Alliance Corporation Announces Key Additions to US Executive Team

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Lisa

LINCOLN PARK, NJ – October 16, 2011 – Alliance Corporation, a leading distributor of wireless infrastructure products, today announced that it has appointed John Hamilton as Vice President, Wireless Infrastructure and Kerry Downer as Vice President, Business Development for North America.

“I am pleased to welcome John and Kerry to the Alliance management team,” said Nick Moss, President of Alliance Corporation. “We are excited to have two seasoned executives who, through their extensive industry experience, will enhance our ability to grow our business in the US market.  All of the major mobile carriers in the US are rolling out 4G networks and we look forward to participating in those build-outs.”

Kerry Downer, Vice President Business Development North America
Kerry Downer brings over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry throughout North America and around the world. Most recently Mr. Downer served as the Director of Fiber Solutions for Andrew/CommScope , responsible for global integration of their 4G solutions with operators and OEM’s throughout the world including the highly successful Remote Fiber Feeder (RFF) product line.  Mr. Downer has also held sales and product line roles with Thermax Corporation (Cable Design Technologies). Mr. Downer holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston University and attended the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University.

“Alliance has established itself as an innovator in hybrid fiber development and deployments, with an impressive roster of carrier customers who are installing fiber to the radio head,” said Mr. Downer. “I am excited to join Alliance at this pivotal point in the roll out of 4G networks.”

John Hamilton, Vice President Wireless Infrastructure
John Hamilton has over 30 years of International experience in the telecommunications and oil and gas industries. Prior to joining Alliance Corporation, Mr. Hamilton was at Nokia Siemens Networks Canada, where he held the role of CT Head on the deployment of a major wireless network. Prior to that he was with Nokia Networks where he held the role of Project Director and Project Manager for Williams Communication in the USA. Mr. Hamilton has also held various positions in the telecommunications and oil and gas industry in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

“Alliance is well-positioned to benefit from the 4G roll outs planned by leading carriers in the US such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile,” said Mr. Hamilton. “With over 20 years experience providing wireless infrastructure products and logistics solutions, Alliance has proven it can support smooth roll outs. I am pleased to be joining the team to lead expansion within the US market.”

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CommScope cCatalog App Now Available for Free Download for iPhone & iPad

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Lisa

Commscope iphone app from AllianceAlliance partner, Commscope, just released an app for the iPhone and iPad. Below you can read what they posted to their blog about the app’s features.

I downloaded it myself yesterday and I have to say that it is quite convenient. If you are an iPhone user, it’s one more thing you won’t need your PC for!

The CommScope cCatalog iPhone/iPad app allows you to search for product specifications, locate related products and save favorite products for easy access. This real-time app allows you to quickly navigate through the entire collection of more than 25,000 CommScope products.

With the cCatalog app from CommScope, you can:

  • Access information and specifications for over 25,000 CommScope products including our Andrew, Broadband, Carrier, SYSTIMAX and Uniprise Solutions
  • View related products
  • View products by status – New, To Be Discontinued and Discontinued
  • Add products to your Projects List
  • Send email links to product specifications
  • Stay current with information from CommScope blogs, press releases and video

Click here to get the App from the Apple App Store.

Posted in DAS, Distributed Antenna Systems, Fiber, Licensed microwave, broadband wireless, in-building wireless | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Four bars but it’s not working?

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Lisa

You’re sitting outside at lunch time in downtown Toronto/Calgary/Montreal, checking out a video on Facebook, your toddler’s latest escapades. Your iPhone shows 4 bars, a great signal, but the video won’t play. The little circle spins round and round and round on your screen.

Why, you ask in exasperation? It’s because while the major carriers have mostly achieved network coverage, the big issue now is capacity. The network usage is growing at an exponential rate and carriers are struggling to keep up.

What do we mean by capacity? An easy to understand example is a highway with 4 lanes. The highway might travel all your destinations but if all of those lanes are congested, you will only get there as fast as the traffic volume allows. That’s the way cellular networks work. The cell that is providing your 4 bars of signal strength has a maximum bandwidth capacity and it’s been reached.

Now you look up from your cell phone in frustration only to realise you are not alone on your phone. People no longer read  printed media like they used to and you are surrounded by people looking at their cell phones instead of newspapers or books.

It’s all about Capacity now, not coverage

As recent studies indicate, the smart phone is overtaking the PC and video streaming over mobile phones is growing quickly.

