View source for Multichannel multipoint distribution service

{{short description|Wireless communications technology}}
{{About|analogue terrestrial method of delivering multiple broadcast channels to consumers|the multichannel television service in general|Multichannel television|other uses|Multichannel (disambiguation){{!}}Multichannel}}
{{redirect|MMDS|the medical data system|Mortality Medical Data System|modern massive data sets|big data}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2006}}
[[File:mmds dish1.jpg|thumb|right|MMDS microwave dish]]
'''Multichannel multipoint distribution service''' ('''MMDS'''), formerly known as '''broadband radio service''' ('''BRS''') and also known as '''wireless cable''', is a wireless [[telecommunications]] technology, used for general-purpose [[broadband]] [[computer network|networking]] or, more commonly, as an alternative method of [[cable television]] programming reception.

MMDS is used in [[Australia]], [[Barbados]], [[Belarus]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Cambodia]], [[Canada]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[India]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Mexico]], [[Nepal]], [[Nigeria]], [[Pakistan]], [[Panama]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-10-11 |title=Cable-Onda-SA-2016.pdf |url=https://supervalores.gob.pa/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Cable-Onda-SA-2016.pdf}}</ref> [[Portugal]] (including [[Madeira]]), [[Russia]], [[Slovakia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Sudan]], [[Thailand]], [[Ukraine]], [[United States]], [[Uruguay]] and [[Vietnam]]. It is most commonly used in sparsely populated rural areas, where laying cables is not economically viable, although some companies have also offered MMDS services in urban areas, most notably in Ireland, until they were phased out in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Virgin Media records full-year loss as revenues dip |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/virgin-media-records-full-year-loss-as-revenues-dip-1.2880557 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=6 September 2024 |language=en |date=November 24, 2016}}</ref>

==Technology==
The BRS band uses [[microwave]] [[Electromagnetic spectrum|frequencies]] from 2.3 to 2.5 [[GHz]]. Reception of BRS-delivered television and data signals is done with a rooftop microwave [[Antenna (electronics)|antenna]]. The antenna is attached to a down-converter or transceiver to receive and transmit the microwave signal and convert them to frequencies compatible with standard [[TV tuner]]s (much like on [[satellite dish]]es where the signals are converted down to frequencies more compatible with standard TV [[coaxial cable|coaxial cabling]]), some antennas use an integrated [[Digital down converter|down-converter]] or transceiver. Digital TV channels can then be decoded with a standard cable [[set-top box]] or directly for TVs with integrated digital tuners. Internet data can be received with a standard DOCSIS cable modem connected to the same antenna and transceiver.

The MMDS band is separated into 33 (31 in USA) 6&nbsp;MHz "channels", which may be licensed to cable companies offering service in different areas of a country. The concept was to allow entities to own several channels and [[multiplexing|multiplex]] several television, radio, and later Internet data onto each channel using digital technology. Just like with digital cable channels, each channel is capable of 30.34&nbsp;Mbit/s with [[64QAM]] modulation, and 42.88&nbsp;Mbit/s with 256QAM modulation. Due to [[forward error correction]] and other overhead, actual throughput is around 27&nbsp;Mbit/s for 64QAM and 38&nbsp;Mbit/s for 256QAM.

The newer BRS Band Plan makes changes to channel size and licensing in order to accommodate new WIMAX TDD fixed and mobile equipment, and reallocated frequencies between 2150 and 2162&nbsp;MHz to the AWS band. These changes may not be compatible with the frequencies and channel sizes required for operating traditional MMDS or DOCSIS based equipment. MMDS has been used to provide internet access.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1109/6294.774937 | title=Emerging high-speed access technologies | year=1999 | last1=Cuffie | first1=D. | last2=Biesecker | first2=K. | last3=Kain | first3=C. | last4=Charleston | first4=G. | last5=Ma | first5=J. | journal=IT Professional | volume=1 | issue=2 | pages=20–28 }}</ref>

==MMDS and DOCSIS+==
[[Local multipoint distribution service]] (LMDS) and BRS have adapted the [[DOCSIS]] (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) from the [[cable modem]] world. The version of DOCSIS modified for wireless broadband is known as [[DOCSIS+]].

Data-transport security is accomplished under BRS by encrypting traffic flows between the [[broadband]] [[wireless modem]] and the WMTS (wireless modem termination system) located in the [[base station]] of the provider's network using [[Triple&nbsp;DES]].

DOCSIS+ reduces theft-of-service vulnerabilities under BRS by requiring that the WMTS enforce [[encryption]], and by employing an authenticated client/server [[Key (cryptography)|key-management protocol]] in which the WMTS controls distribution of [[Cryptographic protocol|keying]] material to broadband wireless modems.

