies that can help make this area internet-accessible include the Satellite and 3G and 4G technologies. In addition, there are certain wired transmission technologies, including Fibre Optic Broadband, DSL, Broadband over Power Line (BPL), and Broadband over Cable (BoC). The present report investigates various telecommunication technologies that are available for the remote area in the present scenario. The report will also look into possible telecommunication technologies of the future. Summary of Broadband Technologies Today, it is possible to access broadband using different technologies over different mediums. One can access the Internet via fourth-generation (4G) technology, fiber optic broadband, DSL, and broadband over power line (Sirbu, Lehr and Gillett 2006). The state of broadband technology today makes all this connectivity relatively easy. The internet user does not need to understand anything about the infrastructure supporting the global telecommunication system to share and communicate information across the world. Fiber Optic Broadband (FOB) Without fiber optics, there would be non-existence of broadband as it is known today. Fiber optics has become the backbone of the global telecommunication system. This transmission medium moves high rates of data for long distances thus supporting the global telecommunication system (Lam, Liu, and Koley et al. 2010). ADSL ADSL represents the platform that is mostly used in the United Kingdom for broadband connection. This telecommunication technology depends on the distance one is from the nearest telephone exchange. This means that the closer one is to the telephone exchange, the easy it is to achieve connection speed. However, there are other factors that affect the connection speed, including the type and quality of the cabling. Remote areas are often mostly affected because of their far distance from the local exchange. The scenario area is characterized by slow spots and not spots. This area may be very difficult to serve with ADSL. The area scenario is a “not spot” area. Therefore, establishing broadband services in this area may not be likely through existing ADSL infrastructure. The area is located at a far distance such that broadband cannot retain its effectiveness. Several other alternatives exist which can provide a solution to the problems with the existing ADSL infrastructure. To assist people in “not spot” areas, BDUK has set up a Satellite Subsidy Scheme (Coventry City Council 2017). This is intended to help those people having signals not exceeding 2Mbps get access to satellite connection. There are two alternatives broadband types that are deliverable through routes that are not land-based, including broadband provided through mobile phone technology and broadband provided through satellite. Broadband through Mobile Technology Broadband via mobile technology can be especially achieved via 3G network. A person is not required to connect his/her computer to mobile devices. Rather, one just plugs USB devices referred to as ‘dongle’ to his/her computer which will in turn act as broadband modems. However, 3G coverage in this scenario area may be patchy. If such is the case in the scenario area, there is an alternative of internet access via the previous 2G technology which may present better coverage. However, 2G technology still has its own disadvantage in that it might be quite slow. Although it is highly unlikely that broadband via mobile phone technology will completely eliminate the problem, it can provide a short-time solution for a few number of people in the scenario area, being a ‘not spots’ area. Broadband via Satellite Satellites seem to have the most possible solution for people living in remote areas in relation to enabling internet connection. It is highly possible for people living in these areas to receive broadband via satellites. Broadband via satellite continues being promising since available speeds are increasing while costs are reducing at the same time. Most of these satellites have their locations in geostationary orbits. This is advantageous because they remain fixed above a person’s location of the Earth’s surface. The geostationary orbit on which these satellites are located is at around 23,000 miles above the surface of the Earth. This is represents the reason why broadband located on satellites cover a large area with their signal. An individual is assured that he/she will be able to receive broadband through satellite connection. In remote areas, one only requires a satellite dish. In addition, a person pays for subscription to satellite ISP. The costs of installing the dish are usually included in the costs of installation. Establishing and operating the satellite requires high costs. The costs incurred during installation are passed on to the users of that service. This represents one of the disadvantages of satellite broadband networks – they are more expensive compared to ground-based technologies. Another disadvantage of these technologies is that they have much stricter limits such that they cannot send or receive huge amounts of information. The third disadvantage is that related to distance. Signals