Master thesis Technology Management
J.J.V. de Wit
Vulnerability of Wireless City Networks
Coping with Interference in License-Exempt Frequency Bands:
Vulnerability of Wireless City Networks
Coping with Interference in License-Exempt Frequency Bands: A Stakeholder
Approach
Author
J.J.V. de Wit/s1367676
Master Technology Management – Faculty of Economics and Business
Supervisor Agentschap Telecom dr. H.K. Leonhard
Supervisor University of Groningen prof. dr. G.B. Huitema
Co-assessor
prof. dr. ir. J.C. Wortmann
Date
Management summary
This thesis report is the result of a research into the vulnerability of Wireless City Networks. Wireless City Networks are city-wide wireless infrastructures based on Wi-Fi technology. Such networks are increasingly being deployed and are projected to support business-critical processes and are serving considerable interests including public safety and healthcare. In contrast with conventional wireless infrastructures, WCNs cannot rely on dedicated frequency bands since they operate in LE spectrum and therefore they are to a large extent subject to interference. Interference may lead to degraded service quality. Agentschap Telecom, the organization responsible for spectrum regulation in the Netherlands, has the task to ensure network quality and availability and to protect networks from harmful interference. However since WCNs operate in license-exempt bands the roles of regulators are limited and it is therefore in the interest of Agentschap Telecom to adjust their means.
Degradation in service quality leads to risks for stakeholders and it is in the interest of stakeholders to manage these risks. In this research service quality is defined from a business perspective. Not only technical aspects of network performance are taken in account. Rather, in this research it is argued that service quality is a result of the comparison between customer expectations and perceived service. Therefore the following research question is formulated: What elements of risk management
can be identified for stakeholders in Wireless City Networks in order to reduce the gap between expected service and perceived service?
After providing an overview of all stakeholders involved in WCNs including interests, roles, responsibilities, applications and associated risks, a Service Quality Chain is developed which includes all stakeholder relationship directly contributing to service quality delivery in WCNs. These are the Supplier – Operator, Operator – Service Provider and the Service Provider – End-user relationship. Using the SERVQUAL gap model, which aims to give insight in potential discrepancies in underlying processes leading to the gap between expected and perceived service, all three relationships are analyzed. From the analysis it is evident that there is a discrepancy between service quality specifications and service delivery since service delivery in WCNs is subject to interference and interference is not adequately addressed by stakeholders. Furthermore, there is a gap between external communications of service providers and actual service delivery. Therefore, end-user expectations are likely to exceed perceived service.
Acknowledgements
This thesis is the end product of my master program Technology Management at the University of Groningen. The research was conducted as part of the collaboration between Agentschap Telecom and the University of Groningen regarding research into Spectrum Management.
This thesis would not be complete without showing my appreciation to all that made it a reality. First I would like to thank the people of Agentschap Telecom for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to gain insight in the field of Spectrum Management. In particular I would like to thank Helmut Leonhard for supervising me at Agentschap Telecom. His knowledge and advice helped me to take a sensible research approach in a complicated problem area.
Next, I would like to offer my gratitude to my supervisor at the University of Groningen, Professor George Huitema, who has supported me throughout my thesis with his patience and knowledge. Meetings with him provided me with new insights and helped me to structure my reasoning. I would also like to thank my second supervisor, Professor Hans Wortmann, for providing me with initial guidance on my research design.
My aim was to provide a pragmatic report for my supervisors and the Spectrum Management specialist at Agentschap Telecom, while at the same time delivering a sound piece of scientific work. I hope I have met this goal and that this thesis will prove useful as well as providing an enjoyable read.
Table of Contents
Management summary ... v
Acknowledgements ... vi
List of Abbreviations ... x
List of Tables... xi
List of Figures ... xii
1 Introduction ... 13
1.1 Wireless City Networks ... 13
1.2 Vulnerability ... 14
1.3 Ensuring service quality ... 15
1.4 Role of spectrum regulators ... 16
1.5 Chapter outline ... 16
2 Agentschap Telecom ... 17
2.1.1 Spectrum Management ... 18
2.1.2 Supervision ... 19
2.1.3 Antenna Office ... 20
2.2 Interest of Agentschap Telecom ... 21
2.3 Summary ... 22
3 Research Plan ... 23
3.1 Problem statement... 23
3.1.1 Definition of service quality ... 23
3.1.2 Research objective ... 25 3.1.3 Research questions ... 25 3.2 Research design ... 26 3.2.1 Research type ... 26 3.2.2 Research theories ... 26 3.2.3 Research model ... 26 4 Theoretical Framework ... 28 4.1 Literature review WCNs ... 28 4.2 Stakeholder roles ... 32 4.2.1 Sponsor ... 33 4.2.2 Operator ... 34 4.2.3 Supplier ... 34 4.2.4 Service provider ... 34 4.2.5 End-user ... 35
4.2.6 Public site owner ... 35
4.2.7 Regulator ... 36
4.2.8 Citizen ... 36
4.4 Applications ... 38
4.4.1 Municipality and utility industry applications ... 38
4.4.2 Public safety applications ... 39
4.4.3 Applications for healthcare ... 40
4.4.4 Public use applications ... 40
4.4.5 Conclusion ... 41
4.5 SERVQUAL gap model ... 42
4.5.1 Service Quality Gap (SQG) ... 43
4.5.2 Management perception gap (GAP1) ... 44
4.5.3 Management perception – service quality specification gap (GAP2) ... 45
4.5.4 Service delivery gap (GAP3) ... 45
4.5.5 Market communications gap (GAP4) ... 45
4.6 Summary ... 46 5 Case Studies ... 47 5.1 Wireless Groningen ... 47 5.1.1 Background ... 47 5.1.2 Business model ... 48 5.1.3 Coverage area ... 48 5.1.4 Stakeholders ... 49 5.2 Wireless Rotterdam ... 56 5.2.1 Background ... 56 5.2.2 Business model ... 56 5.2.3 Coverage area ... 56 5.2.4 Stakeholders ... 57 5.3 West Wireless ... 58 5.3.1 Background ... 58 5.3.2 Business model ... 58 5.3.3 Coverage area ... 58 5.3.4 Stakeholders ... 59 5.4 Summary ... 59 6 Analysis ... 60