LMDS and BRS wireless modems utilize the DOCSIS+ key-management protocol to obtain authorization and traffic encryption material from a WMTS, and to support periodic reauthorization and key refresh. The key-management protocol uses [[X.509]] digital certificates, [[RSA (algorithm)|RSA]] [[Public-key cryptography|public-key encryption]], and Triple&nbsp;DES encryption to secure [[key exchange]]s between the wireless modem and the WMTS.

MMDS provided significantly greater range than LMDS.

MMDS may be obsoleted by the newer [[IEEE 802.16|802.16]] [[WiMAX]] standard approved since 2004.

MMDS was sometimes expanded to '''multipoint microwave distribution system''' or '''multi-channel multi-point distribution system'''. All three phrases refer to the same technology.

==Current status==
In the United States, [[WATCH Communications]] (based in Lima, Ohio), Eagle Vision (based in Kirksville, MO), and several other companies offer MMDS-based wireless cable television, Internet access, and [[Internet Protocol|IP]]-based telephone services.

In certain areas, BRS is being deployed for use as wireless high-speed [[Internet access]], mostly in rural areas where other types of high-speed internet are either unavailable (such as cable or [[DSL]]) or prohibitively expensive (such as satellite internet). CommSPEED is a major vendor in the US market for BRS-based internet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commspeed.net/ |title=CommSPEED}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TPT SpeedConnect LLC – Connect where you live and play! |url=http://www.commspeed.net/ |website=speedconnect.com (redirected from www.commspeed.net) |access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref>

AWI Networks (formerly Sky-View Technologies) operates a number of MMDS sites delivering high-speed Internet, VoIP telephone, and digital TV services in the Southwestern U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awinetworks.com/ |title=AWI Networks}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Internet People - InfoWest Internet Services |url=http://www.awinetworks.com/ |website=infowest.com (redirected from www.awinetworks.com) |access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref> In 2010, AWI began upgrading its infrastructure to DOCSIS&nbsp;3.0 hardware, along with new microwave transmission equipment, allowing higher modulation rates like 256QAM. This has enabled download speeds in excess of 100&nbsp;Mbit/s, over distances up to {{convert|35|mi}} from the transmission site.

In the early days of MMDS, it was known as "wireless cable" and was used in a variety of investment scams that still surface today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scams, what you need to know |url=http://www.sos.state.ms.us/regenf/Securities/Scams.asp |website=www.sos.state.ms.us |access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref> Frequent solicitations of wireless cable fraud schemes were often heard on talk radio shows like ''[[The Sonny Bloch Show]]'' in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sonny Bloch Radio Show Host Charged with Fraud |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/26/business/sonny-bloch-radio-show-host-charged-with-fraud.html |work=www.nytimes.com|date=26 May 1995 |last1=Gilpin |first1=Kenneth N. }}</ref>

Several US telephone companies attempted television services via this system in the mid-1990s{{snd}}the [[Tele-TV]] venture of [[Bell Atlantic]], [[NYNEX]] and [[Pacific Bell]]; and the rival [[Americast]] consortium of [[Ameritech]], [[BellSouth]], [[AT&T|SBC]], [[Southern New England Telecommunications|SNET]] and [[GTE]]. The Tele-TV operation was only launched from 1999 to 2001 by Pacific Bell (the merged Bell Atlantic/NYNEX never launched a service), while Americast also petered out by that time, albeit mainly in GTE and BellSouth areas; the systems operated by Ameritech utilized standard wired cable.

In the Canadian provinces of [[Manitoba]] and [[British Columbia]], [[Craig Wireless]] operates a wireless cable and internet service (MMDS) for rural and remote customers. In [[Saskatchewan]], [[Sasktel]] operated an MMDS system under the name Wireless Broadband Internet (WBBI) for rural internet access until it was shut down in 2014 and replaced with an [[LTE-TDD]] system due to reallocation of the radio spectrum by Industry Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sasktel.com/about-us/news/2014-news-releases/high-speed-fusion-launches-to-43-remaining-wbbi-towers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902022613/http://www.sasktel.com/about-us/news/2014-news-releases/high-speed-fusion-launches-to-43-remaining-wbbi-towers|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 2, 2017|title=About Us &#124; SaskTel Launches High Speed Fusion Internet Service to Remaining 43 WBBI Towers &#124; SaskTel |website=www.sasktel.com}}</ref>

In Mexico, the 2.5&nbsp;GHz band spectrum was reclaimed by the government in order to allow newer and better wireless data services.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sct.gob.mx/despliega-noticias/article/acordaron-sct-y-concesionarios-de-banda-de-25-ghz-reintegrar-al-estado-130-mhz/ |website=Portal SCT |title=Acordaron SCT y concesionarios de Banda de 2.5&nbsp;GHZ reintegrar al estado 130&nbsp;MHZ |language=es |access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref> Hence, MAS&nbsp;TV (formerly known as MVS&nbsp;Multivision) had to relinquish the concessions for TV broadcast and shut down its MMDS pay TV services in 2014 after 25 years of service.

