Every once in a while I pay homage to those many folks of the opinion that BWIA is inferior to wireline, can't scale, and just doesn't work. But I keep getting interesting stories like this:
Ultravision has deployed Aperto Networks' PacketWave BWIA system in Puebla, Mexico using 2.5-2.7 GHz spectrum. No mention was made of expanion into the 44 other Mexican markets where Ultravision has spectrum.
Atheros is planning an initial public offering. Atheros is, in my experience, the most savvy WLAN chip vendor in the industry. It's not widely known, but the Atheros chipsets are so versatile that they're used by a number of BWIA vendors. In an era where Wireless Local Area Networks are highly commoditized, the conventional wisdom is probably that an IPO for a WLAN chip vendor.
Solectek has been selected to build a multi-island BWIA system by the government of the British Virgin Islands
Flarion will deploy a public safety BWIA system in Washington DC using 700 MHz (repurposed television broadcasting) spectrum.
RapidWave emerges as a new BWIA vendor - "up to" 108 Mbps, "up to" 30 mile range using the 5.8 GHz license-exempt band.
Firetide is a vendor of wireless mesh WLAN products. Put APs where you need them, and the AP figures out how to form a mesh network to get its backhaul. Note this is WLAN, but the concept is equally applicable to BWIA.
Inukshuk Internet will deploy NextNet Wireless systems in all Canadian provinces except Manitoba and Saskatchewan using 2.5-2.7 GHz spectrum (in Canada, the name for this band is Multipoint Communications Service - MCS). An initial trial in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories has reportedly gone very well.
Update: Minutes after I saved this latest entry, I learned of BCL's EXTEND BWIA Network covering much of New Zealand using AirSpan WL4020 equipment; the spectrum being used isn't stated. Like MVSNet in Mexico, EXTEND is a wholesale product, to be resold by other entities.
It's been an eventful week for BWIA news.
Steve Stroh
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