[omgnocomms]

Let's see if we can't clear some things up.

Originally Posted by dcarr

Now that everyone will have a 5Ghz radio...will they be switching entirely to that? [...] and that there will be a lot less happening on the 5Ghz band in most cases, that could be good...I trust they've taken this all into consideration.

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Rev A supported 5 GHz as well. In fact, the field has used 5GHz for a couple of years now.

That's right, the field has been 5Ghz only ever since the new control system was implemented in 2009¹. There's a lot less going on in this band (in general), and there seems to be an easier time getting a clear channel at many venues.

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

The Einstein report highlighted the "Failed Client Authorization" on page 7/8. Notably, they tried 5 different access points (including Rev B), and only Rev A was susceptible to the FCA attempt. Switching everyone to Rev B should help with this.

It's true that only the Rev A radios were affected², however only that specific version of the Cisco 1252 firmware caused that effect.

Originally Posted by dcarr

Any thoughts on why there always seems to be a request for all mobile hotspots to be turned off? Those typically run on 2.4 and wouldn't interfere with a 5Ghz field.

A common problem that occurs with wifi devices in areas with a lot of networks has to do with the sheer number of networks, and the space in memory to store all of them. It is to my understanding after talking to field personnel at FLR that the issues that they see there aren't a problem with networks in the 5Ghz band, but instead with the vast number of networks filling up the memory on the bridge before the field networks are detected. As far as I know, there is no way to ask the bridges to search only in the 5Ghz band for networks.

Originally Posted by dcarr

I'm glad that they are standardizing everyone on the newer hardware. But my $0.02...it's going to take a lot more than a slightly newer WiFi radio to fix the underlying problems we've dealt with for years. Looking forward to the additional upcoming announcements.

Specifically, what information are you looking for? In my opinion, the Einstein report was pretty thorough on it's evaluation on most aspects of the field... Coupled with the FMS White Paper³, I think that FIRST has done a great job informing the community about the operation of their system, in addition to the challenges that they face, and that we face as a community.