Leased line replacement makes sense when the recurring costs of a leased phone circuit to a building could be eliminated if otherwise unused circuit capacity is available in another building. Using wireless bridge radios designed specifically to carry phone circuits from one building to another you can distribute your central phone connection to remote buildings without separate leased line charges.

If any one building doesn't have sufficient unused circuit capacity to handle the requirements of another building it may be possible to upgrade your phone service in Building A, bridge Building A to Building B and discontinue leased line service to Building B. By centralizing your telephone circuits into one larger "pipe" you may be able to save money by the elimination of monthly recurring costs.

There are two costs associated with T1 Voice circuits: 1) the Local Loop and 2) Long Distance Usage. The Local Loop fee is the monthly recurring cost you pay for your connection to the telephone switch (which gets you to the worldwide telephone network so you can place and receive calls.) Long Distance Usage is a separate charge that may be imposed only if you call outside a defined local calling area. The goal of a leased line replacement project is to assess the costs of your Local Loop connections and determine whether your multiple Local Loop connections can be consolidated at your site using point-to-point TDM bridges to interconnect your buildings (or sites.) Telephone equipment at your site (T1/T3 Channel Banks or switches, OC-3 SONET switches) use a telephone circuit protocol called Time Division Multiplexing ("TDM") to communicate. A "TDM-enabled wireless bridge" is able to directly connect two such pieces of telephone equipment together.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Your Local Loop interface may be through a Multi-Protocol Label Switching ("MPLS") network. MPLS networks, owned by the Telco provider, have almost completely replaced legacy ATM ("Asynchronous Transfer Mode") and Frame Relay networks that were predominant 15 years ago. MPLS is a mechanism that encapsulates data packets from a local network (digitized voice over IP, TCP/IP, etc.) in a special data carrying packet envelope that has an address label associated with it. Multiprotocol Label Switching is standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC 3031. Carriers (like AT&T) create a "cloud" of interconnectivity that may include a number of separate link types. MPLS packets are carried across this cloud to their intended destination. When you subscribe to an MPLS service each of your various separate buildings or sites are uniquely labeled as being part of your network. As a result, Company A, Company B and Company C can all be transferring data cross the MPLS cloud as if they each had dedicated connections to their various sites. MPLS can be thought of as a VLAN architecture on a grand scale. Instead of VLAN Tags identifying virtual LANs within your network you have MPLS Labels identifying virtual networks within the larger MPLS cloud.
		Above, Company A, B and C share the resources of the MPLS cloud. Each company perceives a direct connection to all of their separate locations.

Leased Phone Line Replacement

While Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) and wireless Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps up to 1400 Mbps) are common for building-to-building connection you'll also find that wireless bridges can be implemented to extend TDM Telco (T1 and T3) telephone circuits between buildings. A wireless bridge link can be used to transparently connect 2 buildings and extend the phone system from one building into the next. These are capabilities that you will not find with consumer-grade Cisco, Linksys, D-Link and other wireless bridge products. The typical Linksys or D-Link point-to-point bridge capabilities are for lower data rate and shorter range Ethernet data (as compared with carrier-grade bridge equipment) and a D-Link or Linksys access point will not create a wireless bridge link to transparently connect telephone equipment between 2 buildings that you want to connect. When you need a powerful wireless bridge you'll need carrier-grade wireless point-to-point equipment.

Connect802 welcomes your questions regarding Return-On-Investment and practical steps to replace leased line service with wireless products needed to eliminate recurring leased-line costs. Gigabit (and other ) wireless links can provide fiber-like performance at significant savings compared to leased lines. It's not uncommon to find that you can upgrade capacity from old leased lines or supplement or replace existing leased line circuits with less than a 1-year payback on your investment.

Connect802 is your one-stop-shop for point-to-point microwave radio systems. We provide solutions that operate in many frequencies, some license-exempt and others licensed. We can provide you with reliable, secure connectivity when and where you need it - even in the most challenging environments!

