White Paper: The xmax/firstnet Advantage

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Elmer Beasley
5 years ago
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White Paper: The xmax/firstnet Advantage Introduction The ability to respond effectively to natural and manmade disasters has never been a more urgent priority for municipalities than it is today.

1 White Paper: The xmax/firstnet Advantage Introduction The ability to respond effectively to natural and manmade disasters has never been a more urgent priority for municipalities than it is today. The American Red Cross claims that they respond to more than 70,000 disasters every year including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and a long litany of other events. Not only is the number of major events increasing, but according to a number of recent studies, the severity of those events is growing as well. And according to a report released in 2012 by Munich Re, the world s largest reinsurance company, disasters in North America are the worst and most volatile in the world. When you add all of this to the day-to-day demands placed on these teams, it is clear that reliable and resilient communications are essential. That may explain why data is considered mission-essential for many first response professionals. Immediate access to data in the field greatly improves situational awareness, response effectiveness, and safety whether in the form of streaming video from the scene, building blueprints, criminal records, or real time feeds from surveillance cameras and LPRs. The challenge has been getting that data cost effectively. Waiting on FirstNet Many of the emergency response organizations we speak with are waiting on FirstNet, with its promise of delivering nationwide interconnectivity as well as high speed voice and data through a dedicated LTE network. In the meantime, many of these organizations are relying on the commercial LTE networks to provide them with the data they need. While this is a viable interim solution, we believe xmax delivers a better one a solution that is more cost effective than commercial LTE and compatible with FirstNet when it becomes available. xmax is an innovative private wireless network technology that delivers broadband video, data, and VoIP communications over unlicensed radio spectrum. With a range of up to 5 miles and speeds up to 20 Mbps, our patented software defined communications technology allows you to blanket large areas with broadband communications that is private, secure, mobile, and highly resistant to interference and jamming. The end-to-end IP architecture allows first response teams to use virtually any applications and consumer smart phones, tablets and laptops while simplifying interconnection and interoperability with the Internet, cellular, satellite networks, and FirstNet.

2 Why xmax and FirstNet Makes Sense xmax and FirstNet are not competing technologies. In fact, there are many similarities between the two technologies that will make integration of the two easy and seamless. Forgetting for a moment that xmax is available today while FirstNet may be a decade or more away, both technologies will deliver: Carrier grade voice and broadband data for high-resolution data and streaming video. The ability to use any commercial WiFi device including smart phones, tablets, and laptops, as well as video surveillance cameras, LPRs, and unmanned sensors. High speed mobile handoffs that are seamless and reliable. Both offer a dedicated communications channel. xmax is a private wireless broadband network that allows the operators to restrict access to a very select team. FirstNet will also allow the emergency response managers to restrict access to the network so with both technologies, first responders will be assured of having the connectivity they need when they need it most. This is a huge advantage over the existing LTE network which can become congested, slow, and unresponsive during emergencies when civilians are also accessing the network. Beyond these similarities, each technology has strengths that augment and complement each other in times of crisis. Coverage and Connectivity The FirstNet Challenge The goal of FirstNet is to build a dedicated LTE network providing nationwide coverage for the exclusive use of first responders. It will use commercially available cellular components and supplement the pushto-talk LMRS networks first responders use now. What concerns us is how the FirstNet board will define nationwide coverage because coverage and connectivity are two entirely different ideas. Today the major cellular carriers often talk about providing nationwide coverage but as many know, the ability to connect to the LTE network is often problematic in suburban and rural areas. There may be a signal in these areas, but it isn t strong enough to deliver a reliable connection. Here is an example of what we are talking about. Figure 1 is a map from Opensignal.org showing the cellular signal strength in parts of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. This data was collected from Android and iphone users who downloaded the OpenSignal app and allowed it to send signal strength data back to the Opensignal website. So far the organization has collected more than 1 billion readings of signal strength across the country. Although this is a not definitive assessment, it does make it clear that coverage and signal strength- i.e. connectivity - are not the same. The carrier may say that the coverage is there, but the signal strength may be too weak to be useful outside of the major metropolitan areas.

3 Figure 1 It is too soon to know how FirstNet will deal with this issue. Skeptics will say that it is hard to imagine that FirstNet will outperform the nation s largest commercial carriers in terms of suburban and rural coverage and connectivity, especially when the major carriers have already invested more than $60 billion on their LTE upgrades. It is safe to say that FirstNet will focus primarily on areas with the greatest population density which would indeed leave suburban and rural areas vulnerable. Coverage and Connectivity - The FirstNet/xMax Advantage One of the key differentiators of xmax is the flexibility of deployment as fixed or expeditionary infrastructure. The expeditionary design basis provides an instantaneous deployment capability to any point of need regardless of the state of the surrounding fixed power and communications grid. xmax is the only network that you can take with you into any remote or metropolitan crisis environment and setup in minutes to deliver broadband voice, video, and data to your response teams. Because of this engineered capability, xmax provides a level of mission-assured communications that exceeds what is envisioned for FirstNet and outperforms what is available today through the current commercial networks. Resilience The FirstNet Challenge Over the past few years we have learned a great deal about the vulnerabilities of our wireless infrastructure. For example, when Superstorm Sandy ravaged the east coast in 2012, more than 25% of the cellular/lte towers were destroyed. Many other access points were down because of the rampant power failures. Many of these towers had diesel generator backups power, but in cities, those generators are often below ground level and subject to flooding. There were also issues with getting diesel to those generators when they needed it. There is no reason to expect that FirstNet will be immune from these issues. We believe that the lessons learned from past storms will be applied during the network design and planning stages, but it will be very difficult for the FirstNet team to engineer all risk out of the system.

