https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Coverage/Interference


Partner content

Tests show FirstNet MegaRange effective for 20-plus miles in maritime scenario, AT&T says

Tests show FirstNet MegaRange effective for 20-plus miles in maritime scenario, AT&T says

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 13th February 2021

FirstNet MegaRange—the new FirstNet offering that leverages high-power-user-equipment (HPUE) technology to extend the effective range of a cell site—delivered throughput speeds that could support multiple video streams during maritime tests conducted as far as 28 miles from the California coast, according to an AT&T official.

Andy Salvador, lead product marketing manager for the FirstNet program at AT&T, reiterated the fact that FirstNet MegaRange uses higher Band 14 device power—up to 1.25 watts, as opposed to 0.20 watts—to increase throughput and effective range by 62% to 100% in terrestrial settings. However, FirstNet MegaRange “achieved some incredible results” when tested several months ago by the U.S. Coast Guard in Pacific Ocean waters near the site of the Conception boat fire in September 2019 that resulted in more than 30 deaths.

“In the aftermath, it was determined by the U.S. Coast Guard that they would have benefited from having better connectivity, particularly for search-and-rescue operations,” Salvador said yesterday during a webinar presented by MissionCritical Communications. “It was determined that test should be conducted to evaluate various technologies, and the goal would be to enable a 5 mbps uplink at 20 miles [from the shore]—a 5 mbps uplink at 20 miles would enable them to upload real-time videos and photos, making search and rescue that much more effective.

“MegaRange was trialed with the AW12 modem, and we successfully delivered more than three times the goal. We achieved 16 mbps for both uplink [UL] and downlink [DL] throughout the trial. The farthest distance was 28 miles, at 14.7 mbps.”

Assured Wireless CEO John Goocher provided some details about how the maritime test with the U.S. Coast Guard was conducted, noting that no special engineering or planning was done in advance. The test results were measured from a vessel that temporarily was equipped with a car antenna, and the HPUE capability was provided with an Assured Wireless AW12 modem that was plugged into a laptop that was onboard, he said.

“It wasn’t like it was a directional antenna,” Goocher said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “It was a regular antenna that you could buy off the street for a few hundred bucks. It wasn’t special.”

Goocher said that the antenna was not deployed on the boat mast—“it was basically situated at crew height.”

In addition, no special network engineering was done in preparation for the maritime test of the high-power user equipment, according to Goocher.

“They didn’t do any modifications to the network side whatsoever,” he said. “I mean, they enabled the HPUE feature and they did all the stuff that is done to every single cell site in the FirstNet world, but nothing special—they didn’t point any antennas at the ocean arbitrarily. It was, ‘Let’s go see what it looks like right now, without doing modifications.’”

Goocher acknowledged that the results from the maritime tests may have benefited from the fact that the tests were conducted during a relatively calm day, when the waves were only 1-3 feet in height. Larger waves could disrupt the RF signal propagation and negatively impact broadband performance and coverage, he said.

On the other hand, there are several potential techniques that could be employed to improve maritime performance that were not attempted during the tests with the U.S. Coast Guard, Goocher said.

“We took everything as it sat,” Goocher said. “Our unit was off the shelf—no special antennas, no weird stuff. [The maritime tests were conducted with] what people can buy today and the existing network that was designed for road coverage along the Pacific Coast Highway, and we said, ‘Let’s go try it.’”

“If we actually spent some time trying to do better, I can only imagine [what the performance improvements would be],” he said. “If we purpose-built something, I’m sure it would be better.”

Many industry sources have noted that RF signals typically propagate better over salt water than fresh water, but Goocher said that no test results are available yet to help quantify the coverage difference in the two environments.

 

Tags: homepage-featured-4 Backhaul Broadband Push-to-X Companies Coverage/Interference Critical Infrastructure Deployables Enterprise Federal Government/Military Incident Command/Situational Awareness Internet of Things IoT/Smart X Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Standards State & Local Government Subscriber Devices System Design System Installation System Operation Test & Measurement Tower & Site Tracking, Monitoring & Control Video Partner content

Most Recent


  • Public-safety coalition renews efforts to secure federal NG911 funding
    A coalition of public-safety associations today reiterated its support for federal legislation that would provide the funding needed to pay for 911 centers to migrate from legacy technologies to an IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) platform that is designed to support multimedia communications, as well as traditional voice calls. Representatives of the Public Safety Next Generation […]
  • Tests show FirstNet MegaRange effective for 20-plus miles in maritime scenario, AT&T says
    Newscan: Cyberattacks on DoE national labs draw lawmaker scrutiny
    Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Cyberattacks on DoE national labs draw lawmaker scrutiny Blinken postpones trip to Beijing after Chinese spy balloon spotted over U.S., officials say To protect satellites, secure your networks, chief of space ops says Ransomware offlines Arizona’s largest school district Mending the fabric: FCC says to file broadband-location challenges […]
  • The shine begins to wear off 5G private wireless
    Verizon had high hopes for private wireless networking. The company had predicted that by now it would be well on its way to making billions of dollars from the sale of custom 4G and 5G networks dedicated exclusively to its enterprise customers. Indeed, during 2021 Verizon execs pegged the total addressable market for private wireless at around […]
  • Phishers trick Microsoft into granting them 'verified' Cloud Partner status
    Late last year, a group of threat actors managed to obtain “verified publisher” status through the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (MCPP). This allowed them to surpass levels of brand impersonation ordinarily seen in phishing campaigns, as they distributed malicious applications bolstered by a verified blue badge only ever given to trusted vendors and service providers in […]

One comment

  1. Avatar David Ehehalt 13th February 2021 @ 7:56 pm
    Reply

    It,s OVER WATER , Of course It Will Work !

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • IoT connectivity spending climbs as COVID-19 cases decline
  • The battle over connected cars drags on
  • UK officials revamp ESN plans again, target Airwave-to-LTE transition for end of 2026

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Public-safety coalition renews efforts to secure federal NG911 funding dlvr.it/ShwGfn

4th February 2023
UrgentComm

Newscan: Cyberattacks on DoE national labs draw lawmaker scrutiny dlvr.it/Shvpw3

3rd February 2023
UrgentComm

The shine begins to wear off 5G private wireless dlvr.it/Shth0P

3rd February 2023
UrgentComm

Phishers trick Microsoft into granting them ‘verified’ Cloud Partner status dlvr.it/Shqngn

2nd February 2023
UrgentComm

Shapeshifting robot can morph from a liquid to a solid dlvr.it/Shqk9K

2nd February 2023
UrgentComm

Automakers against stampede to BEV dominance dlvr.it/ShpX08

2nd February 2023
UrgentComm

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn headed for third Senate hearing dlvr.it/ShpDcZ

1st February 2023
UrgentComm

Sign up to learn how to successfully manage your Motorola ASTRO® 25 System: spr.ly/60143j8fp https://t.co/XcxiUwzN27

1st February 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.