Connect802 is an authorized BridgeWave Communications reseller and an authorized Exalt Communications reseller. As an authorized dealer for BridgeWave and Exalt radio equipment our sales and engineering team is educated and experienced in the details of wireless bridge consulting, design, specification and installation. Connect802 is your wireless bridge design consulting source!

As an authorized BridgeWave dealer and installer, Connect802 makes available millimeter wave 60 GHz license-exempt and 80 GHz light-licensed Gigabit Ethernet bridge equipment for links up to roughly 2 miles. As an authorized Exalt dealer and installer, Connect802 makes available license-exempt and licensed radio equipment in the 5 GHz, 11 GHz, 18 GHz, 24 GHz and 32 GHz frequency bands for links of up to 25 miles or more.

Our field engineering team provides full installation and operational support including antenna alignment services, wireless point-to-point bridge design, engineering and troubleshooting as well as being able to bring RF spectrum analysis for wireless bridge links to your project.

Connect802 can provide design, consulting and physical site assessment (including RF spectrum analysis) for the implementation of long-range wireless bridges and carrier-grade backhaul microwave radio to connect buildings 100 feet apart, 5 miles apart or 25 miles apart.

When you need to buy a wireless bridge (or a wireless repeater) you're faced with choices that range from consumer-grade wireless access point bridges (often 802.11n wireless access points operating in "bridge mode") to sophisticated, high-speed point-to-point licensed and license-exempt bridge equipment. A wireless Ethernet bridge implementation can be straightforward or it may require point-to-point consulting, design and engineering services. There is an entire spectrum (pun intended) of options for microwave high-capacity backhaul Broadband connectivity from which to choose:

• 2.4 GHz Wireless Ethernet Bridges (using Wi-Fi access points in Bridge Mode)
• 2.4 GHz Dedicated Point-to-Point Bridging Equipment (often implemented as an 802.11n bridge pair)
• 5.1 GHz/5.2 GHz, 5.3 GHz, 5.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Unlicensed Point-to-Point Ethernet Bridges (often implemented as an 802.11n bridge pair in the 24 20 MHz U-NII bands)
• 4.9 GHz (Public Safety Only)
• 5 GHz License-exempt Ethernet and TDM Bridges
• 6 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 11 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 18 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 23 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 24 GHz Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS)
• 28 GHz, 29 GHz and 31 GHz Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS)
• 38 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 42 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges
• 60 GHz Unlicensed PtP Bridges
• 80 GHz Licensed Microwave PtP Bridges (millimeter wave radio)
• 92 GHz to 95 GHz Licensed Millimeter Wave radio

Wireless Broadband and Leased-Line Replacement

Due to competitive market pressures, businesses are increasingly looking to IT departments, to improve productivity and control costs. Businesses are recognizing the many advantages of utilizing high-capacity wireless links to replace fiber or aging copper-based leased lines, both in terms of cost and network performance.

On the cost side, GigE wireless links provide a rapid return-on-investment, relative to the costs of leasing high-speed circuits. A GigE wireless link can provide fiber-like speeds and latency, for a one-time expenditure of about two-thirds of the annual cost of leasing an equivalent fiber-based service. Wireless GigE links also eliminate the initial installation costs for fiber services that may be needed in many cases when new fiber runs need to be constructed.

In addition to the significant savings, gigabit wireless links also provide increased capacity and a ‘future-proof’ network. Transmission rates provided by these gigabit wireless links mean that the backbone will remain free of bottlenecks as application capacity needs grow. These millimeter wave GigE wireless links provide full-rate, non-blocked gigabit throughput speeds with latency comparable to that of an Ethernet switch, yielding a fiber-equivalent backbone link that is perfect for transporting real-time applications such as video and VoIP.

