1) Wireless data usage is growing massively due to increased use of smartphones, tablets, and streaming video. Cisco predicts monthly mobile traffic will surpass 15 exabytes by 2018. 2) Wi-Fi networks are projected to carry more traffic than cellular networks by 2018, with Wi-Fi traffic reaching 553 petabytes compared to 426 petabytes for cellular. 3) At peak times in locations like transport hubs, dense urban areas, and shopping centers, Wi-Fi networks are already constrained by available spectrum.

1. Captain America:
The Winter Soldier
Spectrum access in the 5GHz band
Current consumer uses in the band

2. 2
Wireless data usage is growing massively
Since the introduction of Smartphones, tablets
and bandwidth intensive video content,
wireless data usage has been growing
massively, pushing the wireless data networks
to the limits of their capacity. Worldwide,
Cisco’s predictions are often used as industry
benchmarks. Cisco predicts that monthly traffic
will surpass 15 Exabytes in cellular networks
and even more than that will be off-loaded to
Smallcells (cellular and Wi-Fi) by 2018.
Source, Cisco VNI

3. 3
Wi-Fi networks will carry even more traffic than cellular networks
In 2013, the cellular networks in Western Europe
carried an estimated 57 Petabytes of traffic, while
Wi-Fi networks off-loaded/on-loaded an additional
34 Petabytes. By 2018, the traffic in cellular
networks will increase to 426 Petabytes, while Wi-
Fi networks will carry even more traffic than
cellular networks: 553 Petabytes. In round
numbers, this is a tenfold increase.
57
426
34
553
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2013 2018
Cellular Smallcell
Source:
http://www.cisco.com/assets/cdc_content_elements/flash/netsol/sp/mspan/index.html

4. 4
At peak times, in certain locations, Wi-Fi is already constrained by
the available spectrum
• Usage of Wi-Fi fluctuates throughout the day
and on different days
• At peak time, in certain locations, the hotspots
are at capacity and constrained by the amount
of available spectrum
• In our experience, spectrum is the most
constrained in transport hubs, outdoors in dense
urban areas and shopping centers
Source: Sky

5. 5
5 GHz use is becoming mainstream
Hotspots
– Transport hubs, sports stadia, shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, pubs, oilrigs, hotels and enterprise
– All of our 20,000+ Hotspots use 5 GHz and more than 60% of the traffic is on the 5 GHz band, practically all
hotspots deployed today, support 5 GHz
Homes
– 85% of homes have broadband, practically all of them have WiFi
– ISPs provide CPEs with 5 GHz WiFi as standard offering now
– Practically all the APs bought by consumers support 5 GHz
We are here
Source: The technology adoption lifecycle is an extension
of an earlier model called the diffusion process,
which was originally published in 1957 by
Joe M. Bohlen, George M. Beal and Everett M. Rogers at Iowa State University

6. 6
Which 5 GHz channels do the hotspot APs use – when given the
choice
Source: Sky - 9677 Ruckus Access points on 3.1.1 code base

7. 7
5GHz channel usage in hotspots
• In this sample, the Access Points choose
their channels autonomously and
automatically
• A non-standard algorithm with a local
database is used to choose the fastest
channel available, based on achieved
packet throughput
• Non-DFS channels are overrepresented
as 37% of the radios are on 21% of the
channel space
37
63
37% of the
channel use is
non-DFS
Non-DFS DFS
21
79
21% of the
channel space
is non-DFS
Non-DFS DFS
Source: Sky - 9677 Ruckus Access points on 3.1.1 code base

8. 8
50 114
42 58 106 122
38 46 54 62 110 118 126102 134
5
180
5
200
5
220
5
240
5
260
5
280
5
300
5
320
5
500
5
520
5
540
5
560
5
580
5
600
5
620
5
640
5
660
5
680
5
700
5
735
5
755
5
775
5
825
5
150
5
350
5
470
5
725
5
850
5
925
5
170
5
330
5
490
5
710
5
795
5
815
5
250
5
805
36
40
44
48
52
56
60
64
100
104
108
112
116
120
124
128
132
136
140
147
151
155
161
165
149
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz
802.11a/n
802.11ac
37% 21% 42% 0%Source: Ofcom

9. 9
Conclusions
• Projections clearly show that Wi-Fi usage is increasing dramatically and more spectrum is needed
• The existing 5 GHz spectrum allocation is taking most of the increase in traffic but could be used
more efficiently
– Modifications / alternatives to DFS should be developed as DFS does not work effectively and results in
inefficient use of spectrum
• However, it is important to protect the incumbents already using the spectrum
– Dynamic Spectrum Access could be considered as a potentially more effective solution, where needed
• Power levels should be maintained at levels that provide sufficient indoor coverage in a typical home
– 100 mW with 2.4 GHz
– 1000 mW with 5 GHz

10. Captain America:
The Winter Soldier
Thank-you for listening