mmWave technology helps 'thread needle,’ experts say 

LAS VEGAS — Fiber is seen as king when it comes to networks, but it may not be appropriate for every situation, opening the door to increased use of millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, experts said during a panel session on smart cities at ISC West on Tuesday. 

The technology, between the 60 and 80 GHz range, is an ideal form of delivery for video and access control applications, said Chris Pingue, an analyst for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department during the session “Optimizing Wireless Networks for Smart Cities and Expansive Open Areas.” 

“Millimeter wave has really helped us thread the needle,” he said. 

For Pingue, what started with a single camera install blossomed into a significantly larger endeavor for public safety, as results of using mmWave became quickly evident.  

The technology also saved the day for Rick Kaminer, vice president of Multi-Media Communication, when he found himself with a unique P2P problem for his communication infrastructure project – a pier-to-pier problem, that is.  

“They had a unique challenge – it’s all in the water with piers, and it was very difficult to connect with any of these piers,” he said. “We looked at the budget for putting in fiber and we came to a number of $25 million dollars, which was excessive. It didn’t make any sense for us, so we brought in wireless and we were very skeptical at the beginning.” 

Ultimately, Kaminer found wireless performed better, carrying 25 to 30 cameras with no issues over a five-mile radius, with impressive numbers shown from bandwidth and latency. 

Jimmy Bakakis, who hosted the panel and is vice president of private networks for Ceragon, also highlighted one important feature of mmWave. 

“It also happens to be undiscoverable,” he said. “You don’t necessarily see it, so it's very difficult to hack and it's very difficult to get access to. It’s immune to signal interference for the same reasons, and when you’re talking about connectivity itself, we are basically that pipeline. One point to another, one point to multiple points, millimeter wave technology is transporting IT traffic through it, so the security aspect of it is on the device side of things.”