Regardless of your deployment area — whether it is urban, suburban, or rural — broadband wireless Internet access (BWIA) solutions and wireless backhaul extensions are by far the most cost effective and fastest ways to reach the most possible customers. One important consideration for any ISP or WISP is how to deliver the bandwidth to each base station. Building a network infrastructure using traditional copper cable or fiber network connections can take a lot of time and can be prohibitively expensive. The preferred method for building your network is with high-capacity wireless point-to-point links or wireless backhaul.

Compared to the leased-line world of wired copper and optic fiber infrastructure - Wireless ISP networks enjoy many advantages:

• Quick and easy deployment, fast ROI.
• You own the infrastructure. Replace your leased access lines with wireless backhaul to eliminate recurring costs to the phone company. Legacy systems often prohibit modern IP services.
• Low equipment costs. Base station construction cost is minimal when compared to long range wired facilities costs. Expensive trenching for fiber installation and repair can be avoided.
• License-exempt spectrum is free. There are no recurring costs to the FCC.
• Low cost to add subscribers Once you have deployed a base station, customer acquisition cost is very low. Fiber or copper leased lines are not readily available everywhere; you have to be in a market served by fiber carriers.
• It's Fast. While DSL and Cable modem subscribers are limited to slow download speeds — broadband wireless access (BWA) solutions can provide significant speed improvements.
• Flexible Networks — given the ease of deployment, BWA networks are equally easy to change and modify as your business requirements change.

ISP and WISP Applications

• Residential High-speed Wireless Broadband Services
• Business-class Ethernet Services
• Infrastructure Extensions for Traditional ISPs
• Last-mile Wireless access
• Wi-Fi Network Backhaul Services
• Bandwidth Upgrades for Existing Networks
• Voice-over-IP & Video-over-IP
• Campus Internet Access
• Cellular/mobile backhaul - 2G/3G/4G
• Replace leased line - E1/T1/T3/OC-3
• Internet access services for Wireless ISP (WISP)
• Last mile extension for traditional wireline ISP
• Municipal wireless networks bandwidth upgrades
• Public Wi-Fi hotspots backhaul
• Public safety network redundancy
• Long-range LAN extension
• Campus network expansion
• Homeland Security (ports and airports)
• IP video surveillance security systems
• Wireless WAN/LAN outdoor networks

Exalt Communications DEMS and LDMS Equipment

Exalt Communications ExtremeAir, ExploreAir, and ExtendAir microwave backhaul systems, the Exalt Air Series, support non-traditional licensed microwave frequencies including 24 GHz DEMS (Digital Electronic Message Service); the LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service) bands of 28, 29, and 31 GHz; and 42 GHz. The expanded band coverage offers mobile operators and other spectrum holders the ability to leverage a much wider array of spectrum for packet-based mobile backhaul in environments where customary bands are becoming saturated and in which the number of cell sites is poised to explode with the widespread deployment of LTE microcells and picocells.

For organizations with access to spectrum, deployment is a simple as choosing the right Exalt all-outdoor system for the application. For those without current access, spectrum may be licensed from existing license holders. Additionally, as regulatory authorities such as the FCC in the United States and Ofcom in the UK release new bands of spectrum for licensing, Exalt will quickly support these emerging bands to give operators and backhaul service providers even more flexibility in deploying microwave backhaul systems

From Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

MPLS was originally proposed by a group of engineers from Ipsilon Networks, but their "IP Switching" technology, which was defined only to work over ATM, did not achieve market dominance. Cisco Systems, Inc., introduced a related proposal, not restricted to ATM transmission, called "Tag Switching". It was a Cisco proprietary proposal, and was renamed "Label Switching". It was handed over to the IETF for open standardization. The IETF work involved proposals from other vendors, and development of a consensus protocol that combined features from several vendors' work.

One original motivation was to allow the creation of simple high-speed switches, since for a significant length of time it was impossible to forward IP packets entirely in hardware. However, advances in VLSI have made such devices possible. Therefore the advantages of MPLS primarily revolve around the ability to support multiple service models and perform traffic management. MPLS also offers a robust recovery framework that goes beyond the simple protection rings of synchronous optical networking (SONET/SDH).