Cambridge UK company Neul and California partner Carlson today launched
the first commercially available white space radio system created for
wireless internet service providers.
RuralConnect – unveiled in
Florida – is the first radio networking system to deliver the full
promise of TV white space broadband to the providers.
Sales of
RuralConnect are being managed in the US by Carlson, the hardware
partner, and shared internationally with software aces Neul.
The
product launch follows the announcement of a global partnership in last
October and is aimed at bringing affordable broadband to millions
around the world.
The system will give users up to 16 Mbps of
bandwidth for each available vacant TV channel and unmatched ability to
make long range, non-line-of-sight links.
Designed specifically
for the needs of wireless Internet service providers (WISPs),
RuralConnect has been priced to make it immediately commercially viable.
Samples and development kits are available now, with volume shipments
of the new system to start as soon as Q2, 2012.
Thanks to the
extension of the Payroll Tax Bill, passed in February 2012, white space
radio is now fully available in the US, opening up a host of
opportunities and new markets that are currently difficult to serve
without expensive licensed spectrum or extensive infrastructure.
This has piqued the interest of many investors and venture capitalists
looking to tap in to the unlimited possibilities of this emerging
technology.
RuralConnect technology, jointly developed by Neul –
Business Weekly’s newly-chosen Wireless Business of the Year – and
Carlson, uses ‘white spaces,’ (unused portions of UHF spectrum), for
digital communication.
Due to its outstanding propagation
characteristics, UHF signals can travel through walls and other
obstacles: Line of sight is not needed to the subscriber’s home.
But it is not enough just to be able to send a signal a long way. On
long-range links reflections from buildings and terrain cause signals to
travel via many different routes from the transmitter to the receiver.
These multipath signals interfere can with each other, potentially
causing unreliable, slow connections.
RuralConnect uses state of
the art SCFDE technology to cancel the effect of multipath allowing
reliable long range connections, whatever the terrain.
As a
result WISPs using the new system can offer superior coverage over wide
areas with limited base-station sites. It also enables the transfer of
more data at higher data rates, driving additional revenue with minimal
additional investment. Depending on the area, up to 20 channels are
available, increasing the amount of non-line-of-sight capable spectrum
available by a factor of 10.
Concurrently, Carlson is launching a
line of omnidirectional and sectoral, high-gain, base-station antennas
designed specifically for TV white-space broadband. The first of their
kind, these antennas are powerful, affordable and energy efficient, says
Neul CEO James Collier.
"RuralConnect marks a major milestone
in the realisation of white space technologies, which have been in
development for a while," commented Luke D’Arcy, VP of Marketing at
Neul.
"The outstanding propagation characteristics of white
space signals means that operators can to serve customers they cannot
reach with existing wireless technology.
"The capacity available
allows pioneering WISPs to offer all customers faster plans that beat
ADSL based competition. And this is possible without investing in new
tower sites, spectrum licenses or high priced network equipment,
boosting profitable growth."
Carlson and Neul are showcasing the new product at ISPAmerica in Florida, until March 30.
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