6.1 Service Provider – End-user ... 60
6.1.1 SQG ... 61
6.1.2 GAP1 ... 61
6.1.3 GAP2 ... 62
6.1.4 GAP3 ... 62
6.1.5 GAP4 ... 63
6.2 Operator – Service Provider ... 63
6.3.2 GAP1 ... 67
6.3.3 GAP2 ... 67
6.3.4 GAP3 ... 68
6.3.5 GAP4 ... 68
6.4 Conclusion ... 69
7 Elements of Risk Management ... 70
7.1 Technology ... 70
7.1.1 Cognitive radio ... 70
7.1.2 Polite protocols ... 72
7.1.3 Admission strategies... 73
7.1.4 Role of Agentschap Telecom ... 77
7.2 Managing expectations ... 78
7.2.1 Service level agreements ... 78
7.2.2 Service Design ... 82
7.2.3 Role of Agentschap Telecom ... 83
8 Conclusion and Further Research ... 84
8.1 Answer to the Main Research Question ... 84
8.2 Reflection ... 86
8.2.1 Strengths ... 86
8.2.2 Weaknesses ... 86
8.3 Further Research ... 87
Bibliography ... 88
Appendix 1 Interference background ... 91
Appendix 2 Graphical representation of frequency mapping in the Netherlands ... 94
Appendix 3 Stakeholder roles in WCNs identified in literature ... 97
Appendix 4 Service concepts for WG developed by HG (Zwetsloot, 2008) ... 99
Appendix 5 "Police car of the future" (de Jonge, 2008) ... 102
List of Abbreviations
AMR Automatic Meter Reading
ATM Automatic Teller Machine
CR Cognitive Radio
DFS Dynamic Frequency Selection
EMC Electro Magnetic Compatibility
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
HG Hanzehogeschool
ISM bands Industrial, Scientific and Medical bands
ISP Internet Service Provider
LE bands License-Exempt bands
MWN Municipal Wireless Network
NFP National Frequency Plan
PDA Personal Data Assistant
PDG Police Department Groningen
PDV Packet Delay Variation
QoS Quality of Service
R&TTE Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive
RFP Request For Proposal
RUG University of Groningen
SDR Software Defined Radio
SLA Service Level Agreement
TARB Transmissions as Receiver Beacons
TPC Transmission Power Control
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
VoIP Voice over IP
VPN Virtual Private Network
WCN Wireless City Network
WG Wireless Groningen
List of Tables
Table 1: Characteristics of B2C and B2B relationships (Anderson & Narus, 2004) ... 38
Table 2: Listing of interview Wireless Groningen ... 50
Table 3: Overview of services for city employees ... 53
Table 4: Key aspects in SLAs for stakeholders in WCNs ... 80
Table 5: Overview of proposed solutions ... 85
Table 6: Applications per frequency band (Tanenbaum, 2003) ... 92
Table 7: Stakeholders identified by Kramer, Lopez and Koonen (2006) ... 97
Table 8: Stakeholders identified by Stratix Consulting (2006) ... 98
List of Figures
Figure 1: Chapter outline ... 16
Figure 2: Organization chart Agentschap Telecom (Agentschap Telecom, 2008) ... 18
Figure 3: Model of perceived service quality (Parasuraman et al. 1985) ... 24
Figure 4: QoS rating and user expectations (Bouch & Sasse, 2000)... 25
Figure 5: Research model ... 27
Figure 6: Business Models of WCNs (adapted from Bar & Park, 2006) ... 28
Figure 7: Business Model Configurations in WCNs (adapted from Ballon et al. 2007) ... 31
Figure 8: Stakeholder framework WCNs ... 33
Figure 9: Service Quality Chain in a WCN ... 37
Figure 10: Application types and associated risks ... 42
Figure 11: SERVQUAL gap model (Parasuraman et al. 1985) ... 43
Figure 12: Coverage area Wireless Groningen: phase 1 ... 49
Figure 13: Coverage area Wireless Groningen: phase 2 ... 49
Figure 14: Coverage area Wireless Groningen: phase 3 ... 49
Figure 15: Coverage area Wireless Rotterdam ... 57
Figure 16: Coverage area Westwireless Maassluis ... 59
Figure 17: Coverage area Westwireless Naaldwijk ... 59
Figure 18: Relationships adressed in Analysis... 60
Figure 19: SERVQUAL gap model applied to Service Provider - End-user relationship ... 61
Figure 20: SERVQUAL gap model applied to Operator - Service Provider relationship ... 64
Figure 21: SERVQUAL gap model applied to Supplier - Operator relationship ... 67
Figure 22: CR – Cognition cycle as proposed by Mitola III (2001) ... 71
Figure 23: CR – Cognition cycle as proposed by Akylidiz et al. (2006) ... 71
Figure 24: Benefits TARB protocol (Roke Manor Research for Ofcom, 2006) ... 73
Figure 25: Procedure for QoS renegotiation ... 75
Figure 26: Procedure for increasing QoS parameters ... 76
Figure 27: Steps towards implementing Polite Protocols (Roke Manor Research, 2006) ... 78
Figure 28: Electromagnetic spectrum (Tanenbaum, 2003) ... 91
Figure 29: Bending and reflecting of radio waves (Tanenbaum, 2003) ... 92
1 Introduction
1.1 Wireless City Networks
Wireless City Networks (WCNs) are increasingly being deployed. Municipalities are partnering with private companies in order to establish Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISP) to provide broadband internet access to their residents as well as additional services. These network infrastructures are based on Wi-Fi technology. Wi-Fi technology has found application in many fields mainly because of the following:
- Low cost: because of the high volume of Wi-Fi devices used for enterprise and consumer applications, infrastructure costs are relatively low.
- Client ubiquity: Wi-Fi clients are standard in almost all laptops, and increasingly in other devices such as smart phones and PDAs. This eliminates the need to purchase special client hardware or software.
- Interoperability: through the Wi-Fi Alliance, the vast majority of clients and infrastructure devices have been certified using well-defined interoperability testing, which ensures compatibility between a wide variety of different manufacturers products.
- Large bandwidth: Wi-Fi network equipment currently supports data rates of 54Mbps (802.11b/g) or 100Mbps (802.11n) which is considerably higher than alternative wireless technologies such as GPRS and UMTS.
Along with wireless internet access, WCNs are especially projected to support additional service applications such as:
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to establish city-wide secure wireless access for organizations to intranets.
- Voice over IP (VoIP) services to enable voice communications for businesses as well as consumers as an alternative to conventional mobile networks such as GSM and 3G. VoIP solutions can be cost-effective in comparison to large commercial networks and can provide additional functionality such as conference calls.
- Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems to establish networks of electronic meters. These are used by utility industry and municipalities to enable real-time measurements of resource consumption and for requesting the status of facilities. For instance measuring the energy consumption of households or remotely indicating the capacity of garbage containers (Vos, 2009).