IT Analyst firm Gartner predicts that by 2013, “mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.” http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1278413

In June of 2011 Allot Communications published its semi-annual MobileTrends Report, showing “that mobile data bandwidth usage continued its steady rise with 77% growth during the first half (H1) of 2011 .. video streaming continued to show significant growth with a 93% increase, and remains the single largest application taking up bandwidth, accounting for 39% of mobile bandwidth .. YouTube remains the single most popular mobile Internet destination, accounting for 22% of mobile data bandwidth usage and 52% of total video streaming ” http://www.allot.com/index.aspx?id=3797&itemID=65415

Build it and they will use it

How are carriers going to expand their network capacity, given the fact that they seem to have already put their equipment on every available rooftop and tower?

The next big thing in cellular isn’t the 700 MHz band, it’s something called Distributed Antenna Systems or DAS for short.

Canadian carriers are now focussing their efforts on increasing capacity because they’ve seen such a high demand for bandwidth. At Alliance we’ve partnered companies such as Korean SOLiD Technologies and Canadian antenna manufacturer, Til-Tek to provide a comprehensive DAS solution.

We’re working with carriers to supply special antenna brackets to support DAS solutions everywhere. We’re seeing a lot of DAS systems deployed simply in the downtown streets. It’s no longer just the large stadiums. Network capacity is under strain everywhere.

Posted in DAS, Distributed Antenna Systems, in-building wireless, wireless capacity | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

First Canadian Wireless Trade Show in years

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Lisa

Thursday September 15 and Friday September 16th meet Alliance at the newest wireless trade show in Canada: CWTS, Canadian Wireless Trade Show.

Tickets are free for all attendees, register here.

Alliance will showcase our solutions for DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) and for fiber to the tower. Our booth is in front of the registration desk and you should be able to see the antennas and radios we will have installed on the structure of our booth from the registration area!

Posted in Licensed microwave, Uncategorized, Unlicensed Microwave, broadband wireless | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Why you should clean your fiber connectors

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Darin

Even when you have a new cable assembly

Even when there is a dust cap!

Why is it so important to clean fiber connectors?

The kind of dirt that can affect a fiber core is everywhere. What is Dirt, Anyway?) We’re talking about oil from your hands, epoxy resin, saliva, dust and other microscopic particles.

A single particle mated into the core of a fiber can cause significant back reflection (also known as return loss), insertion loss, and possible equipment damage.   Visual inspection is the only way to determine if fiber connectors are truly clean.

By following a simple practice of proactive visual inspection and cleaning, poor optical performance and potential equipment damage can be avoided. Many contaminants are too small to see with the naked eye, it is important to inspect all connectors with a microscope prior to making final connections.  Microscopes are designed to magnify and display the critical portion of the ferrile where the connection will occur.

When to inspect and clean connectors:

Fiber connectors should be checked as part of a routine inspection to prevent costly fault finding later.  All fiber cables are tested before leaving our manufacturing plant and each cable arrives with a test document stating the results.

Upon receiving the cable, it is recommended the cables be inspected to ensure no damage occurred during transportation. We recommend the connectors also be inspected before installation and before testing.  Even when there is a dust cap, you should clean the connector surface. Since the cost of installation is usually higher than the cost of the materials, testing, inspection and cleaning at all stages of work can avoid unnecessary additional expenses and help meet important deadlines.

Also note the components in which the fibers are to be connected.  Equipment, test cables, testing equipment and adapters should also be inspected and cleaned.  If these are contaminated it may transfer and damage the good clean connector.

With good, clean connectors you can take advantage of all the speed fiber offers!

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Keeping those fiber connectors clean – what is dirt anyway?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Darin

What are contaminates? ( fancy word for dirt!)

The design of connectors and production procedures has eliminated most of the difficulties in acquiring core alignment and physical contact. However, maintaining a clean connector still remains a challenge.

Dirt is all around us.  Almost all field–test failures can be attributed to dirty connectors.  Many connectors are not inspected until they fail and usually permanent damage has already occurred.

If particles of dirt get onto the core surface the light becomes blocked.  This creates unwanted high insertion loss and back reflection.  Contaminates can permanently damage the glass interface.  It can dig into the glass leaving pits that create further back reflection if mated.  Large pieces of dirt or contaminates on the cladding layer can introduce a physical barrier that prevents physical contact and creates an air gap between the fibers.  This allows for smaller loose particles to migrate into the air gap causing even more insertion loss and back reflection.

Oil from hands, dust, epoxy resin, saliva, lint, gypsum are among the contaminates that can effect a connectors performance.

