IP Convergence: Beyond VoIP, Beyond Cost Savings - FMC

Convergence a Foundation to Unified Communications

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:38:34 +0000

As with any new technology you will find different opinions of what you should consider and do when deploying new technology.

Recently Zeus Kerravala from Yankee Group posted a blog urging enterprises not to consider VoIP as a foundation for deployment. Stating concerns of complexity and that only a minority of enterprises completing their VoIP deployments.

I would like to offer a supportive opinion that can be found in a whitepaper that my peers and I have recently released. You can download a copy here.

The whitepaper is based Global Crossing’s experience of deploying Microsoft’s Office Communication System within our internal IT infrastructure as well as recent market data.

Global Crossing was successful in deploying a Unified Communications platform (text, email, video, voice and data) within the last 24 months (Live Communication Server in 2006 which was upgraded to Office Communications System in 2007) based on efforts which were completed in 2004.

In 2004 , Global Crossing deployed an internal network infrastructure (LAN and WAN) that was capable of providing convergence of Voice, Video and Data. Not only did Global Crossing deploy a network, more importantly we broke down the traditional silo’s found in IT departments across Voice, LAN and WAN teams.

This foundational element enabled application layering (VoIP, Video, Data) that is available in our full featured Unified Communications platform today.

Enterprises considering a Unified Communications deployment will need to deploy a stable, converged network in conjunction with a presence enabled framework.

IP Convergence: Foundation for Unified Communications

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:48:39 +0000

I had the opportunity to present the latest message from Global Crossing in support of Unified Communications. On March 27th, I attended a panel discussion at Sun Microsystem's Boston campus for masnetcomms.org and on March 28th I presented at a Global Crossing VoIP seminar in Cleveland.

My massnetcomms presentation was focused on the technology enablers (Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), XML, Service Oriented Architecture, Price performance of general purpose computers , Software As a Service model, Network Convergence (IP and access), Protocol Convergence (SIP)) that have created the opportunity for Unified Communication adoption. Unified communications is not a new concept, it’s about 10 years old and really never took off. The early UC models were all hardware centric with specialized devices and lacked seamless integration into your desktop. However today, companies like Microsoft have taken a software only architecture that leverages their installed base of email (exchange) and identity (Active Directory) into realizing a seamless experience on my desktop.

In Cleveland, I shifted the discussion to a more network centric message and highlighted our internal IT success in deploying Microsoft OCS . Global Crossing’s internal IT team began the road to Unified Communications in 2003 when we deployed Cisco VoIP handsets .

The 2003 VoIP deployment was an important milestone in that both the network (LAN, WAN) and operations (Voice vs. Network team) had to come together and provide a reliable and consistent transport for Voice, Video and Data. This is an excellent example of IP convergence providing a solid foundation for our subsequent deployment of Unified Communications.

In 2005 Global Crossing deployed Live Communications System (LCS) (LCS is the predecessor to Office Communications System (OCS) ) and in 2006 our first deployment in support of Microsoft OCS beta. Global Crossing was one of 72 companies supporting the beta and tap phases of OCS and in October 2007 supported Microsoft with their OCS launch in San Francisco.

What we are experiencing is that not only can OCS provide unparalleled integration into our desktop environments, but more importantly business transformation as it is now embedded into our workflow, sales portals and company directory. We are able to work more efficiently , with better communications which will add to a better customer experience.

But the deployment of Unified Communications didn’t start in 2005 when we deployed LCS, it actually started in 2003 when we began deployment of a converged network.

At both presentations the message reasonated with other industry leaders and customers. Clearly IP and network convergence provides the foundation for a successful deployment of Unified Communications.

The Value of Presence ? That is the question.

Mon, 05 May 2008 13:13:38 +0000

While visiting with several individuals a few weeks ago at the Ziff Davis Unified Communications Summit in Seattle, WA I noticed that some people hadn't yet realized the power of one aspect to the overall value of unified communications which relates to presence awareness. That is leveraging presence not just in instant messaging but in other communication vehicles can play an important role in transforming your business impact as an IT organization. As a result I thought I would dedicate this post to help create ideas around things that can be done to assist in helping IT in leading the way.

