GeorgiaSpeed.Net On My Mind
Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) fixed wireless gear from WaveRider Communications is being used
to build a high-speed wireless broadband network in Fort Valley, GA, as part
of the multi-phased GeorgiaSpeed.Net project.
The GeorgiaSpeed.Net project represents a multi-year contract between the Fort Valley Utility Commission (FVUC) and Tri-State
Broadband, of Roswell, GA, to install and maintain the hybrid fiber-wireless
system. Tri-State partnered with NetStar Communications to design, engineer, and install WaveRider’s NLOS wireless Internet
System for GeorgiaSpeed.Net. This project will bring symmetrical speeds of up
to 1.5 Mbps to Fort Valley and Peach County area businesses and residents.
Ken Werner, FVUC general manager, said deploying a wireless broadband
solution would leverage the community’s fiber buildout.
“Several years ago, we installed a fiber ring in Fort Valley to connect
government and commercial users,” Werner said. “But with WaveRider’s wireless
broadband solution, we can now leverage the previous fiber investment in order
to bring high speed services to smaller businesses and residents. That’s a big
plus for the community.”
WaveRider’s Last Mile Solution system offers a high-speed alternative to
traditional Internet access systems. The system’s design enables NLOS
connections, which allows service providers to build networks in areas where the
terrain, trees or buildings prevent direct line-of-sight connections.
WaveRider’s NLOS system includes a wireless modem and indoor antenna that can be
installed by the subscriber or operators.
With the addition of the Dynamic Polling MAC, WaveRider’s NLOS wireless
system can accommodate up to 900 subscribers on a single three-sector base
station and delivers a maximum data rate of 2.0 Mbps over a 2.75 Mbps channel,
with a range of up to eight miles.
John Overley, Tri-State Broadband vice president, said WaveRider’s NLOS
equipment is an essential component of the community’s efforts to deliver
broadband services to the area.
“Fort Valley has many areas with dense tree coverage that cannot be reached
with conventional line-of-sight wireless technologies, and connecting small
businesses and residents directly to fiber is both overkill and very expensive,”
Overley said. “WaveRider’s equipment enables us to deliver broadband connections
very effectively through the trees and therefore reach more subscribers.”
GeorgiaSpeed.Net officially launched in Fort Valley late in October. More
than 150 local businesses and residents have pre-registered for the wireless
broadband service.
John McDade, NetStar president, said fixed wireless is the best way to reach
potential customers in the Fort Valley area.
“The GeorgiaSpeed.Net network in Fort Valley will deliver fast, reliable and
cost-effective broadband services to businesses and residents that could not be
reached using traditional fiber technologies,” McDade said.”
The FVUC’s GeorgiaSpeed.Net project is the latest city wide deployment of
WaveRider’s NLOS Last Mile Solution wireless systems. Charles Brown, WaveRider
vice president of sales and marketing, said the GeorgiaSpeed.Net project is
typical of the size and scope of deployments that customers are planning with
its NLOS gear.
“Large, established ISP, utility companies, and systems integrators are now
planning large wireless networks covering several geographic areas within their
markets, using our Last Mile Solution products,” Brown said. “The
non-line-of-sight and user-installed capabilities of our products have provided
operators the cost-effective, and easy to deploy wireless solution they have
been waiting for.”
Based in Toronto, WaveRider is a global provider of fixed wireless Internet
access products. WaveRider’s Last Mile Solution product family includes its NLOS
900 MHz wireless system that connects businesses and residential subscribers to
the Internet.
Czech Out This Hotspot
A leading Czechoslovakian Internet service provider has opened up a free zone
of wireless connectivity around its company headquarters in Prague. Based on
similar initiatives by other businesses and ISPs in several European communities,
Globe Internet is allowing anyone using
a standard 802.11b Wi-Fi card to connect to the Internet over its hotspot — free
of charge.
One of the largest hosting services in the Czech Republic, Globe Internet
provides Internet access, webhosting and design services to more than 6,500
customers located in various European cities. Jakub Ditrich, Globe Internet
chief executive officer, said the free hotspot was deployed due to a decrease in
its data transition expenses.
“The current data capacity of our company’s offices is under utilized, less
than 40 percent,” Ditrich said. “Therefore we have decided to share at least
part of this free zone with our surroundings.”
Ditrich likened the move to deploy free wireless Internet access to other
community-related services normally provided by area businesses. “If we ran a
gardening business, we would probably plant flowers,” Ditrich said.
“But our business concerns the Internet and that’s why we want to provide our
surroundings with this free service.”
Free hotspots and community networks first sprung up in Seattle and New York
City in 2000. The few hotspot movement hit Europe last year. Ditrich said new
zones of free wireless access are popping up in Geneva, Paris, Nantes and other
European communities. He expects the trend to continue.
“I believe that we will soon be followed by other companies since the public
zone taps unused resources,” Ditrich said. “Low operational expenses makes us
willing to provide the public with our entire know-how.”
Standard Wi-Fi clients do not require any further configuration once the
wireless network is detected. An IP address is automatically allocated and the
user can spend an unlimited amount of time on the Internet. The transmission
capacity of the wireless Access Point (AP) is limited to 1 Mbps. But it’s free,
so maybe now is the time to consider spending springtime in Prague?
Globe Internet’s address is Planickova 1, Prague 6. The hotspot is located
between Planickova Na Petrinach, next to the residential area of Hvizda.
USURF Usurps NeighborLync
USURF America. has completed
an all-stock acquisition of NeighborLync, Inc, a start-up Denver, CO-area company
providing video and data services to Multiple Dwelling Unit (MDU) properties.
Through an association with MDU property developers, NeighborLync has an exclusive
15-year contract to provide broadband communication services to a 376-unit property.
The property, comprised of condominiums and located in Greeley, CO, is currently
under construction by NeighborLync’s developer-partner. Under the broadband
services agreement, the group will provide all cable television and high-speed
Internet services to the property’s resident.
Ken Upcraft, USURF vice president of sales and marketing, said the company
has great expectations for NeighborLync.
“NeighborLync has been very aggressive in pursuing more contracts with MDU
properties, and we expect these efforts to result in its obtaining contracts in
the near future,” Upcraft said.
Doug McKinnon, USURF president said he has no problem growing the company by
acquisition.
“We are pleased to have closed the first acquisition,” McKinnon said. “Our
strategy focuses on acquiring the best of our channel partners and, if possible,
their competitors.”
In September, USURF signed a letter of intent to acquire High Plains Internet,
a Colorado Springs-based Internet service provider in another stock-only transaction.
Earlier in the month, USURF and High Plains Internet had formed a strategic
alliance, whereby HPI was to market USURF’s 802.11b-based Quick-Cell wireless
Internet access services.
Reprinted from ISP-Planet.
