Cable TV Innovation Leads to Wi-Fi Leads to Unexpected Innovation
It was maybe 1983 when one of the smartest, most practical and knowledgeable analog/RF engineers I have ever known told me that lasers couldn’t be made linear enough to be directly modulated by the RF spectrum. The implications for this were huge in that it meant cable television’s coaxial architecture was somewhat a dead-end in terms of future growth. In the end, the smart people were wrong and the cable cowboys inadvertently laid the foundation for the growth of WiFi and all the unexpected innovation that followed.
Spectrum 2020 – Licensed by Rule
The above article was a prelude to a panel I moderated last Tuesday. The WCA put together an outstanding group of panelists who are knowledgeable in all aspects of wireless policy, technology, and deployment. The timing of this panel couldn’t have been better with Monday’s FCC announcement of the commercialization of the CBRS band (3550-3700 MHz) and the almost simultaneous release of NTIA’s study on the 3450-3550 band and how it might be shared with incumbents. C-Band, DSRC/C-V2X, and millimeter waves were some of the topics discussed.
Preparing Communities for Takeoff
Having co-founded flying car company Terrafugia in 2005 and then consulting for others in the realm of certification, Anna Dietrich is using her experience and foresight to get communities ready for increased air mobility as Co-Executive Director of CAMI, the Community Air Mobility Initiative. Rural is going to be an important market for the new kind of air mobility CAMI is advocating for, particularly with initial rollouts. It goes beyond having restricted airspace or a place to test things where the risk of mistakes is lower. It even goes beyond whisking people and/or cargo from urban areas to rural towns faster and cheaper than what could be done by a wheeled vehicle.
Going Where Long Haul Trucking Can’t
With as many as 8 of 10 communities inaccessible by road, aviation is a critical part of Alaska’s infrastructure that ensures the delivery of fresh food, mail, and cargo to the entire population. Seizing on this opportunity, Ed De Reyes, CEO of Sabrewing Aircraft Company (SACO) explains their focus to bring remotely piloted cargo planes to this market in the 2023 timeframe. Sabrewing’s approach eliminates some upfront costs and ongoing operational costs associated with air cargo transport, making it much cheaper than a helicopter, cheaper than a traditional piloted cargo plane and even to the point where it will approach the costs for long-haul trucking in some cases.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- The Sabrewing approach to cargo would have been useful for @GCIAK as they built out their fiber/microwave network to hundreds of remote communities, as described in this #TBT video from @ACAConnects @ACASummit
- @TedatACA “SpaceX could spin-off Starlink satellite business and take it public” Could Elon Musk have a “5G” network up his sleeve with some combination of a car-to-car-to-satellite mesh network?
- Nice interview with 702 Communications CEO Brian Crommett on AM1100. Didn’t realize Brian was a music man.
- Craig Settles came up with a brilliant idea to bring telehealth applications to barbershop and beauty salons as a way to detect health issues that might otherwise be overlooked.
Why Charge When Wireless Will Work? #CES2020
Using infrared optics that are invisible to the human eye, Wi-Charge demonstrated wireless power transfer of up to 2.25 Watts from a central hub to remote devices across a room. Using beam steering, they can dynamically direct the power and optimize efficiency, as evidenced by the moving train in their CES Unveiled booth.
The value comes in the form of improved aesthetics (e.g. as a way to hide wires) as well as providing power to places that don’t otherwise have it. Hmmm, maybe this would be a way to power that fancy electrified toilet lid replacement that I just saw last weekend at our local big-box retailer.
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