Here at Global Crossing in an attempt to leverage this core components of Unified Communications in an ongoing effort to incorporate the advantages of collaborative, converged services within our enterprise we've transformed internal applications from static non presence aware to anticipatory engaged communication tools that are supporting contextual collaboration with presence-awareness throughout the enterprise. In this instance presence-awareness (whether someone is available in simple terms and how to contact) is utilizing capabilities including chat, computer-based telephony, conferencing, IP video, and e-mail across tools that leveraged across the enterprise drive in principle more efficacy from consumption and corresponding execution. In fact it is my opinion that since presence has been embedded into our application infrastructure to enhance our collaborative capabilities it is natural to see transformational improvements occur around our "quality of experience" associated to the overall user experience. This is so because enabling enhanced customer experience truly enables the IT organization to drive one more component to our IT organizations transformational success in enabling the business to not only "react" but be proactive by achieving extensibility required within the distribution transparency model required for execution. Said another way the fact that presence awareness has been integrated into our application infrastructure means this action will further enhance our agility to enhance operational efficiency by allowing application "pivots" to be present thus accelerating communication by eliminating in some instances serial cognitive task execution.

As the industry landscape continues to evolve there are a few constants that will remain the same: (1) increasing business demands require more innovative, transformational capabilities between employees, partners and customers and (2) continually driving operational velocity reductions around the cost basis of delivering information technology services is imperative. It is commonly believed by many vendors such as Avaya, Cisco, Intel, Nortel and Siemens as well as software developers such as IBM and Microsoft that presence technology will continue to become an increasingly important tool at driving traditional costs out by attacking the serial nature of traditional work execution thus increasing operational efficiency.

So why is presence so important to Unified Communication services? Presence is important because it can become the intelligent communication application for converged IP communication services such as those demonstrated by our IT organization at Global Crossing. Determining where a user is and how best to reach them in our case by leveraging presence enabled applications that have been integrated into our infrastructure with the "glue" to increase the overall value of our converged IP services brought to the table and help realize substantial business transformation value.Said another way presence-aware applications offered on a converged IP communication service help evolve traditional serial actions of quickly determining and thus engaging with employees regardless of location, modality or scheduling which allows our globally dispersed users to communicate and collaborate in real time providing productivity in a truly global and mobile workforce environment. Combined converged IP communication services with presence technology provide for accelerated collaboration between our employees, partners and customers by knocking down the walls of traditional serial communications and by accelerating communication through anticipatory engagement.

Presence is the value.

Femtocells the Answer?

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Femtocells the Answer?

There have been some very interesting developments in the wireless world as of late. Femtocells are basically Access Point Base Stations that permit wireless operators to extend coverage in places where “dead spots” are problematic. This sounds like a great idea for those that have experienced the issues where a wireless phone call drops due to one moving into an area where coverage is “shady” at best – for instance an elevator or a remote location in a campus or building. But with this concept, comes some problems that need to be resolved, like E911, Lawful Intercept and other such governmental obligations.

First note the informal poll below from www.cellcoverege.com - this is a problem the industry wants to address.

Poll: How do DropZones Affect You?

Annoying & inconvenient (36%)

Cannot replace home phone (15%)

Creates a safety gap (13%)

Crimping social life (16%)

Poor reflection on business (14%)

Other (5%)

Femtocells have been designed to use licensed and unlicensed wireless spectrum. In the licensed scenarios, there are concerns around Interference with the already established towers that provide subscriber access. There are limits to the number of adjacencies that mean special attention needs to be spent with regards to the placement of the femtocells. This concern stems from marketing such solutions direct to the consumer base, and this means a “willy nilly” approach to spectrum access for subscribers causes confusion with regards to E911 and Lawful Intercept requirements that mobile network operators much meet.

Though femtocells are gaining momentum as an alternative, there are concerns that first need to be addressed before an expectation of widespread use can be realized.

Adam “voiploser” Uzelac

DISCLAIMER: The comments here are mine only. They don’t necessarily reflect intelligence, refined thoughts, or anything that the reader should take too seriously. Should the reader expect a polished thought process in the content addressed here, then a strong dose of medication should be prescribed to address that misconception.

Google's Mobile Phone Alliance

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:15:41 +0000

A number of bloggers have been blogging about on Google's mobile plans for the better part of the year.

