The exception is the 60GHz radio. It's low power, narrow beam and limited range assures that no other 60 GHz signal will interfere with yours. If you're shooting across the street, a parking lot or half a dozen city blocks, then you'd be hard pressed to find a better solution.
Licensed microwave is the Cadillac of wireless and the definition of “carrier-class”. In the 1950s and '60s, AT&T replaced most of its long distance copper wires with it. The same microwave is what MCI built its network on, hence the "M" in its name. The rest of us were finally granted access to the same technology in 1984, after Bell lost its monopoly. To this day, licensed microwave continues to be the wireless choice and a necessity for major telcos and ISPs the world over.
Licensed microwave is heavy duty, interference-free and impervious to the elements. Typical mean time between failure is about 55,000 hours and bandwidth gets to as high as 1.2 Gbps (gigabits). Greater bandwidth and redundancy may be achieved by combining radios between the same two points, even across the same set of dishes, with no risk of interference.
All this begs the question. If licensed microwave is so terrific, then why doesn't it get more attention? Why aren't more vendors talking it up? I can think of a few reasons.
For one, while nearly all LAN vendors advertise out-of-box wireless products - mainly bridges, not one of them promotes licensed microwave due to the complexity involved. Licensed microwave jobs are not about rapid deployment. They're custom solutions that involve more expertise from path analysis and licensing to installation. Where unlicensed radios get away with featherweight grid and panel antennas, licensed systems use heavy, drum-shaped dishes, typically from two to six feet in diameter and weighing upwards of 150-lbs. These antennas focus the radio beam to as narrow as nine-tenths of a degree, introducing wind load factors that must be mitigated. LAN equipment vendors don't want these headaches.
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The market awareness problem is further compounded by the licensed manufacturers themselves. Their business models have been geared almost exclusively to large carrier and government accounts, leaving end user marketing and education to resellers who just can't shoulder the task.
Misinformation and anxiety about the license application scares others away, when in fact the process is quite innocuous. Unlike regional licenses, a point-to-point license is only for operation between two fixed points. Frequencies are not in short supply due to channel efficiencies and so there's no contention over the granting of licenses.
That being said, the application process is not for the uninitiated. Ask your vendor to handle it as part of a turnkey delivery. One time cost is about $2,500 per link. The application is submitted and approved on line and you can even track it. Turnaround is 60-90 days and the initial license period is 10-years. Read more about the license process.
For those who want the best, there's nothing in the wireless world that's higher end than licensed microwave. The equipment has a life span of ten to fifteen years and averages $30,000 to $60,000 for a complete link.
In the end, your application needs should direct you to the low-cost and convenience of unlicensed microwave or the uncompromising performance of licensed. Just remember that nowhere is the adage more true than in the wireless business that “you get what you pay for”. If you're looking for a comparable alternative to a $100,000 fiber installation, then it's not going to come in a convenient $3,000 package.
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