In many disciplines a greenfield is a project that lacks any constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure.
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In wireless engineering jargon, a greenfield is a project which lacks any constraints imposed by prior networks. The first cellular telephone networks were built primarily on tall existing tower structures or on high ground in an effort to cover as much territory as possible, quickly, and with a minimum number of base stations. They were developed with no regard for future capacity considerations or Frequency reuse. These early wireless telephone network designs were later augmented with additional base stations and antennas to handle the growing demand for additional voice traffic and higher network capacity. As wireless networks quickly evolved it was evident that the earlier designs forced inefficient constraints on the growth of the network. As governments made more radio spectrum available for licensed wireless telephone operators in the late 1980s whole new networks popped up that surpassed the performance of legacy networks having the benefit of starting their designs fresh and without the constraints of existing systems. They were termed "greenfield networks" or "greenfield projects". Today any new network designed from scratch to enable new Radio Access Network technologies (i.e. 3G, 4G, Wi-MAX, etc..) are also referred to as greenfield projects.
Greenfield carries a similar meaning with modern wireless LAN networks. 802.11n Wi-Fi networks have an optional greenfield mode that improves efficiency by eliminating support for 802.11a/b/g devices.[1]
A Greenfield Investment is the investment in a manufacturing, office, or other physical company-related structure or group of structures in an area where no previous facilities exist. [1] [2] The name comes from the idea of building a facility literally on a "green" field, such as farmland or a forest. Over time the term has become more metaphoric.
Greenfield Investing is usually offered as an alternative to another form of investment, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, or licensing agreements. Greenfield Investing is often mentioned in the context of Foreign Direct Investment
A related term to Greenfield Investment which is becoming popular is Brownfield Investment, where a site previously used for a "dirty" business purpose, such as a steel mill or oil refinery, is cleaned up and used for a less polluting purpose, such as commercial office space or a residential area.
A form of foreign direct investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up. In addition to building new facilities, most parent companies also create new long-term jobs in the foreign country by hiring new employees.
Developing countries often offer prospective companies tax-breaks, subsidies and other types of incentives to set up green field investments. Governments often see that losing corporate tax revenue is a small price to pay if jobs are created and knowledge and technology is gained to boost the country's human capital.
Examples of greenfield projects are new factories, power plants, airports which are built from scratch on greenfield land. Those facilities which are modified/upgraded are called Brownfield projects (often the pre-existing site/facilities are contaminated/polluted.)
In transportation industries (e.g. automotive, aircraft, engines) the equivalent concept is called "clean sheet design".
Greenfield also has meaning in sales. A greenfield opportunity refers to a marketplace that is completely untapped and free for the taking.