Recently I blogged as to how Google may be able to take their may ad revenue business model into the mobile space.

Well today, Google made it very clear with their mobile alliance announcements .

The interesting part of the discussion revolves around Verizon. Specifically, Verizon may be in talks with google in joining Sprint and T-Mobile as part of Google's plans.

But is this the same Verizon that sued the FCC after the FCC adopted Google's open access motions?

Yes it is the same Verizon.

It may be that Verizon needs to be involved and not get blindsided as they did when they choose not to support Apple's iPhone, and lost a tremendous branding opportunity.

Or, it may be that Verizon needs to be involved to make sure it's part of the disruption as mobile business models change.

Another score for the open source business model and for the public as we should see innovation at as faster velocity.

Time will tell!

Give Google a Break

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:26:02 +0000

This weekend I read a commentary by PC Magazine’s editor and Chief Lance Ulanoff “Don’t Give Google 700Mhz”

I posted a response at their website and I am still bothered by the position he has taken.

“ The position that 700Mhz digital data services may require antennas as broadcast analog TV is totally off base. An analog broadcast != (not equal to) digital data, broadcast TV is just that a broadcast signal without any protocol between the receiver and transmitter, whereas digital data receiver and transmitter have defined protocols that optimize reception given the available data rate e.g. WiFi, GPRS etc …
Some of the biggest advantages of wireless digital data at 700Mhz is not needing line of site , not prone to moisture (water in leaves) and a huge chunk of to be available spectrum.
The position that Verizon, Sprint and ATT know the business and can do better for the American public is weak at best.
“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.”
The FCC’s job is to manage American spectrum for the country , e.g. the people.
When was the last time Verizon, Sprint and ATT acted on behalf of the people? Checkout your Verizon RZAR and you’ll find out they feature lock Motorola’s features (like local access to Bluetooth to transfer files), whereas T-mobile does not.
Google is acting to further itself , but there’s a difference here. Google’s advocacy on Open Access to Spectrum is disruptive and will create innovation in the wireless industry that will benefit the people.
Google’s greatest strength is their success, their greatest challenge is maturing as a regulatory influencer against the incumbents who have decades of experience on playing the game.”

I had to rewrite the post several times just to get my emotions out.

Google has and will change the wireless industry. The position they have taken on open access on spectrum will create innovate environment , which will open the markets to more companies that develop hardware, software or services (content).

The big three will need to be competitive to protect their base, this is no different than the FCC open market position in the 90’s that opened local markets which benefited users with more choices and lowered costs.

Web Services Catching on in Telecom?

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:42:54 +0000

OK, so Web Services has been around for some time now. XML and SOAP have been used as an easy to implement mechanism to serve as an API for distributed applications. However, only until the last year or so has web services come to the forefront of telecom services, and I believe it will be used as a foundation for many innovative solutions that will be built under the Unified Communications/Integrated Communications umbrella.

VoIP has traditionally been relegated to basic telephony services in the telecom industry, such as VoIP/SIP Trunking and Hosted IP Telephony services. However, with the advent of Unified Communications (check out the Unified Communications Conference at the Fall VON Show in October), which brings together telephony, messaging, collaboration, data and mobility into an integrated solution, we begin to see services using VoIP as becoming more visual in nature, bringing telephony into web interfaces rather than to phones, and using multiple distributed applications which are blended to create solutions.

Global Crossing has announced that it is providing innovative Unified Communications solutions to the UK Government. These services will soon be expanded to provide even greater capabilities to the Enterprise, and globalization is a key element of this strategy.

Does this mean IMS? Not necessarily. Many solutions in the market have built interoperability through vendor partnerships using SIP from a voice signaling perspective, and Web Services brings another element into the mix which greatly improves interoperability and improves usability. IMS is not nearly as innovative as Web Services, and certainly not as easily implemented. However, IMS can be combined with Web Services to anchor control, signaling, and provisioning of multiple applications in a standardized fashion. My belief is that it will take the industry some time to pull everything together using IMS.