Stay tuned for more on cleaning fiber connectors!

Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/borealnz/ for the picture.

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PIM – A dirty 3 letter word

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Mike Short

By now most people in the wireless world have heard about or encountered PIM in their networks as we move to wide band 4G networks.

Most carriers have made changes to the equipment that they specify for their RF path to ensure that the products are PIM tested/certified at sufficient levels.

Alliance has been working with carriers on PIM issues as early as 2009 and we have found that once a carrier changes to a quality RF path solution, further steps need to take place. At Alliance we preach Training, Tools and PIM-tested Jumpers.

Construction crews must be trained on what effects PIM can have on a network and how to avoid them by proper cable preparation and connector installation (Training). All crews on site must be out fitted with proper torque wrenches (Tools). Supplying 100% PIM tested jumpers alleviates 80% of PIM issues on a site (PIM-tested Jumpers).

Alliance can provide on-site PIM 101 sessions as well as contractor training and certification, contractor tools and we have a large inventory of 100% PIM-tested Jumpers with varying lengths and connector styles.

A couple of other key points to consider with PIM are:

  • PIM totals are aggregated across the entire RF path
  • As carriers are added the chances of the 3rd order entering one of the receive paths increases dramatically.

Remember PIM does not replace RL or DTF or vice versa!

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Dirt is the Enemy! Cleaning fiber connectors – Part 1

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Lisa

Over the last few years, wireless carriers have been rolling out 4G networks in Canada and the US and Alliance has been working with them to provide fiber cable assemblies to connect remote radio heads that are located at the top of the tower.

Running fiber to the remote radio head offers many advantages that we have outlined on our web site, not to mention infinite bandwidth!

This is the first post of several about why it is important and how to clean fiber connectors. Since Alliance creates fiber cable assemblies that have the connectors installed already, we are able to ensure that the connectors are clean since this is all done in a very clean, lab environment.

However, once the cable leaves the lab and enters the field, it is vulnerable to the slightest, invisible contaminants.

Using a special scope, this picture shows a polished, clean fiber. Notice the core, cladding and ceramic ferrule: there are no scratches, no particles or scratches.

Now look at the next picture:

This is simply a connector that had the attached cap removed.

It is covered with particles! These are just from the air around us, not from any extra dust, etc.

When cleaned with an alcohol swab or lint free tissue it will return to the original condition.

Stay tuned for more details on why Dirt is the Enemy and How to Fight Dirt!

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How much bandwidth do you really need for video applications?

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Lisa

Alliance partner, Redline Communications, recently wrote a fantastic blog post that is worth re-posting:  Determine the right amount of bandwidth for wireless video surveillance

We’ve been talking a lot here lately about using wireless for video applications. With the broadband wireless technology available today, it’s possible to put high resolution cameras where you need them: on lamp posts for monitoring traffic, in your parking lot for video surveillance, or all over your city for improved security.

If you haven’t already attended one of our educational webinars on wireless for video, you should check out our schedule and register for the next one: http://www.alliancecorporation.ca/content/view/171/105/

——-

Determine the right amount of bandwidth for wireless video surveillance

Wireless networks are an important component of video surveillance systems enabling the installation of cameras anywhere they needed without having to run cables or fiber. When designing the wireless network the question of how much bandwidth will be needed is going to come up.  It’s not a simple question to answer and more bandwidth always translates into more radios.  So getting a solid estimate of bandwidth requirements up front will ensure not only excellent performance but excellent performance within the budget.

The amount of bandwidth used by video surveillance cameras is determined by the number of cameras, image resolution, frame rate, and compression ratio. Clearly the more cameras you have, the more bandwidth you will use on the network.  A single frame can contain from 30 Kbytes to over 160 Kbytes for high resolution images.   At multiple frames per second, each camera could easily require 10 Mbps excluding any network protocol overhead.  And if you have multiple cameras the bandwidth increases linearly.  Fortunately there are ways to reduce this.

Resolution

Higher resolution means a greater amount of detail is captured in a video image. A standard definition TV image has a resolution of 352×240, while your PC typically has 704×480. High resolution cameras have resolutions up to 2592 x 1944. As the resolution goes up, so does the amount of bandwidth required, so it’s best to select a resolution level that meets your needs.