over satellite travel approximately 46,000 miles leading to latency problem. This means that there will be slight delays as signals have to traverse long distances. The delay is similar to the one experienced when one is making calls over long distances. Latency usually causes delay of about one second when the signal is travelling to and from the satellite. However, there are some internet usages that do not find this as a problem, including sending emails and web browsing. Nevertheless, there are many challenges in using such internet over video conferencing, online gaming, Virtual Private Networks, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls. Therefore, this type of telecommunication technology is ideal for web browsing, uploading files to cloud storage, and sending emails. There are some things that should be done, including clearing all the obstacles along lines of from the satellite dish to the satellite. These obstacles include trees, buildings, and other objects that can block signals. It is also important to note that signals could be obstructed by rain or snow. Over the recent years, there have been enormous improvements in broadband technology thus showing a promising future for such remote areas as Cean a Bhaigh. Most importantly, this may remain the last choice option for Cean a Bhaigh and other remote areas. To assist people in “not spot” areas, BDUK has set up a Satellite Subsidy Scheme (Coventry City Council 2017). This is intended to help those people having signals not exceeding 2Mbps get access to satellite connection. Nguyen (2012) emphasizes the importance of broadband satellite networks. According to Nguyen, there are many types of services that broadband satellite networks provide that support different kinds of customers regardless of time and their location. Broadband satellite networks support internet-based applications as their primary service goals. Even the United Kingdom parliament is supporting broadband over satellite technology. In 2002, Rupert Peace emphasized the importance of satellite in parliament saying that the satellite plays an important part in enabling broadband connection within the United Kingdom. Broadband over Power Line Broadband over power line is the technology that enables usage of existing power lines to send and receive data (Held 2016). This technology has been in existence for more than 50 years. This technology is sometimes referred as PLC. BPL is associated with higher frequency usage, wider frequency range, and a wide range of technologies which that provide high-rate communication over longer distances. This technology is dependent on frequencies make up the radio spectrum for over-the-air communication. Thus, it is important to prevent these services from being interfered with which is one of the most important parts when designing these systems. This technology has a wide history since it was developed in 1914 by AT&T which is one of the telecommunication companies in the United States. Electricity companies are the ones that have been very reliant on this technology as they are the ones that bundle radio frequency on the same line as electrical current. Erecting these radio frequencies over power lines by electricity companies is meant to for monitoring the performance of the own power grids. These companies have depended on this technology for many decades. Building on this success, the telecommunication companies have been making attempts to implement this technology to enable them provide internet services to customers via the grid. These attempts begun in 2004 and was intended to motivate DSL and other cable operators to move quickly and start serving rural communities and other remote areas. However, this technology has its own challenges. First, BPL power cables have limited band width. Secondly, it has been subjected to wide-ranging opposition from the radio community. This technology is implemented as Access BPL or In-House BPL to network machines. The latter method transports broadband internet via power lines. This enables power companies to monitor power systems (Coventry City Council 2017). The former method transports broadband internet within a building. Both radio signals and electric current do not fibrate at same frequencies. Therefore, none of them significantly interferes with the operation of the other to disrupt data transmission. This is only possible on medium-voltage and low-voltage cables. High-voltage cables are not ideal for this technology because they do not vibrate at a consistent frequency. This inconsistency causes regular spikes which cancel data signal severely interrupting transmission. The capacity carried by medium-voltage cable is up to 100 kilovolts. Low-voltage cables carry a capacity of a few hundred volts over a few hundred meters, particularly from pole-mounted transformers into businesses or homes. Transmission of signals by BPL modems happens in both high and medium frequency (Tsiropoulos, Sarafi and Cottis 2009). That is, 1.6 to 80 MHz electrical carrier. The BPL modem achieves an asymmetric speed of range 256 kbit/s to 2.7 Mbit/s. A repeater is located in the meter room characterized