- Systems to support public safety by deploying networks of wireless security cameras across the city and enabling streaming video in police vehicles (MuniWireless.com, 2009).
- Ad-hoc deployment of broadband access for events such as festivals and seminars located in the city. This is applicable for outdoor events in particular since indoor locations in most cases already have broadband access available. An application for instance is the deployment of wireless ATM terminals.
Considering this array of services, many will require performance levels beyond “best-effort”1. This can be illustrated by the following scenarios and associated risks:
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- City-wide access to intranets can be used by municipal maintenance services. To increase efficiency, municipalities will organize their processes so that they rely on city-wide access of information for maintenance workers (Vissers, 2008). E.g. workers will need wireless access to schedules and building plans in order to complete their jobs. It is likely that when a wireless connection appears to be unavailable work will be delayed. Delay will result in increased costs for the municipality.
- Voice communication is a delay-sensitive application. Degradation in connection quality will quickly result in unacceptable service. Therefore, certain network performance levels will be required in order to sustain acceptable service quality. This is especially relevant when users tend to put significant stake in the reliability of these services. For instance a user can rely on VoIP for emergency calls. In such a situation, degraded service quality of VoIP can result in significant risks (Baal et al., 2007).
- AMR networks rely on a continuous reception of data from wireless meters. Degraded quality will potentially lead to inaccurate measurements. For example when AMR networks are used by municipalities to indicate the status of garbage containers and the reception of data is inaccurate it is likely that the situation will occur where garbage containers will not be services in time. This will be inconvenient for residents and will have negative effects on the quality of public services therefore this situation will form risks for municipalities.
- Wireless security cameras deployed across a city can enhance public safety (Cisco Systems, 2007). Police departments will be able to receive real-time video feeds from various locations in the city. This video feeds however will require a certain amount of consistency regarding availability, timeliness and image quality in order to be useful. Police departments will typically rely on these types of services in case of emergency situations where there is little room for error. Delay in video feeds in these cases will potentially make it difficult to assess a situation and handle accordingly. E.g. it is conceivable that police departments will allocate their available personnel inaccurately due to incorrect assessment of emergency situations. This will lead to considerable risk regarding public safety.
- The deployment of wireless ATMs during events such as festivals and seminars can offer flexible solutions for establishing checkouts and service desks. However in case the wireless connection to payment services (banks, etc.) appears to be unreliable, the situation can occur that transaction cannot be guaranteed which can potentially lead to loss of revenue. This generates risks for event organizers and retailers.
1.2 Vulnerability
Considering these risks, vulnerability of WCNs is a relevant subject for research. Vulnerability, defined as the susceptibility of the network for potential damage and harm, gives insight in the extent to which data exchange can be disrupted thereby causing degradation of service quality. The concept of vulnerability can be approached from various angles. Many studies focus on deliberate abuse of wireless networks such as jamming2 and hacking (Edney & Arbaugh, 2004). However, network vulnerability can also be assessed when assuming normal usage. For wireless networks, a considerable vulnerability therein is interference. Background information on interference and its implications for telecommunication is given in Appendix 1.
While all wireless networks are subject to interference, it is vulnerability for WCNs in particular: these networks cannot rely on dedicated frequencies since they are based on Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi refers to a family of networking protocols known as the 802.11 standard, which operate in a license-exempt (LE)
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frequency band (2.4 GHz). A frequency band being LE means that the government does not issue licenses to limit the amount of users of the band. In this sense Wi-Fi contrasts with conventional wireless technologies which heavily rely on dedicated frequencies. A licensed frequency enables a network operator to have the exclusive right for usage and this gives operators legal grounds to take action in case interference is caused by users which are not entitled to. Users of LE bands—in this case operators, service providers and end-users of WCNs—lack these legal grounds and have to accept interference caused by other users and applications. These include users of Wi-Fi equipment establishing private home networks as well as the wide range of applications the 2.4 GHz band already accommodates. Examples are microwaves, Audio Video senders and cordless phones. Considering all of the above, the following definition of vulnerability is used throughout this thesis:
Vulnerability is the degree of susceptibility of Wireless City Networks for signal interruption caused by interference leading to degraded service quality levels.
1.3 Ensuring service quality
This problem area stated above is confirmed by several sources. Lemstra et al. (2007) argue that since Wi-Fi technology is “expected to arouse increased commercial interest, problems can be expected in providing appropriate service levels” and condering LE frequencies do not provide legal ground for exclusive usage an “alternative approach is needed to ensure sufficient bandwith”. Arts & Leonhard (2007) propose guidelines for the Dutch government regarding LE spectrum policy and present figures to assess economical value of the LE spectrum. They refer to a report by Ofcom3 which states that “users need to be aware that there are no garantuees that the spectrum will be free of interference”.
The problem area is also supported by empirical studies regarding performance of Wi-Fi technology in an urban environment. These studies provide evidence that interference in WCNs is indeed a real risk. The most applicable to the problem area are presented chronologically:
- Leeson et al. (2000) performed a study to predict the usage of the ISM band for the next 2 to 5 years. They conclude that interference problems between IEEE 802.11b, Electronic New Gathering and Outside Broadcast (ENG/OB) equipment and Radio Fixed Antenna (RFA) sytems are to be expected.
- Brik et al. (2008) carried out an extensive monitoring of a large-scale, urban mesh network that used 802.11b/g as its access standards. They conclude that the backbone network performed significantly better than the access network and degradation of performance was “mostly a result of unmigitated interference in 2.4 GHz spectrum in urban settings”.
- A research carried out by Mass Consultants for Ofcom (2009) includes a survey of Wi-Fi usage at various urban locations in the UK. Key findings are that interference between devices in the 2.4 GHz ISM band is commonplace and leads to loss of service quality for many users. Additionally, congestion—defined as the situation when the demand for bandwidth exceeds the capacity—occurs in busy areas and leads to significant loss of service quality as well. Based on their findings the authors expect that congestion will occur in every large city in the UK.
Condering the support in literature it is likely WCNs have to anticipate on degraded service quality caused by interference. As stated, stakeholders of WCNs have no legal grounds to enforce exclusive rights on the use of frequencies and therefore are designated to develop alternative means of ensuring service quality. This forms the main problem area addressed in this thesis.