In Ireland, since 1990,<ref>{{youTube|cCFBSjuiyUY|The Launch of the MMDS TV Distribution System 12.04.1990}}.</ref> [[UPC Ireland]] (previously [[Chorus Communications|Chorus]] and [[NTL Ireland]]) offered MMDS TV services almost nationwide. The frequency band initially allocated was 2500–2690&nbsp;MHz (the "2.6&nbsp;GHz band") consisting of 22–23 analogue 8&nbsp;MHz channels; digital TV was restricted to 2524–2668&nbsp;MHz, consisting of 18 digital 8&nbsp;MHz channels. Two digital TV standards were used: [[DVB-T]]/[[MPEG-2]] in the old Chorus franchise area and [[DVB-C]]/MPEG-2 in the old NTL franchise area. The existing licences were to expire 18&nbsp;April 2014, but Comreg, the Irish communications regulator, extended the licences for a further 2&nbsp;years to 18&nbsp;April 2016, at which date they expired together with all associated spectrum rights of use. The 2.6&nbsp;GHz band spectrum will be auctioned off so that when the existing MMDS licences expire, new rights of use can issue on a service- and technology-neutral basis (by means of new licences). As a result, holders of the new rights of use may choose to provide any service capable of being delivered using 2.6&nbsp;GHz spectrum. For instance, they could distribute television programming content, subject to complying with the relevant technical conditions and with any necessary broadcasting content authorisations, or they could adopt some other use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Response to consultation and Final Decision on proposal to renew the existing MMDS licences from 19 April 2014 to 18 April 2016 |url=http://www.comreg.ie/publications/response_to_consultation_and_final_decision_on_proposal_to_renew_the_existing_mmds_licences_from_19_april_2014_to_18_april_2016.583.104337.p.html |website=Commission for Communications Regulation |access-date=6 September 2024 |language=en |date=27 March 2013}}</ref>

In Iceland, since November 2006, [[Sýn (media corporation)|Vodafone Iceland]] runs Digital Ísland (Digital Iceland){{snd}}the broadcasting system for [[365 (media corporation)|365]] (previously operated by 365 Broadcast Media). Digital Ísland offers digital MMDS television services using [[DVB-T]] technology alongside a few analogue channels. The MMDS frequency range extends from 2500 to 2684&nbsp;MHz for a total of 23 (21 of which are considered usable for broadcasting in Iceland) 8&nbsp;MHz channels. Analogue MMDS broadcasting began in 1993, moving to digital in 2004.

In Brazil, the shutdown of the MMDS technology started in 2012 to release the frequency for the 2500–2600&nbsp;MHz LTE-UTRAN band, which would make the service infeasible. The national shutdown was planned to be finished at the end of 2012; as of 2013, the service had already been shut down in most cities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.telesintese.com.br/telefonica-vivo-comeca-desocupacao-da-faixa-de-mmds-em-sao-paulo-curitiba-e-porto-alegre/ |title=Telefônica/Vivo começa desocupação da faixa de MMDS em São Paulo, Curitiba e Porto Alegre |language=pt |date=27 March 2013}}</ref>

In the [[Dominican Republic]], Wind Telecom started operations using MMDS technology in 2008; at that time and ever since it became a pioneer taking advantage of such implementations. The company uses the DVB standard for its digital television transmissions.

==See also==
* [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC)
* [[Hybrid fiber-coaxial]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/broadband-division/broadband-radio-service-education-broadband-service FCC BRS EBS Homepage]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050607004657/http://www.tech-faq.com/mmds-multichannel-multipoint-distribution-service.shtml What is MMDS?]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716200637/http://www.vodafone.is/sjonvarp/stodvar/orbylgja Vodafone Digital Ísland MMDS]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090831020837/http://www.fjarskiptahandbokin.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=125 Íslenska Fjarskiptahandbókin Digital Ísland info]

{{Wireless video}}
{{Telecommunications}}

[[Category:Network access]]
[[Category:Microwave bands]]
[[Category:Educational television]]

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