by a speed of up to 45 Mbit/s. Such a repeater can be connected to 256 PLC modems. On the other side, in the medium-voltage stations, the speed of the head ends to the internet reaches 135 Mbit/s. Utilities usually use wireless link or optic fiber backbone to connect to the internet. Frequencies below 490KHz are used by utility companies for their own data applications. Initially, BPL equipment were intended for the frequency ranging between 1.7MHz and 30MHz. However, on occasional basis, they operate in frequencies of up to 80MHz. Summary of the Available Technologies Based on the discussion provided above, satellite broadband represents the most viable option for the remote area in the scenario. Although it has few disadvantages, the advantages discussed make it more applicable in the scenario area. One of the features of satellite is that they remain fixed above a person’s location of the Earth’s surface. It has been indicated that the geostationary orbit on which these satellites are normally located at an altitude of around 23,000 miles above the Earth’s surface thus representing the reason why broadband located on satellites cover a large area with their signal. In addition, due to the fact that satellites operate out of the atmosphere, there is minimal interference. As indicated earlier in the paper, satellites present the most possible solution for people living in remote areas in relation to enabling internet connection. It is highly possible for people living in these areas to receive broadband via satellites. Broadband via satellite continues being promising since available speeds are increasing while costs are reducing at the same time. There are three common types of satellites that circle the earth, including low-earth-orbit (LEO), medium-earth-orbit (MEO), geostationary (GEO) (Chethik 1999). These satellites have different orbit. GEO represents the satellite that is farthest from the Earth whereas LEO represents the satellite closest to the Earth. This section is dedicated to the discussion of the three types of satellite in addition to satellite applications, including internet transmission via satellites. In addition, a discussion on satellite orbits will be provided. The orbital geometry significantly dictates the design of satellite communication systems. There are two categories of orbits namely circular and elliptical orbits. The latter type of orbit is only used for television broadcasting. Therefore, this section will only focus on circular orbits. Circular orbits are the only types of orbits that are applicable for the scenario area. There are three categories in which the circular orbits are classified, including: i. Low earth orbit (LEO) LEO orbits are located at a distance between 500km and 2000 km from the Earth (Nguyen 2012). Despite its closeness to the Earth, this distance is significant enough such that even an airplane cannot reach it. The delay in this type of orbit is low. However, the ground station has to move from time to time so as to maintain communications ii. Medium earth orbit (MEO) MEO are located at a distance between 2000 km and 10,000 km from the Earth (Ippolito and Ippolito 2017). There are some similarities between MEO and LEO. However, MEO is located in a higher circular orbit. This represents the most popular orbit for navigation satellites, including the GPS constellation. iii. Geostationary earth orbit (GEO) GEO represent the third type of circular orbits. These satellites are located at a distance of 35,768 km from the Earth (Nguyen 2012). This represents the most popular orbit as far as communication satellites are concerned. GEO has one major advantage over the other types of orbits – it is located at a nominal distance of 36,000 km which is the most stable point and ensures that the satellite is at a fixed location in the sky (Montenbruck and Gill 2000). The reason behind this is that the pointing direction remains fixed in space such that the ground antenna does not have to track a moving satellite. However, it has one major advantage – it has a long delay time of ~260 ms (Ippolito & Ippolito, 2017). This delay significantly affects network synchronization or even impacts voice communications. Different orbits present different degrees of complexities, both in network performance and system design. This is more dependent on the operating orbit of the satellite. This situation presents designers with several criteria, including networking complexity, roundtrip delay, and the number of satellite required to provide desired services. Recommendations The above discussion shows that Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) is the most appropriate orbit for the present scenario area. Its advantages have been discussed and it is clear that they outweigh its disadvantages. Furthermore, one of its major advantages is very helpful for the present scenario area. In the present section, the advantages of GEO will be discussed and reasons will be given as to why it is the most appropriate for the scenario area. Advantages Covers a wide area As indicated earlier, one of the major advantages of GEO is its ability to cover a wide area. This