As an example of how web services can be introduced into telephony, clients can be built into web pages using internet API's which use click to call functionality. In addition, web services can be used in a unified communications "Dashboard" interface where a user can view presence status, conference attendance, manage services through voice portals, and trigger entirely new communications business models. Two innovating vendors highly leveraging web services in the telecom space are Sylantro and Iperia, which bring call control and management extended to web communications, and provide visual voicemail and unified messaging services as a solution. Very cool stuff.

Web Services brings easy programming interfaces to industry standard transport (HTTP) to bring innovation to telecom services. As enterprises become more distributed in nature, with remote offices in multiple countries, their key workers are also becoming more distributed and mobile. Telecom needs to keep up with these trends and the increading demand for requirements of the changing workplace with real time communications. This is bringing traditionally separate applications together via Unified Communications, and the "unification" or blending of these distributed applications can use a combination of signaling techniques and web services functions to bring a highly visual element to the solution.

Microsoft OCS at Global Crossing

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:16:28 +0000

If you're like me, when one of your internal IT guys gives you a call and asks you if you want to trial some new software, the answer is almost nearly always a resounding YES. Last week Steve Schafer gave me a call and asked if I wanted to try out the new 2007 version of MS Communicator based on the OCS platform. I got set up with it on Monday and wanted to share some of my experiences with it.

There are several new features that I find very attractive:

All conversations are kept and stored in a mailbox. This can be the text of an IM conversation, or if it's a phone call, then the number, name of person you called (if available) and the length of call is recorded.
The IDLE status doesn't obfuscate any other status, but shares the button color so that you know if the person is idle at their keyboard while in a meeting, on the phone, or available. You get a little bit of credit this way for behaving yourself and not multitasking while on a conference call. It might also eliminate a few yt?'s
Multi-party video calls, Ohhhh yeah! Create a multi-person IM conversation and then fire up Video. Whoever is talking at the time is broadcast to all other parties. It works reasonably well for me in spite of the fact that I am a tele-worker with a lousy Internet connection.
Quasi-FMC/UC capabilities that include a DID for your computer, simultaneous ring to another number of yours, voice-mail delivered to your inbox as a .wav file, as well as the ability to call a voice access number and access your calendar and email. I don't suspect I'll ever use that last feature, but it is nice to know that if I was ever having trouble falling asleep that I could have a pleasant female-timbered computer voice read my email inbox to me, which I shall hence forth dub Femail. Copyright! :-)

And there are several things that I predict will be very evil.

All those great mailing lists in the outlook exchange address book now come up on searches with an auto-complete function in the communicator search window. Just when email got so crazy that you had to turn to IM for productivity gains, here come the mass IM broadcasts! Broadcast IM's are bad, mmmkay??? Just say No!
The new color scheme is a bit harsh. The charcoal title bar is fine, but the new 3D shading on the buttons and the traffic-light red/yellow/green availability scheme is kind of hard on the eyes. The other issue here is the connotation associated with red. The previous version showed a pleasant shade of blue when someone was busy, but now it's red. Since I tend to be booked in meetings most of the day, I am always an angry shade of red. That's evil.

Stuff that still doesn't work quite right:

Softphones still suck. I have a reasonably fast laptop and a gig of RAM, but somehow I still have issues coding/decoding when my computer gets busy for a few seconds. Give this program more priority by default. I have a Microsoft IP phone on the way that should resolve this problem, but I'm still pretty shocked that computer telephony doesn't work better than it does.
Video/audio sync in video calls. I've noticed that I receive the video frames before the audio. What gives? Audio should have priority over video. Always! If Video is falling behind, drop the frames. If the audio is falling a second or two behind, wipe the whole buffer and start over or something so it doesn't feel like I'm having a conversation with someone half-way to the moon.

All in all, the new features are pretty cool, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the company getting upgraded to this release.

I Approve This Message

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:59:34 +0000

Mesaging is undoubtedly the fasted growing method of e-communication in the industry today, spanning both consumer and enterprise segments. In the wireless industry alone, the statistics on text messaging volume are staggering. CTIA's president Steve Largent was quoted as saying that 158 billion text messages were sent in the U.S. alone in 2006, translating to approximately 300,000 per minute, which is almost a 100% growth compared to 2005. He also notes that consumers can use text messaging to save lives. Huh? Well, Amber Alerts is now wireless, so you can receive text message with the Amber Alert information (that is displayed on digital signage) when one occurs, provided you submit your mobile phone number and area zip codes. BTW, I encourage everyone to sign up for this. The reason? We all look at a text message when we receive one, and most of the time we respond to it. This is a very viral form of communication, and an extremely high margin service; up to 85% in some cases. Combine this with Instant Messaging, and the transactional volumes far exceed voice by a huge margin.