4 Resilience - The FirstNet/xMax Advantage xmax was engineered from the ground up to perform in the most demanding crisis situations. As discussed above, the expeditionary deployment capabilities of xmax allow it to function as a comprehensive, end-to-end-wireless solution independent of the communications and power grids. This is possible because xmax goes far beyond the functionality of traditional systems, filling in the gaps in coverage and capabilities inherent in their designs. xmax provides a dedicated, affordable, all-ip communications solution that adds an unprecedented level of resiliency and continuity of operations in the face of natural and mad-made disasters, making it an ideal way to vastly expand the deployment potential of robust wireless communications in devastated areas. Leveraging its ability to operate in unlicensed spectrum, the xmax system delivers a robust, rapidly deployable, cost-effective, carrier-class emergency network communications system whenever and wherever it is needed. xmax as Both a Primary and Disaster-Recovery Network xmax has the built-in flexibility to easily serve as a primary network as well as a disaster recovery system. xmax is an inherently inexpensive, efficient and scalable system, making it an excellent primary network for the first responder community and other operators. Because xmax is a cognitive system, it can also serve as an always-ready backup system should a primary system fail. xmax-enabled mobile cells can be very quickly rolled out to affected areas, self organize, and begin providing services. As the primary system is repaired and cells become active again, the xmax network will change frequency automatically, migrating to other spectrum or shutting down as the primary system slowly returns to normal operation. Key xmax Features The xmax system provides the following key benefits: Frequency-agnostic: while xmax currently operates in the unlicensed 900 MHz band, it can be adapted to a wide array of commercial and public safety frequency bands. It can operate independently or in concert with commercial frequency bands if necessary. Enhances spectral capacity: xmax delivers additional spectral capacity to public safety networks, and can immediately use unlicensed bands along with whatever licensed bands have been programmed into the system. With xmax deployed, standard public safety LTE handsets have the added capability of operating on the xmax 900MHz band, in addition to maintaining functionality on commercial LTE systems. Expeditionary system design: xmax functions as a dedicated network that has been created to be expeditionary by nature, meaning it can be instantaneously deployed and can provide communications in areas where other systems are not able to operate. xmax can also be massively scaled if needed, and because it is self-organizing, no frequency planning is necessary. Interference resistant: Leveraging its patented cognitive radio technology foundation, xmax provides strong resistance to interference, in addition to not causing interference of its own that could affect devices in other fixed-deployed networks or spectrum bands.

5 Vast interoperability: xmax is fully complementary and fully compatible with 2G, 3G, and 4G networks including LTE-based public safety systems. xmax can operate in tandem with 700 MHz systems, while also providing its operators with an additional 26 MHz of a private, dedicated network. End-to-end IP architecture: Subscribers can seamlessly use any apps and any device from any vendor including smart phones, tablets and laptops to connect. This simplifies integration with existing networks via industry standard interfaces and protocols. For example, voice can be tagged and prioritized end-to-end throughout the network for high reliability. Flexible and scalable deployment options: xmax enables various access point deployment options including a mix of ground-based and airborne mobile platforms. xmax has proven integration with satellite and point-to-point backhaul radios. Highly secure and private: xmax features cognitive interference avoidance & mitigation, making jamming attacks and penetrations far more difficult than with traditional radio systems. Extremely cost-effective: Due to its ability to leverage unlicensed spectrum, efficient IP design, and streamlined operational overhead, xmax is a compelling option for deployment in places that are remote, rural, or sparsely populated. This is in stark contrast to LTE and other cellular infrastructure, which is prohibitively expensive to build out in such areas. Immediate availability: Unlike FirstNet in the US and other proposed public safety systems, xmax is available for delivery today and can be deployed at substantially lower costs than alternative wireless systems. Summary By utilizing xmax, emergency management communications planners no longer have to choose between either/or approaches that could leave them exposed if catastrophes strike. For this reason, xg Technology designed xmax to serve as a crucial complementary network, one that can operate simultaneously with existing systems, while also adding capabilities they lack. xmax represents a wireless solution that delivers unprecedented survivability, scalability, redundancy, mobility and resilience. At the same time, it provides the flexibility and interoperability to serve as standalone infrastructure as well as a secondary or backup system to a primary network. For more information, please contact: xg Technology 240 South Pineapple Avenue, Suite 701 Sarasota, FL Copyright 2015 xg Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved. xg and xmax are registered trademarks of xg Technology, Inc.

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