Navini Networks, the leading provider of zero-install portable broadband wireless gear, announced that is has started commercial delivery of its dual-mode Base Station.
The Ripwave MX BTS, first announced in June 2005, is software upgradeable to 802.16e. It will support the unique Smart Beamforming functionality available from Navini, in conjunction with the Ripwave EMS, the Ripwave MX modems and PC cards that are already available. Navini claims their pre-WIMAX and WiMAX gear is future-proof for any deployment today.
The first Ripwave-MX BTS shipments are in the 3.5GHz frequency range. These will be followed by shipments in other frequency bands over the next 3-4 months.
Navini is providing the world’s largest portable broadband wireless network with Unwired Australia (with over 50,000 subscribers to date), which has led to numerous pre-standard deployments.
A Navini Network will cover the entire state of Rhode Island. The $20 million border-to-border wireless network would allow collaboration between industry, and the public and private sectors. Users would include government agencies, businesses, and education institutions. It is not planned to provide network access for individual consumer usage.
IBAX Group, Navini’s long time exclusive partner in Italy, plans to launch and expand municipal and resort networks as well as build out a nation-wide network using Navini gear.
Navini’s antennas form individual, independent signal beams optimized for a customer’s location, distance and QoS. With 80 simultaneous beams, this capability can be shared across a great many customers on each site.
“The market is clearly ahead of the standard,” said Roger Dorf, president and CEO of Navini Networks. “Our new platform represents our third generation of Personal Broadband base stations, leading the industry in delivering the best overall CAPEX and OPEX.”
Meanwhile, at WiMAX World Europe, Motorola will demonstrate for the first time, third-party interoperability of its WiMAX products. Motorola also will be featuring live demonstrations of its 802.16e-based Ultra Light Access Point for 3.5 GHz fixed applications, Canopy solutions in 5 GHz spectrum, and IP video telephony all connected through an IMS core.
The Motorola carrier-class WiMAX network, supporting both 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz, is an 802.16e solution that uses advanced antenna techniques to provide greater coverage range and building penetration. It’s designed to support fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile applications.
“Demonstrating interoperability of IEEE 802.16e standards-based equipment between Beceem’s terminal chipset and Motorola’s network within six months of the standard’s approval shows the commitment of key WiMAX Forum members to work together to ensure that operators have a full range of WIMAX equipment available for their network trials and deployments,” said Shahin Hedayat, CEO and co-founder of Beceem.
Motorola’s carrier-class WiMAX access points feature a combination of MIMO antenna techniques and software defined radios (SDR) that, along with the IP architecture, provides flexibility in network deployment and enables operators to choose among many third-party vendors to add applications and services.
Motorola’s carrier-class WiMAX networks are expected to ship for customer trials by the end of 2006 while the Ultra Light Access Point is already shipping for customer trials.