1.4 Role of spectrum regulators
An important stakeholder in this problem area is the spectrum regulator. The primary goal of a spectrum regulator is to ensure effective and efficient use of the frequency spectrum, as well as to ensure network availability and quality. In the situation of networks operating in LE bands the interest of a regulator remains the same—that is to ensure the availability and quality of such networks. However, the means by which this is achieved need to be adjusted. This thesis addresses the question rises how spectrum regulators can use their knowledge to contribute to development of the means to ensure quality in networks operating in LE bands. This research was carried out in collaboration with Agentschap Telecom—the organization fulfilling the role of spectrum regulator in the Netherlands. The situation of Agentschap Telecom therefore is considered in particular.
1.5 Chapter outline
The remaining chapters are structured as follows. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the organization of Agentschap Telecom. Furthermore, the role of Agentschap Telecom in the addressed problem area is elaborated. Chapter 3 outlines the research design and presents the research objective, research questions and the definition of service quality used throughout the research. Chapter 4 includes a review of the literature available on WCNs. The section yields a theoretical framework articulating stakeholders, interests and risks in WCNs. Chapter 5 describes the case studies performed on 3 WCNs in the Netherlands. Chapter 6 provides analysis of the case studies and identifies potential gaps using the method described in Chapter 4. In Chapter 7 solutions are proposed based on the gaps identified in Chapter 6. Chapter 8 concludes this research by evaluating the answer to the main research question. Finally the research method and outcome is discussed and directions for further research are proposed.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Agentschap Telecom
Chapter 3: Research Plan
Chapter 4: Theoretical Framework
Chapter 5: Cases Studies
Chapter 6: Analysis
Chapter 7: Solutions
Chapter 8: Conclusions and Further Research
Introduces the initial problem area.
Overview of line of work of Agentschap Telecom and elaborates on role of regulator in problem area.
Outlines the design of the research including the research objective, research questions and definitions
Review of literature on WCNs. A theoretical framework is developed including stakeholders, interests and risks.
Case descriptions of 3 WCNs in the Netherlands.
Analysis of the cases in order to identify potential gaps using the method proposed in Chapter 4.
Based on the gaps identified in Chapter 6, elements are proposed work towards closing the gaps.
The answer to the main research question is evaluated. The research outcome is discussed and directions for further research are proposed.
2 Agentschap Telecom
Frequency spectrum has become scarce due to dramatically increase of demand. This demand is a result of increased usage of telecommunications in general along with emerging new telecommunication technologies and applications. In addition to the increased demand, there are rather strict constraints for frequency usage. Key aspect herein is interference. Interference between radio waves needs to be avoided in order to ensure effective spectrum usage (see Appendix 1). To create a sustainable environment for current and new telecommunication technologies, government bodies have been established that regulate spectrum usage by allocating bands and issuing exclusive licenses to users within a geographical area thereby prohibiting other users with respect to these bands. These organizations also monitor the market of radio equipment. By setting and maintaining guidelines for manufacturers, equipment potentially causing harmful interference can be banned. These types of organizations are referred to as spectrum regulators.
The organization responsible for spectrum regulation in the Netherlands is Agentschap Telecom. Agentschap Telecom is part of the Dutch government and implements the spectrum-related policies defined by the Ministry of Economical Affairs. The mission of the organization is stated as follows (Agentschap Telecom, 2008):
The mission of Agentschap Telecom is to expand and optimize the domain of electronic communication. Using its technical expertise, Agentschap Telecom contributes to the development of this domain. Key processes are creating, allocating and protecting frequency spectrum. Agentschap Telecom has an important supervising role by monitoring the use of spectrum, supervising the market of electronics, looking upon the ability of networks to be wiretapped and overall availability and continuity of networks.
Figure 2: Organization chart Agentschap Telecom (Agentschap Telecom, 2008)
2.1.1 Spectrum Management
The spectrum management division of Agentschap Telecom is responsible for the development and allocation of frequency spectrum. Key task is to develop guidelines and rules how frequencies can be used and on what terms. This is published in a document called the National Frequency Plan (NFP, in Dutch: Nationaal Frequentieplan). The NFP states for each band for which purpose it can be used and on what terms. In most cases the use of frequency bands is regulated by licensing. Licenses are issued to a limited amount of users for limited geographic areas and under specific terms. Examples of such terms are limited transmitting power of equipment and requirements regarding education levels of operators. By this means, interference between equipment is prevented (Agentschap Telecom, 2009). The current mapping of frequencies and applications in The Netherlands are presented graphically in Appendix 2.
assessed to make sure little interference will occur. Considering the wide array of applications and the variance in physical behavior of different frequencies, this is a very complex task. When existing applications and technologies are assessed, spectrum is made available by issuing licenses. In most cases licenses are issued upon order of request, but when (economical) interests are high auctions are used to ensure frequency bands are properly distributed among stakeholders. In some cases monetary resources are not the only factor; for example during the process of distribution of FM frequency bands for radio broadcasting, the assessment of business plans—especially focused on distinctive elements—are determinants for allocation. In general, this type of allocation is based upon the extent to which the prospective licensee benefits the common interest.
When defining this common interest, an essential guideline is to take the consumers as well as the citizens into account. These interest show many similarities but have important differences as well. The discussion paper titled “Citizens, Communications and Convergence” (Ofcom, 2008) points out this distinction in interests. The following points cover the reasoning developed in the discussion paper:
- Consumers participate in a marketplace, buying and using goods and services. In short, consumers focus on what is good for themselves as private individuals and businesses. It is generally thought that consumers want lower prices, increased choice and improved quality. A consumer also wants information and tools that are needed to exercise choice and to be protected against scams and other unfair practices.
- A citizen participates in society. The society includes the market but goes far beyond it. Citizens are free to exchange goods and services, but are also free to participate in a whole range of social, cultural and political activities that are not the subject of commercial contracts. The paper (Ofcom, 2008) argues that the duty of spectrum regulators is to serve both interests. Key practices are to recognize where they may conflict and overlap. With this being recognized it can be determined how to develop policy to both making markets work better and benefiting society more generally. This point can be illustrated by the following example: when UMTS frequencies in the Netherlands where auctioned, the licenses issued included the requirement of network rollout for certain geographic areas. Thus operators are required to cover areas whether these are economically feasible or not. By this means it is ensured all citizens will have access to telecom service, thereby ultimately benefiting society. Operating in this field of technical constraints and conflicting interests, the spectrum management department issued over 30.000 licenses in 2008 (Agentschap Telecom, 2008) of which the main applications are fixed links (over 12.000 licenses) and mobile communication (approximately 18.000 licenses).