Compression

Video compression is an important tool in helping to ease strain on the network allowing high quality video transmission without hoarding bandwidth. Compression works by comparing the differences between frames meaning bandwidth requirement are directly related to what is being monitored.  For example, monitoring a static scene requires less bandwidth as compression rates will be very high. On the other hand, monitoring traffic or public areas require higher network bandwidth.
Video surveillance systems typically use M JPEG, MPEG-4 or H.264 compression technology. Which one you use depends on your application and needs.  MPEG-4 provides better compression, but lower resolution. It is usually used when you need to conserve bandwidth and storage.  MJPEG compression is usually used by the higher resolution cameras. H.264 is the latest compression technique and offers an excellent trade-off between quality and bandwidth. H.264 provides about twice the compression of MPEG-4 for the same video quality.

Frame Rate

The number of frames per second relates to how smooth the video appears. Standard TV runs at 30 frames per second and uses up quite a lot of bandwidth. Fortunately in most video surveillance applications, there is not much motion.  For a person walking through the room, a frame rate of 4 fps will be sufficient. Increasing the frame rate increases bandwidth usage. To minimize bandwidth while retaining high quality images, most video surveillance systems increase the frame rate only when motion is detected.

What’s the bottom line?

Due to the many factors that contribute to the video bit rate, there is no exact method to calculate total bandwidth requirements. Each camera manufacturer and each model of encoder will have different requirements, and every installation will introduce unique variables.

Most wireless video surveillance systems are installed outdoor.  Weather conditions, the topography, line-of-sight conditions, and interference spectrum all impact the amount of bandwidth on a given link.  Careful planners provide an additional 20% bandwidth to mitigate the impact of these variations. The following charts give a reasonable starting point.

Typical CIF to 4CIF Bandwidth Requirements
Resolution Image Rate Activity Level Bit Rate (Mbps)
CIF  (176×144) 3 Medium 160
CIF 7 Medium 185
CIF 15 Medium 200
CIF 30 Medium 500
2CIF (352×288) 3 Medium 320
2CIF 7 Medium 370
2CIF 15 Medium 400
2CIF 30 Medium 1,000
4CIF  (704×576) 3 Medium 640
4CIF 7 Medium 740
4CIF 15 Medium 800
4CIF 30 Medium 2,000
Typical Megapixel Camera Bandwidth Requirements
Compression Megapixel Resolution Image Rate Bit Rate (Mbps)
H.264 1 1,280 x 1,024 5 0.7
H.264 2 1,600 x 1,200 5 1.03
H.264 3 2,048 x 1,536 5 1.6
MJPEG 1 1,280 x 1,024 5 4.7
MJPEG 2 1,600 x 1,200 5 6.2
MJPEG 3 2,048 x 1,536 5 9.6
H.264 2 1,600 x 1,200 15 3.8

What about the network equipment?

Most wireless equipment specifies bandwidth under ideal conditions. For example measuring bandwidth using only large packet sizes can inflate the amount of bandwidth.  Video compression results in a range of packets sizes from small to large. Check the radio specifications or talk to the manufacturer to ensure bandwidth is consistent under varying packet sizes.
Latency can impact bandwidth as latency is related to the amount of time it takes to access the wireless link. High latency means wasted bandwidth since the wireless link is not being used during this access period.  Latency also impacts the quality of video surveillance operation.  High latency can result in fuzzy or pixelated images and poor performance of video analytics such as license plate recognition. Always select wireless equipment that has low latency and low latency that does not vary under traffic loading.  Look for radios with less than 8 msec.

In video surveillance systems the uplink, from the camera to the control center, carries most of the traffic.  Some radios use a fixed uplink and downlink ratio which means downlink bandwidth cannot be assigned to the uplink.  Choosing radios that provide dynamic time-division duplex (TDD) allows any uplink:downlink ratio to be assigned.

Conclusion

Video stream quality and network bandwidth are directly correlated.  With some up front planning to determine the amount of bandwidth required and an understanding of the key factors that impact bandwidth in outdoor wireless networks, it is straightforward to design and deliver excellent system performance to meet your needs.

Posted in Uncategorized, Wireless Video Surveillance | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Recycling cable reels for the greater good (gift cards)

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Lisa

Alliance is proud to say that we are doing our part to reduce waste.

This new effort is consistent with our initiatives to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and help save our precious environment. But we need your help to make it work.

Turn your used reels into something you can really use!

When qualifying cable reels are returned to one of Alliance’s distribution facilities in either New Jersey or New York, you will receive a $20 Home Depot gift card per reel.

The reels must be in decent shape.  For more details go to our website for the brochure or or call us to arrange a drop off.

A real person always answers the phone! 1 866 243 7378

Posted in Recycling | Tagged , | 1 Comment