Damian has been working with us as an associate since 2013, and we’re pleased to announce he has now fully joined the Real Wireless team as a Wireless System Analyst.
We’re looking forward to Damian bringing his extensive expertise to our customers. We caught up with Damian to find out a little more about himself…
- How does your prior work experience relate to this position?
My principal activities in this position involve ‘Modelling and Simulation’ (M&S). This is the use of mathematical and computer simulation techniques, to understand and quantify the behaviour and performance of wireless networks. This performance is measured in terms of metrics such as the number of users which the network can support, over what geographical area, at what data rates etc.
My earliest experience in this area was gained working for Nortel back in the 1990s when, at the time, we were exploring the then-novel CDMA-based 3G technology and the benefits of ‘Smart Antenna’ (later MIMO) technologies. Further experience was gained in the following years, moving on later to OFDM-based technology generations such as 4G and 5G cellular, Wi-Fi etc. This M&S experience was gained with Nortel, and then later (part-time) with Aceaxis and also, since around 2013, for Real Wireless where I have been working part-time as an Associate Consultant.
- What do you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities facing the wireless industry today?
The wireless industry is continuing to follow a path of consolidation, as Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) numbers reduce, and the promised new-feature benefits of 5G technology, beyond the higher eMBB data rates in existing regions of good coverage, have so far still not been fully exploited.
The most significant challenges are both a) in developing technologies to reduce the costs and complexities of running those networks. For example, we might use energy-saving or energy-generation technologies to reduce running costs, and/or use AI-based approaches to eliminate or at least manage complexities. And b) in developing technologies to extend those aforementioned regions of good coverage out beyond the major cities and towns, into the more rural areas – for example there could be an opportunity to employ Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to provide (outdoor) coverage to more remote areas.
That latter LEO opportunity introduces significant new challenges of its own, not only to provide the necessary new technology and launch it into space but also to demonstrate sufficient value to persuade the subscribers to pay enough additional ARPU to support it financially.
- What’s been your most successful/interesting project so far and why?
Much of my career to date has been spent in the R&D environment, researching and (where possible) patenting novel wireless signal processing concepts. In that domain, my most interesting and novel research has been in the field of Passive Intermodulation (PIM). This is a somewhat niche topic, even among radio experts, but is a serious concern for cell site infrastructure providers. This is because interference caused by PIM can seriously impact mobile cellular network uplink performance, particularly in the currently widespread multi-band deployments.
If you delve into the theory of PIM, it can be shown that the PIM interference signal which is impacting the uplink is, in essence, a deterministic (and non-linear) function of the multiple (possibly MIMO) signals which are being transmitted on the multiple downlinks from the same cell site. In my previous employment at Aceaxis, I was a core member of a team that devised and patented novel non-linear digital signal processing approaches to detecting, cancelling and managing PIM. This work led to multiple demonstrations to MNOs of PIM detection and cancellation, and the development of several test equipment products.
- What’s your vision for how wireless technology will benefit users, businesses, and economies in the next five years?
Wireless is great where it works, but unfortunately, there are many places where it doesn’t always work well enough – e.g. outside cities and large towns, inside cities and large towns in places which perhaps are overcrowded, or on trains, indoors away from home and away from the office. The main benefits over the next five years will be, or perhaps should be, emphasising the ‘always’ aspect of ‘always connected’. Always and everywhere. We don’t necessarily need Gbps data in all these places, but ten or more Mbps would be nice. This will ensure an even smoother running of our lives, our businesses, and our economies.
- What advice would you give to somebody at the start of their career thinking about going into the wireless industry?
My advice to someone starting their career in the wireless industry would be to consider what you enjoy, what you are good at, what you want to do more of. Whether that be hardware vs. software, technical analysis vs. project organisation vs. person management. Always think about developing skills, particularly those which will help you on your chosen future path.
Spend the time to document the work you have done, so that you can refer to or reuse it later, saving you always having to ‘reinvent’ the same things. Software code can of course be reused, but so can ideas, designs, and maths. In an uncertain world, skills which are transferrable to other fields are particularly valuable.
Fortunately, this will be true of most skills which you will acquire working in wireless, so wireless is an excellent field in which to gain experience and thereby acquire those skills.
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