ability is enabled by the altitude in which the orbit is located above the Earth. Other options for provision of broadband communication have been found to have certain shortfalls such that they cannot adequately serve the area scenario. GEO presents the most reliable solution because this service will be provided to the areas that are not within reach of power lines, or mobile technology. Therefore, GEO has been recommended in this paper as the most appropriate for the present area scenario. GEO has a relatively high reliability There are certain advantages highlighted earlier that make GEO achieve higher reliability compared to other orbits. First, the orbit is located at a fixed location – something that other orbits do not have. As a result, the ground antenna does not have to track a moving satellite. Therefore, users of such a satellite will not have to grapple with the issue of internet outages. This solves the problem that characterizes other mediums, such as DSL, fiber, and cable which can break off at any point causing network outages. GEO will provide users in the area scenario with continuous internet connection making the area be at a more advantage than other areas that rely on cable, DSL, and fiber. This advantage may even enable companies to establish their offices in the area scenario. Instant deployment Due to its fixed location, GEO enables designers to instantly set their ground equipment with the advantage of not having to move them from time to time in order to track signals. Therefore, the setup procedure is easy and fast and people can get connected to the internet without having to wait for long durations of time. Disadvantages Despite the highlighted advantages, GEO has its own advantages. One of the major disadvantages which may also be considered as a limitation is the distance which GEO is located. As a result, designers have to cover a long distance during installation processes making the installation process a bit costly/expensive. The second major disadvantage and one that has been highlighted earlier in the paper is related to latency. The location for GEO is above 35,788 km above the equator. This is a very long distance which makes broadband services experience latency. This latency is 20 times more than the one experienced by typical terrestrial internet services (Evans 2000). The third disadvantage is that broadband on GEO satellite uses limited quantity of spectrum which is shared among all users of that service. As users increase, the capacity used increases leading the GEO to experience capacity exhaustion. This causes some major problems for GEO and may significantly affect broadband services. The problems include a decrease in connection speed. Thirdly, there is weather interference due to the altitude in which GEO is located. This disadvantage has been highlighted earlier in the study. Other disadvantages include interference by the sun and terrestrial blockage. Conclusion Although several disadvantages have been highlighted, GEO presents the most appropriate method of broadband internet provision in the area scenario. It is the most appropriate for remote areas. The paper has made recommendations for several technologies of telecommunications which can enable a person access the Internet. The remoteness of the scenario area makes communication difficult restricting availability of many communication technologies accessible in urban and certain rural areas. The emergence of telecommunication technologies that can enable access of remote area is very important. A review of different technologies has been the focus of this paper, specifically, telecommunication technologies that can avail internet in Cean a Bhaigh. References Coventry City Council 2017. Alternative technologies for broadband in rural areas. Available at http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/about-broadband/self-help-guides/alternative-technologies-for-broadband-in-rural-areas/ Ippolito, L & Ippolito, L. Jr. 2017.Satellite Communications Systems Engineering: Atmospheric Effects, Satellite . John Wiley & Sons. Nguyen, L. 2012. Routing and Quality-of-Service in Broadband LEO Satellite Networks. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. Sirbu, M., Lehr, W. and Gillett, S., 2006. Evolving wireless access technologies for municipal broadband. Government Information Quarterly, 23(3), pp.480-502. Lam, C.F., Liu, H., Koley, B., Zhao, X., Kamalov, V. and Gill, V., 2010. Fiber optic communication technologies: What's needed for datacenter network operations. IEEE Communications Magazine, 48(7). Chethik, F., Loral Aerospace Corp., 1999. Medium earth orbit communication satellite system. U.S. Patent 5,890,679. Held, G., 2016. Understanding broadband over power line. CRC Press. Tsiropoulos, G.I., Sarafi, A.M. and Cottis, P.G., 2009, June. Wireless-broadband over power lines networks: A promising broadband solution in rural areas. In PowerTech, 2009 IEEE Bucharest (pp. 1-6). IEEE. Montenbruck, O. and Gill, E., 2000. Satellite orbits. Springer, 2, pp.257-291. Evans, J.V., 2000. The proposed non‐geostationary Ku‐band satellite systems. Space communications, 16(1), pp.1-13. Read More