A key direction in future policy of Agentschap Telecom is to reduce the regulatory burden for companies and individuals by converting spectrum licenses to registrations. Instead of applying for a license, users can register their usage via a website. By this means, users are expected to save approximately 3.6 million Euro on an annual basis. Currently these changes in policy apply to frequencies used by the maritime industry and radio amateurs (Agentschap Telecom, 2008). In line with this policy, it is also recognized that more spectrum should be made available as license-exempt bands. The rationale and implications for this are further elaborated in section 2.2.
2.1.2 Supervision
The supervision division of Agentschap Telecom is responsible for monitoring the compliance of licensees, as well as maintaining other parts of the law on telecommunications in the Netherlands. The following tasks can be distinguished (Agentschap Telecom, 2008):
Also, part of the spectrum can be identified which are expected to congest. Based on this, action is taken to correct his, e.g. by issuing penalties for parties using spectrum for which they are not entitled to.
- Supervising the market of electronic devices. All electronic devices on the Dutch market must have a CE-certificate. A CE label prescribes electronic devices to comply with various European guidelines (e.g. EMC4 and R&TTE5) which are developed to keep devices from interfering with each other. Agentschap Telecom, in corporation with other organizations such as KEMA and TNO, makes sure non-CE devices do not enter the market by performing tests. Along with avoidance of harmful interference, an important aspect is safety of devices. Agentschap Telecom contributes to public safety by testing electronic devices, receiving signals from the market on unsafe devices and taking action to reclaim potential unsafe devices.
- Wiretapping obligation of networks. Operators of telecommunication networks are obliged to be wiretapped by law enforcement agencies. It is the responsibility of Agentschap Telecom to make sure operators meet the requirement of their network traffic being able to be intercepted to assist law enforcement agencies.
- Availability and continuity of networks. Society has an increasing interest in availability of telecommunication networks. Users tend to rely on networks without taking into account the consequences when networks fail. Agentschap Telecom tries to anticipate on emergency situation caused by failure of networks. This is done by developing roadmaps and participating in emergency drills. Also, Agentschap Telecom attends big events—which are subject to increased risk of such network failures—which yields important data to improve network availability and continuity.
Other (secondary) tasks are:
- Enforcing the regulations on trenching6 (in Dutch: grondroerdersregeling). These regulations are developed to avoid damage caused by trenching. Agentschap Telecom checks if all parties involved (e.g. sponsor, contractor and operator) comply with the legal requirements. - Enforcement of the law on space activities. This law is focused on the avoidance of damage
caused by space activities and liability of the Dutch government. Supervision is not only focused on technical issues but also on the insurance coverage of license-holders.
2.1.3 Antenna Office
The Antenna Office is an inquiry office for citizens, local governments and companies to provide all sorts of information on the use of antennas. The Antenna Office addresses legal, technical and health issues. Basic information is provided using a website. For more complicated questions the Antenna Office provides a telephone helpdesk and participates in meetings. In 2008 the Antenna Office’s website had 144.000 hits and 1100 telephone calls where taken. Furthermore, the Antenna Office
4
European directive regarding electromagnetic compatibility of devices: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/electrical/documents/emc/legislation/
5
European directive regarding requirements of radio and telecommunications terminal equipments including avoidance of harmful interference and public health matters:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/documents/index_en.htm
6
participated in 76 meetings and the antenna registry7 was consulted 72.000 times (Agentschap Telecom, 2008).
2.2 Interest of Agentschap Telecom
As explained in the preceding sections, spectrum is allocated by issuing licenses and monitoring the compliance of licensees. By this means effective spectrum usage is ensured and interference is avoided. A completely different approach to allocate frequencies is to not allocate them at all—just let everyone transmit at will without a license. Most governments have handled accordingly by setting aside some frequencies which are open for all users. The benefits of this approach are recognized: since no initial investments are required to use this spectrum the barriers are low to develop applications. Thereby the availability of LE spectrum increases innovation. Also, it is recognized that the availability of LE spectrum positively contributes to the efficiency of spectrum usage (Lemstra et al., 2007). For these reasons, spectrum regulators have adopted the policy to protect and expand LE frequency bands. This is also the case in the policy of Agentschap Telecom (Ministry of Economical Affairs, 2008).
An example of a LE bands is the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. This band was originally reserved internationally for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than communications. In general, communications equipment must accept any interference generated by ISM equipment. Examples of typical ISM applications are:
- Large heating installations using electromagnetic radiation (e.g. large industrial microwave ovens or welding equipment).
- Heating of tissue for the purpose of therapy (medical). - Facilitation of radio propagation experiments (scientific).
However, many other (commercial) applications have been developed that operate in the ISM band (the ISM band is often referred to as the “melting pot” of the radio spectrum). For many people the most common is the home microwave oven operating at 2.45 GHz. Also, communications equipment has been developed that operates in the ISM band. Examples are cordless phones (DECT), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has proven to have robust performance considering the occurrence of interference in this band and is able to establish high data rates in comparison to other wireless technologies. The technology is predominantly used in small applications such as home networks and small business. Typically, a single wireless access point is placed indoor in homes and office buildings, enabling users to establish local area networks (LANs) without the need of network cables. To an increasing extent Wi-Fi is used in an outdoor setting to establish wireless hotspots to enable users to access the Internet at convenient locations. Examples are wireless hotspots at airports and gas stations. As mentioned in Chapter 1, Wi-Fi is used in an increasing pace to establish wireless networks covering large geographic areas. This is achieved by combining a large number of hotspots. Examples are Wi-Fi covering the campus of a university or, in case of WCNs, an urban area.
For regulators this creates an exceptional situation: each user of a LE band has equal rights. When issues between users arise caused by interference in these bands the role of the spectrum regulator is limited—users cannot be denied access because of the absence of licenses. One aspect however a regulator can use to moderate the situation is to define norms for network equipment. For example, Wi-Fi equipment is precept to use a limited transmission power of 100mW. Thereby the probability of interference is reduced because of a limited range of equipment. Additionally, to increase tolerance for
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interference, equipment is required to use spread-spectrum8 modulation technology. These measures are effective to restrain interference problems to a certain extent. However, the usage of LE frequency further increases and LE bands are used increasingly to serve commercial interests and to support business-critical applications. Therefore it can be questioned if these measures are enough to ensure adequate service levels on these networks. The question rises how regulators can use their knowledge to expand means to consult stakeholders of wireless LE networks—in this research stakeholders of WCNs in particular—to reduce interference problems and increase network quality and availability. This has not been yet been adequately covered by research. In particular the role spectrum regulators can fulfill in protecting communication networks in LE bands needs to be elaborated.