Aside of the convenience and trendiness aspects of SMS, texting is also very cost effective. When users are low on their cell phone minutes, they often resort to sending text. Also, due to excessive roaming costs, sending text messages is a way of avoiding expensive voice roaming and ILD rates from the mobile operators.

Identity-based services are a unique way to bridge communications between the wireless and wireline worlds. Many innovative service providers are creating offerings which provide a single number (or second line) to the external community, but which allow the subscriber to manage inbound calling to various destinations (mobile, home phone, work phone, etc.). GrandCentral and TalkPlus are two such providers of this service. This identity is can be enabled through a VoIP DID-based carrier such as Global Crossing, which provides phone numbers and voice origination and termination capabilities. Unique solutions like this are rapidly growing in the industry and are likely to continue, bringing voice beyond basic peer to peer dialing.

Another innovative use of identity based services is one where the purpose is to hide the true identity of the called party. Jangl provides such an application to Match.com which enables dating prospects to communicate with each other without having to know each other's phone number. Obviously, you don't want to advertise your phone number to what seems to be a decent date but who turns out to be an obsessive nut job. Again, a powerful use of application-based communication.

Applications such as this can leverage more than just voice. Text messaging can also be applied just as easy (if not easier) to these identity services, which opens up a powerful enabler and revenue opportunity. In fact, most users with a mobile phone expect SMS to be a supplementary service, even when using a service such as one of those above.

Text messaging has, and will continue to be a key communication service requirement coupled with voice. Wireline has some catching up to do, but you can expect some very innovative additions to enable messaging services to continue to be an essential component of the converged services equation. Expect more from Global Crossing. Stay tuned.....

Mobile Ads Are On The Horizon

Thu, 17 May 2007 22:21:25 +0000

In this day, we are all hit by a constant barrage of advertisements. From the web, email, TV, magazines, radio, internet radio, news videos, and movie theatres we now have an expectaion of an advertising flash suspending our immediate gratification, and have built a subliminal blockade to the best of our ability to focus on the content we seek. I recall the day when I was able to watch a DVD without being forced to fumble through 5 movie previews (I've noticed that Disney is the most aggressive). So when I saw the AT&T comment on the Washington Post regarding the revenue opportunity of mobile advertisements, and the operator's strategy to realize it I can’t say that I’m surprised. After all, unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, mobile phones are already becoming an Internet utility device for many users.
We’ve already seen some mobile web banners in their early stages by ESPN’s WAP site. However, mobile Internet is still a bit expensive at this point to open up any real opportunity. The Mobile Internet is still primarily used for targeted information searches, based upon 3rd party research rather than simply perusing about.

United States Top Mobile Web Domains: March 2007			United Kingdom Top Mobile Web Domains: March 2007
Rank	Domain	Audience	Domain	Audience
1	google.com	1,894,143	google.co.uk	348,873
2	yahoo.com	1,315,801	bbc.co.uk	298,016
3	msn.com	903,158	orange.co.uk	215,353
4	microsoft.com	734,664	three.co.uk	210,286
5	live.com	697,589	o2.co.uk	202,373
6	go.com	571,469	google.com	148,722
7	cnn.com	509,772	t-mobile-favourites.co.uk	108,463
8	weather.com	460,564	ebay.co.uk	106,386
9	myspace.com	435,910	msn.com	93,386
10	passport.net	434,050	yahoo.com	89,668

Source: M:Metrics. Reports for the month of March are projected to represent the universe of smartphone owners and are based on in-tab panel sizes of approximately 500 panelists in the United States and 600 panelists in the United Kingdom.

Many enterprises are examining opportunities to realize revenue in the mobile space, but are in the formative stages of their research. Looking at mobile phones beyond voice, and even beyond multi-modal communication such as FMC is a critical element to the formulation of a broad business strategy. In the next few years, you will probably see popup blockers on mobile web browsers!

