Video Over WiFi, Are We Ready?

Based on all the current product introductions it appears that this is the year of the tablet, and one of the new applications everyone will be running is video conferencing. Suddenly video conferencing will be extended to a mobile device working on a Wi-Fi interconnect. Are we ready for this?

To deliver high quality video, the wireless connection will require the same kind of careful treatment has a wired connection. This means providing sufficient bandwidth, and providing priority for audio and video packets (Quality of Service) on the wireless link.

In the wired environment we have been asking customers to eliminate half duplex connections, eliminate shared access and increase endpoint bandwidth to 100 Mb wherever possible. But as we step into the Wi-Fi space we suddenly find ourselves again in a half-duplex shared environment competing with other users for limited bandwidth. Ouch!

Deployment of voice over Wi-Fi today requires careful analysis of the Wi-Fi coverage density, of radio interference from other sources and implementation of QoS. These same requirements must now be applied for any environment expecting to run video on a mobile tablet or phone with be added requirement of increased bandwidth capabilities.

Because bandwidth management plays such an important role in managing the demand of video conferencing in a limited bandwidth environment, it will also be critical to implement in any environment that uses video over Wi-Fi. The system designer will have a tough tradeoff to determine if it is worthwhile to provide high Wi-Fi bandwidth and density to cover the possible concurrent loads, or whether it will be necessary to limit concurrent video usage to fit within current bandwidth capacities. The latter choice will cause some users to be denied their calls, which of course will impact user acceptance of the technology.

So the message is heads up! If you are hearing a rumble in your company that sounds like users wanting mobile video capabilities within the enterprise, review that Wi-Fi deployment and start making plans for a much more robust implementation.