Recently Agentschap Telecom took note of the development of WCNs such as Wireless Groningen and Wireless Rotterdam. In these initiatives it is expected that interference problems will occur. This has triggered the need for Agentschap Telecom to develop means to assess the availability and quality of such networks and to assess the associated risks. For these reasons Agentschap Telecom is interested in this research.
2.3 Summary
This chapter provides an overview of the line of work of Agentschap Telecom. The main tasks of Agentschap Telecom is developing and allocating spectrum and assigning this spectrum to users by issuing licenses. Furthermore, the compliance to these licenses is monitored by performing several supervising tasks. This situation is changed by the increased usage of LE spectrum. While the benefits of LE spectrum are recognized (fostering innovation and efficiency of spectrum usage), it is also recognized that it will require a different approach in ensuring network availability and quality. The interest of Agentschap Telecom is to identify means to ensure availability and quality of networks operating in LE bands.
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3 Research Plan
This chapter states the problem addressed in this thesis and articulates the way in which this research aims to contribute to a solution to this problem. To develop a research design, the guidelines developed by De Leeuw (2000) are used. In the problem statement, the research objective and the research questions are defined. Finally, a research method is presented in which all successive steps that work towards the research objective are stated.
3.1 Problem statement
As discussed in the former sections, WCNs are vulnerable for signal degradation caused by interference. This potentially leads to degradation in service quality on these networks. Noting that WCNs are increasingly being deployed and are projected to support business-critical processes and are serving considerable interests, degradation in service quality can cause significant risks for stakeholders. There is a need to manage these risks. Risk management is referred to as the tools available to influence the causes of risks. Therefore in order to develop risk management, insight is needed into these causes. To approach this problem, a workable definition of service quality is required. In this thesis the concept of service quality is addressed from a business perspective. The following section aims to define a workable definition of service quality from a business perspective in a telecommunication context. With this definition in place, the research objective and research questions are is discussed according to the guidelines by De Leeuw (2000).
3.1.1 Definition of service quality
From a technical viewpoint, network performance is referred to as Quality of Service (QoS). QoS essentially includes the measurement of network characteristics and matching required performance levels of these characteristics with services. By this means the appropriate QoS levels can be defined for each service. The main determinants of QoS are (Tenenbaum, 2003):
- Throughput or bit rate: expressed as the average duration of successful message delivery over a communication channel. The throughput is usually measured in bits per second. - Delay or latency: specifies how long it takes for a bit of data to travel across the network from
one device to another. Delay is measures in seconds or fragments of seconds.
- Jitter: specifies the variability over time of packet delay across a network. Jitter determines the extent in which systems can be designed to anticipate on delay. Thereby this characteristic is of importance for real-time applications.
- Packet loss: occurs when one or more packets of data travelling across a network fail to reach their destination. Packet loss can be caused by a number of factors of which the most important is signal degradation over the network medium.
service—intangibility, inseparability and heterogeneous nature—make it difficult for consumers to evaluate its quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985).
A common finding in literature is that service quality perceptions from a consumer’s perspective results from a comparison of expectations with actual performance. Lewis & Booms (1993) state the following: “Service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis”. In line with this thinking, Gronroos (1982) developed a model which articulates that consumers compare the service they expect with perceptions of the service they receive in evaluating service quality. Parasuraman et al. (1985) consolidated all research on service quality and constructed a model that shows how consumers evaluate service quality (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Model of perceived service quality (Parasuraman et al. 1985)
The perceived quality is a result of the comparison between the expectations one has of the service and the actual perceived service. When perceived service meets or exceeds expectations, service quality will be perceived high. When the perceived service does not meet expectations, quality is perceived low.
Gozdecki et al. (2003) recognize this approach and consider it applicable in a context of IP networks. They argue that along with intrinsic QoS—which involves the technical engineering of network performance and which is evaluated by the comparison of measured and expected performance characteristics—perceived QoS has to be taken into account. Perceived QoS reflects the customer’s experience of using a particular service. More specifically, perceived QoS is constructed by a comparison of customer expectations and observed service performance.
Figure 4: QoS in IP networks (Gozdecki et al., 2003)
research shows that received network quality that concurs with that which is expected by the user is judged as more acceptable than an identical level of quality that is not expected by the user (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: QoS rating and user expectations (Bouch & Sasse, 2000)
The perceived service quality construct as shown in Figure 3 provides a workable definition to approach the problem from a business perspective. Furthermore, the research by Bouch & Sasse (2000) and Gozdecki et al. (2003) provides proof that this definition is valid in the context adressed here. Therefore, this definition will be used throughout this research.
3.1.2 Research objective
Considering the problem stated: WCNs are subject to degrading service quality due to interference and the degradation of service quality will lead to considerable risk for stakeholders and given the definition of service quality in the former section, the following research objective is defined:
This thesis aims to establish means for stakeholders in Wireless City Networks to improve risk management in order to reduce the gap between expected and perceived service.
3.1.3 Research questions
Based on this objective, the following Main Research Question is formulated:
What elements of risk management can be identified for stakeholders in Wireless City Networks in order to reduce the gap between expected service and perceived service?
The following sub questions (RQ1-3) are formulated which are used to provide an answer to the Main Research Question:
RQ1 Which stakeholders are involved in WCNs and what are their interests, roles, responsibilities and associated risks?
RQ2 Which causes of the gap between expected service and perceived service in WCNs– leading to degradation of service quality– can be identified?
RQ3 What means are available to reduce this gap and how can they be applied in WCNs in order to manage risks?
3.2 Research design
This section defines the research type and aims to give an overview of the successive steps to be taken to answer the sub questions. Furthermore, the theory used to answer the sub questions is introduced. The chapter is concluded by presenting a research model.
3.2.1 Research type
Evaluating De Leeuw (2000), this research is a Problem Solving Research. A Problem Solving Research aims at finding solutions for a stated problem. De Leeuw (2000) distinguishes two types of Problem Solving Researches: one focuses more on developing a new design, while the other type of research focuses on improving the current problem situation. End-products of Problem Solving Researches are realized systems or products or improved situations, respectively. Because the interest of a regulator (Agentschap Telecom) in networks operating license-exempt bands remains the same but the means by which this is achieved require adjustments, this thesis deals with a design focused Problem Solving Research. The designed solution is therefore not an end in itself but a means to improve performance. It will enable Agentschap telecom to conduct their tasks better to ensure the availability and quality of networks operating in LE bands.
