The CWA Study Guide is an essential enhancement to the TCO Certified Wireless Analyst Certification Package.
The CWA Study Guide contains detailed notes and graphics corresponding exactly to the CWA lessons.
This book therefore contains all of the answers to the CWA exam questions!
Having a companion reference textbook avoids the need to take notes, and greatly enhances learning and retention, helping you learn and burn the concepts into the neurons of your brain.
The book is invaluable as a printed companion to online courses, and can also be used for self-learning without online courses.
In both cases, it will serve as an excellent day-to-day reference and handbook.
Every country has the sovereign right to manage energy at radio frequencies in its territory. When the airspace through which the radio waves travel is public property (which is most of the time), and there is contention for its use (which is all of the time), regulation is required to allow the rational use of the shared resource.
…
The range of radio frequencies, called the radio spectrum, is divided into blocks of frequencies allocated for different services. Allocations are divided into allotments, which are bands of frequencies assigned to specific users or to the public. A license to emit radio-frequency energy at the specified frequencies in a specified area is issued by government to record the assignment of the allotment and the conditions for its use.
… these lesson notes continue on page 19 of the CWA Study Guide.
Extracted from Chapter 9 of the Telecom 101 reference book. Note: acronyms and abbreviations used below are explained in lessons leading up to this one.
9.7 Mobile Operators, MVNOs and Roaming
9.7.1 Mobile Network Operator
Mobile Network Operator (MNO) is the term
usually used to refer to a facilities-based carrier, i.e. a company that owns
base stations, a mobile switch, backhaul between them, and spectrum licenses,
and sells services to the public… and to other carriers.
The MNO implements external links to other
carriers for PSTN phone calls and for Internet traffic.
For PSTN phone calls, the MNO implements a
fiber optic connection to a building traditionally called a Toll Center or
Class 4 switching office. The termination of their fiber in that building is
called a POP. It is their physical point of presence in the building.
Many other carriers have POPs in the
building, including the ILEC, IXCs, CATV companies, other mobile carriers, and
any other company that wants to connect phone calls to a phone on the MNO’s
network.
The operator of the toll center, usually the
ILEC, provides a switch in the Toll Center to switch phone calls from one
carrier’s POP to a different carrier’s POP.
For Internet access, the MNO implements a
fiber optic connection to one or more Internet Exchange buildings, where they
pay the operator of the IX to route packets to other carriers with whom the MNO
has established IP packet transit and peering arrangements.
9.7.2 Mobile Virtual Network Operator
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is the
term used to refer to a non-facilities-based carrier… one that does not own
the hardware or spectrum licenses or POPs.
Instead, the MVNO enters into a long-term
contract with one or more facilities-based carriers to have them supply a
“white label” service that the MVNO sells.
Typically the MVNO will develop a unique
branding and sell smartphones and tablets to go along with its service.
When the MVNO deals exclusively with one
carrier, the MVNO bill to the customer would be typically generated by the
facilities-based carrier as a white-label service.
If the MVNO is very large and deals with
multiple carriers, the MVNO may operate their own billing system, which is a
significant investment.
The facilities-based carrier charges to the
MVNO includes a volume-discount rate for IP addresses and Internet traffic,
voice-minute airtime and switched access to the POP for PSTN phone calls.
The MVNO also has to pay for connectivity
from the POP to other toll centers for “long-distance” connections,
and the switched-access charge at the far end.
The rate plan the MVNO pays could be a mix of
fixed-rate leases and usage-based billing.
Unless the MNO is obliged to sell capacity to
MVNOs through regulations and tariffs, the nature of the plan is confidential
business information.
9.7.3 Roaming
Roaming service is very similar to the
service provided to MVNOs, in that it is the MNO that is providing the airlink,
base stations, backhaul, mobile switch and connections to the PSTN and
Internet.
In the case of roaming, the visitor uses
their own phone, and billing is usage-based.
Roaming is an important feature for smaller
players: they are facilities-based in selected cities, but to offer a national
and international service to their customers, they must have roaming agreements
in place with MNOs in other locations.
By denying roaming service to smaller or
startup carriers, or charging an exorbitant price for roaming, an incumbent
carrier can erect a barrier against competition.
In many countries, the right to roam and the
wholesale cost of roaming is regulated to encourage competition.
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Lessons 1. Introduction (free sample lesson)
2. Mobile Network Components, Jargon and Operation
3. Cellular Principles
4. PSTN Phone Calls using the Phone App: Voice Minutes
5. Mobile Internet: Data Plan
6. Spectrum-Sharing: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM
7. 4G LTE: Mobile Broadband
8. 5G New Radio: Enhanced Mobile Broadband, IoT Communications 9. Wi-Fi: 802.11 Wireless LANs (free sample lesson)
10. Communication Satellites
