The Need to Manage Airspace

Wireless communications are here: they are not going away and without any doubt they will become ever more pervasive. Often used as a ‘catch-all term’, wireless does in fact span many different technologies, including 2G and 3G, Wi-Fi, cellular, digital broadcasting and many more. Typically these different technologies have been implemented – often on an ad hoc basis – to run specific applications. An increasing number of organisations find themselves with a collection of wireless technologies all supporting different services.

In this increasingly complex environment, the airspace in which the wireless technologies are operating needs to be managed in order to avoid interference, deliver maximum quality of service, optimise security – and enable the owner of the airspace to utilise it as yet another, untapped, business asset.

Why manage all the airspace?

There are a number of key reasons why enterprises need to manage their total airspace rather than just focussing on individual elements of any wireless activity.

• The opportunity to utilise airspace as an important asset of the business.
• Health and safety: employers are now liable, by law, to ensure that staff are not put at risk by over-exposure to wireless radiation; only by managing the entire airspace can employers know, conclusively, what activity is taking place.
• Security: the entire airspace must be managed in order to ensure security across all the different wireless applications and technologies; loss of sensitive data caused by lapses in security can have a significant impact on the business as a whole, and for corporate governance.
• Interference: although different technologies use different frequencies, they often interfere with ‘neighbouring’ services; only by managing the total airspace can interference be minimised.
• Future proofing: by tackling the total airspace, organisations are able to plan and design for the future, avoiding ad hoc and often expensive implementations for niche services.

A cycle of best practice

Red-M offers a comprehensive solution for all of the wireless systems and devices in locations in which a business operates. Such a far-reaching approach is vital because the challenges of wireless are many and varied. Signals overlap and interfere with each other and they are also affected by the physical environment. Wireless, therefore, cannot be considered in isolation - solutions must adopt an holistic approach that covers all commercial, technical and operational parameters.

Red-M's approach is based on 5 simple but effective steps to deliverying future-proof solutions:

Consulting – Defining exactly how, when and where wireless will be used.

Audit – Understanding what is happening and developing a design baseline.

Design – Optimum wireless performance from a professional design.

Implement – A non-disruptive installation using best-of-breed technologies.

Manage – Maintaining a healthy network that continues to meet your needs.