Another chapter in Rochester's Telecommunication History

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:58:30 +0000

Adding to Adam's recent blog on Rochester's contribution to communications.

Hiram Sibley is another famous Rochesterian who worked closely with Samuel F.B. Morse ( the inventor of the Telegraph) and co-founded Western Union along with Ezra Cornell ( co-founder of Cornell University).

In 1876 Western Union was the leading communications company at the time, and when an unknown inventor by the name of Alexander Graham Bell tried to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000.

The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy.

Two years later, the president of Western Union told his colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain. By then the Bell no longer wanted to sell the patent.

By the 3rd year, the Bell company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union.

In this industry one needs to keep an open mind to innovation!

Google 2.0 is here - Introducing free Google 411 for Voice

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:32:12 +0000

Wow, things really do happen fast and a great example of “internet time”.

Here’s the result of my prediction on March 19th.

Watch out Voice based directory services have just been disrupted and expect Google to be leader in this space.

AT&T says received 1 mln inquiries on iPhone

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:48:28 +0000

It looks like momentum is gaining steam heading into the launch - ATT is reporting that they have gotten 1mil inquires.

"While Cingular is not taking advance orders for the iPhone, it set up a section on its Web site inviting visitors to leave their e-mail addresses to receive information about the phone when it is released."

I sure hope that Apples doesn't disappoint!

-Adam

Google Phone + TellMe Services = Google 2.0

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:19:30 +0000

Just posted a comment on a fellow blogger's post on the Google mobile phone.

In that Google's announcement is not a position against the iphone, but more importantly against Microsoft with their latest announcement of their acquisition of Tell Me.

Do you know what Tell Me does?

Well, Tell Me provides a highly scalable Speech Recognition Interactive Voice Response platform for the Fortune 100. For example, if you call United Airlines you'll experience Tell Me and can tell (no pun intended) that it's Tell me when you hear the gears between you speaking and that platform deciding what you may have said and the next menu prompt that may be associated with your input.

Back to google, Google is google not only to their brilliant search engine , but more importantly how it makes money. Google has created a totally automated advertising market between marketers and their markets

Totally automated in the sense that a marketer selects words that are important to their offer and bid against click thoroughs (not purchases). Have a hot word in a hot market, pay a lot

They limit their bad collections by requiring marketers to pay upfront where google can deduct the click thorough in real-time. Don't have enough money in your account, that's ok, google will offer the next higher bidder to the search request.

Brilliant technology working in a brilliant business model. No people , no bad collections and all to the highest bidder.

Back to Google 2.0, if you take the Google cell phone that is to be mass marketed and to a market that doesn't use a PC and add the best of google and tell me and you have their next market disrupter.

Google 2.0 = Google Cell Phone + Tell Me like services + Google Adwords will result in game changing play as to how traditional telephone directory services (yellow pages and directory assistance) make their money.

I expect to blog more of this reality in 18 months

Om Malik is reporting that "Web Giants Team Up for Wireless Spectrum Auctions".

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:00:45 +0000

Take note as Om Malik is reporting that "Web Giants Team Up for Wireless Spectrum Auctions".

The item to take note is where in the Radio Spectrum the web giants are watching. 700Mhz could be a the space where higher bit rate , non-line-of-sight solutions may develop.

As a general rule of thumb, the available bit-rate increases as you move higher in the Radio Specturm. The 2.4Ghz range provides less available bit rate than say 5.3Ghz. However achieving higher bit rates at 5.3Ghz requires line-of-sight and is more suspectible to packet loss with sources of mositure (rain, snow, leaves, etc...).

The definition of line-of-sight is that the premise radio attenna must have a clear shot at the radio tower, any obstruction in-line will decrease the available bit rate and any trees that are in-line (depending on where you sit in the Radio Specturm) may cause packet loss due to the mositure they carry.

Lower rates of the Radio Specturm offer bit rates that don't require line-of-sight however don't have the bit rates available at higher frequencies.

Let's watch this play out as I'm sure there will be innovation that utilizes past technologies like 'spread sprectrum" that will harness the bit rate at lower frequencies taking full advantage of non-line-of-sight.