3.2.2 Research theories
To answer the research questions different theories are applied. In Chapter 4, a stakeholder analysis is performed. Based on this analysis, a stakeholder framework is developed. The roots of stakeholder analysis are in the political and policy sciences, and it is introduced as a managerial tool by Freeman (1984). Stakeholder analysis aims to evaluate and understand stakeholders from the perspective of an organization, or to determine their relevance to a project or policy. Because certain stakeholders have similar roles, interests and relationships, a model is developed to outline the basic relationships between the different stakeholders involved in service delivery: the service quality chain. By this means an answer to RQ1 is provided.
The SERVQUAL gap model (Parasuraman et al., 1985) is proposed to give insight into the business processes influencing perceived service quality. The basic thought of this model is that a set of discrepancies exists within businesses regarding executive perceptions of service quality and tasks associated with service delivery to consumers. The model is applied to all stakeholders in the service quality chain, thereby identifying potential discrepancies in processes that underlying the risks of interference. By this means an answer to RQ2 is provided.
After identifying causes of problems in Chapter 6, means to address these problems are discussed. These means should contribute in the way that stakeholders can ensure the availability and quality of networks operating in LE bands. This provides an answer to RQ3.
3.2.3 Research model
4 Theoretical Framework
This chapter aims to give an overview of the current state of WCNs based on literature. The information is analyzed and generalized in order to derive a comprehensive set of stakeholder roles. The stakeholders considered as most relevant in this research are selected and the service quality chain is defined. Additionally, an overview of all services mentioned in the literature reviewed is compiled wherein the risks of interference are assessed. Finally, a model is proposed to define means to manage these risks.
4.1 Literature review WCNs
The majority of literature on Wireless City Network initiatives focuses on the role of municipalities and the political debate to what extent local governments should participate in the establishment of telecommunication infrastructures (Lehr, Sirbu & Gillett, 2006; Bar & Park, 2006; Tapia, Maitland & Stone, 2006; Ballon, Van Audenhove, Poel & Staelens, 2007). A general finding is that the private sector has failed to provide broadband access to segments other than which are financially attractive for them, and given the fact that broadband access nowadays has an important role in all economical as well as social processes it is desirable that the government intervenes. This is referred to as market failure. Key interests of municipalities herein is bridging the digital divide—that is providing broadband access as a public service for minorities thereby fostering economical development—as well as providing wireless connectivity to city employees to improve efficiency. Furthermore, municipal involvement is explained by pointing out that cities both have the means to provide inexpensive deployment—e.g. they have the locations to mount equipment (lamppost, public buildings, traffic lights, etc.) readily available—and the motives to provide wireless connectivity to city employees, foster the economic development of communities and offer universal and affordable broadband services to residents (Lehr, Sirbu & Gillett, 2006; Bar & Park, 2006).
Bar & Park (2006) and Ballon et al. (2007) performed studies on the subject of WCNs and business models. These studies are relevant in this context because a business model has implications for the stakeholders involved in a WCN. The studies take different approaches: Bar & Park (2006) propose 9 potential business models based on a theoretical perspective while Ballon et al. (2007) propose 6 business model configurations which are empirically tested.
Bar & Park (2006) propose potential business models ordered according to two questions: who owns the network and who operates it. These two questions yield nine viable business models as illustrated in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Business Models of WCNs (adapted from Bar & Park, 2006)
For city-owned networks, that is where the municipality is the owner of the infrastructure, there are three possible configurations. Cities often choose to own the Wi-Fi infrastructure when the main objective is to provide communications facilities for the city’s internal needs. They typically contract with an equipment maker to install network equipment on city-owned sites. When their plans go beyond internal use to include offering Wi-Fi services to the public, municipalities have three main choices:
- The first option is that the city operates and retails the network itself through a public utility along the lines of municipal water and power utilities. The most prominent reason for adopting this model is to take advantage of the past experience of public utility companies in provision of other infrastructures. Through such an arrangement, cities can leverage their existing resources for subscriber acquisition, customer service, technical support and billing.
- A second option is for the city to act as a wholesaler. In this case, the city sells excess capacity in the network to a single private service provider such as a telecom company or an internet service provider who then retails the service to the city residents. In this model the city funds the design, construction and operation of the Wi-Fi network, the private service provider performs customer acquisition, customer service, technical support and billing. The city can still receive benefits from owning the infrastructure through reduced telecommunication costs.
- A third option is an adjustment on the wholesale model in which the city offers excess capacity in its network to several ISPs as an open platform.
In networks with a single private owner, municipalities make an agreement with one private company to build and own the network, under an agreement that allows them to use city-owned antenna sites.
- The first option in this configuration is that the municipality chooses to operate a set of hosted services on a private infrastructure. A city choosing this configuration would essentially set up a municipality-controlled ISP offering service on privately-owned network facilities. This option is possible in theory but highly unlikely in practice (Bar & Park, 2006).
- A second option is that the private network owner operates the network as well as sells services directly to consumers. In most cases, the municipality is the private owner’s main customer or Anchor Tenant—the municipality commits itself to buy services from the private owner for a given period thereby (partly) securing the private owner’s investments. Also the municipality is able to negotiate certain service provisioning since it controls the rights over the sites needed to mount network equipment. This involves e.g. limits to monthly subscription fees or requirements to insure certain network coverage throughout the city.
- The third option is theoretically possible but not likely to be implemented in practice. In this case the private network owner would act as a common carrier, making its Wi-Fi network infrastructure available to multiple ISPs, city services, and possibly other such as private networks. They may choose to do so because of requirements imposed by the city (for example in exchange for access rights to antenna sites) or because it makes business sense to have others retail the service to individual customers. This is one of the options currently under discussion in the city of San Francisco.
The third and final configuration proposed by Bar & Park (2006) is that the network has multiple private owners. In this case the city may choose to encourage construction of Wi-Fi networks by multiple players. For this configuration the three possible business models are:
- A second option would be for the multiple network owners to outsource service provisioning and billing operations to a private overlay operator. This option is common in commercial public Wi-Fi provision in cafés and hotels.
- A third option is a set of diversely-owned network facilities operated by multiple players. This option is not found in practice so far, but the concept is expected to provide an interesting test of the self-organizing organic mesh enabling a broadly open spectrum common. In this setting, current Wi-Fi deployments would naturally emerge into a more ubiquitous network where the multiple players seek collaboration. It also thinkable that local governments would take an active role by promoting Wi-Fi deployment in public buildings and making antenna sites available in exchange for a commitment to cooperate with other Wi-Fi networks in the area. As mentioned before Ballon et al. (2007) elaborate on the proposed business models by Bar & Park (2006) by arguing that while theoretically possible, for many of them insufficient empirical proof exists. Based on the comparison of 15 cases in the US and the EU, they present a simplified approach yielding 6 business model configurations. These configurations are distinguished on two levels: network ownership and service provisioning. On the level of network ownership these are:
- Private player: the network is operated on the basis of a contractual arrangement in the form of a license, concession, etc. The municipality contributes by providing access to sites, existing backbones, financial support, etc.
