Technical interests

Overview
Wireless networks are evolving rapidly into very complex combinations of different services that are not inherently designed to work together in a seamless manner. Companies must rapidly develop strategies that will allow them to balance this range of services and still deliver a higher quality of service than ever before. This will require careful planning and the development of a long term strategy for managing both the infrastructure and the radio frequency space within buildings and campus environments. Radio Frequency spectrum management is a huge consideration that most companies do not really have a plan for. Development of an RF management and growth plan is essential as more services and layered network deployments are placed into the same amount of limited frequency space.

Develop a strategy for long term radio frequency asset protection
The fact that radio frequency spectrum is an asset that needs to be protected and managed comes as a surprise to even many seasoned network professionals. However, as an example; 802.11 wireless networks must coexist in a frequency space that is unlicensed and free for anyone to use. Devices coexisted in these frequency spaces long before 802.11 networks were deployed; devices such as cordless phones and microwave ovens are classic examples of this, but there are many more devices that are being deployed into networks with very little understanding of the ultimate impact on the overall network performance or long term needs. Therefore the planning and implementation of a strategy for the protection and management of this asset should be of paramount consideration to any organization that relies or is going to rely on it wireless infrastructure for delivery of mission critical services. The main issue is how to manage and plan for the current and future use of radio frequencies that are being used by more devices delivering more services with higher level of requirements and resource needs within the very real resource constraints that are available.

New definition of mobility
The classic mindset for wireless networks and wireless devices has been to consider them as an extension of the existing wired network. Mobility has been defined as the ability to move from place to place and use wireless networks as a point of use technology within these areas of defined wireless utility. This mindset has allowed wired and wireless networks to coexist but with limited wireless functionality. The new definition of mobility is the ability to take all the services that are currently being delivered with wired networking; including all voice, data and application services and use them while moving around and disconnected totally from the wired infrastructure. This definition is creating a real strategic as well as tactical dilemma.

Therefore, the development and implementation of an infrastructure strategy that includes the ability to leverage current and future investment into a cohesive plan that protects investment and assets allocation is imperative to any organization; or at least any organization that wishes to maintain its competitive edge as the industry move towards the inevitability of true mobility.