- Public player: the municipality own the network and operates it itself.
- Open site: the municipality provides open access to sites for the construction of networks. - Community player: the network is operated by a community of individuals and/or
organizations.
On the level of service provisioning these are:
- Private player: one private player provides access to services on the network. - Public player: a public or non-profit actor provides access to services on the network/
- Wholesale: various private players build don a wholesale access offer and provide services to end-users.
- No specific ISP: there is no specific party providing access to end-user services (e.g. because only point-to-point data links are provided).
Figure 8: Business Model Configurations in WCNs (adapted from Ballon et al. 2007) Each configuration (1-6) is addressed below:
1. Private-private model: a private player is selected by the municipality by means of a tendering procedure. The municipality provides sites and facilities (lamppost, traffic lights, etc.) on which the selected actor can build the network. Limited public financial input is provided. The same private actor delivers services to end-users and in most cases service provisioning is limited to city employees.
2. Private-wholesale model: a private player builds the network and the municipality provides public sites and facilities (lamppost, traffic lights, etc.) on which the private actor can build the network. The usage of these sites is compensated by the private network owner by direct financial returns to the city, granting inexpensive network access to city employees and agreeing to price caps for citizens. The city becomes anchor tenant of the network. The private player provides network capacity to external service providers (wholesale).
3. Public-public model: in this case the municipality decides to—usually from the rationale that internet access should be free and accessible to all—construct and operate a Wi-Fi network as a public utility. The city carries full cost of network deployment and operation and in addition functions as service provider. Therefore, the city is free to determine services and prices entirely by itself (in most cases internet access will be free for all). Financing is assured through taxes and through operational cost savings in municipal services.
4. Public-wholesale model: in the model the network is financed and operated by the municipality and is subsequently opened up in a wholesale arrangement to service providers. The model is similar to the private-wholesale model in terms of service provisioning. The expectation is that allowing several service providers to make use of the wireless infrastructure will enable innovations and affordable tariffs, while alleviating concerns over unfair competition.
5. Open site model: in this model the city grants access to a number of public sites or to its backbone infrastructure for whomever whishes to roll out a wireless network. The objective in this case is to have preferably several network builders and operators competing among each other. Given the fact that some infrastructure competition is aimed for, it is not likely that the municipality will use the concession or contracts—linked to the use of public sites—to enforce a wholesale model. Private operators may of course still decide to adopt a wholesale model. 6. Community model: in the community model a group of individuals or (non-profit) organizations
addressed by the authors is Turku. Here a virtual network layer is built upon existing private broadband network. Members of the community open their routers to all other members. A private company fulfills the role as service provider of this virtual network layer. It authenticates and provides access to members (for free) and to guests who do not own a router (paid access)—the community mandates a private player to be the service provider. The municipality can participate in such models by providing sites and provide additional resources to buy network equipment. In general influence of public bodies are low and there seems no possibility for public to influence the pace, scope or focus of the initiatives.
The literature reviewed so far primarily focuses on the position of municipalities in a WCN and the different possible business models in WCNs. While municipalities are recognized as key stakeholders in WCNs this thesis aims to move beyond political discussions by giving a broader overview. Therefore additional surveys and feasibility studies are reviewed which take a more general approach (Kramer, Lopez & Koonen, 2006; Stratix Consulting, 2006; Mandviwalla et al., 2006). In these surveys and feasibility studies several cases and business models are discussed. Through discussing the business models, each case deals with its own set of stakeholders. In Appendix 3 the identified stakeholders and associated roles of the reviewed cases are listed.
4.2 Stakeholder roles
Figure 9: Stakeholder framework WCNs
4.2.1 Sponsor
Sponsors are the parties willing to invest in a wireless infrastructure. They can aim to fulfill an active role in the form of service provider or end-user, or a passive role—not participate in the project but just aiming on a return on investment. Either way sponsors are willing to invest because they believe the infrastructure will contribute to their long-term goals and their interests lie in the continuity of the infrastructure.
4.2.2 Operator
The operator is the party that builds and manages the network infrastructure which includes antennas and other network equipment as well as the support organization. The operator can be a public or a private actor. In case of a private actor there will primarily be commercial interests—profit and continuity. In case of a public actor—in Wireless City Networks this will usually be a municipality— interests will be focused on serving the public e.g. by providing an infrastructure for taxpayers.
The operator needs to have agreements with sponsors in order to establish the finance needed to develop the network. Also, agreements with public site owners are needed to get access to locations to mount network equipment throughout the city. Furthermore, operators have contracts with service providers to which they sell network capacity. The last relationship mentioned is a provider-buyer agreement wherein the operator is the provider and the service provider is the buyer.
4.2.3 Supplier
Companies that supply network equipment—including hardware and software—to operators needed to establish the wireless infrastructure are referred to as suppliers. Suppliers have contracts with the operator and are responsible to supply the proper equipment to achieve certain service quality levels on the network. By this means suppliers contribute to the service quality levels delivered on the network. The contracts between suppliers and the operator are identified as a provider-buyer relationship.
Furthermore, the role of supplier also refers to the companies providing equipment to service providers and end-users as well as equipment to other applications in LE bands which may cause interference with the Wireless City Network. Considering this, suppliers can fulfill an important role in coping with interference. Suppliers should incorporate technology in their products that takes the situation of interference into account. Examples are incorporation of modulation techniques that are interference-tolerant (e.g. spread spectrum techniques) or incorporate systems that diagnose the level of interference and handle accordingly (e.g. give warning signals).
4.2.4 Service provider
A party that aims to provide services to end-users on the network infrastructure is referred to as a service provider. A service provider can either have a commercial interest—that is aiming for profit and continuity, or non-commercial interests—to provide services that support tasks in an organization rather than generate revenue directly. These two types are distinguished here as commercial and institutional service providers.
In the case of a commercial service provider the analogy with commercial ISPs and mobile telecommunication providers can be made—a commercial service provider seeks customers which will have a sales contract specifying (monthly) fees and other pricing structures and the agreed level of service provided. Examples of such service providers in Wireless City Networks are WISP, providing wireless internet access throughout the city for paying customers. Another example is a commercial party that provides VoIP services, providing voice services as an alternative to GSM and UMTS networks.
An institutional service provider uses the wireless infrastructure for non-commercial reasons. This can best be illustrated with the following examples:
