Flarion Technologies Inc. reported that rural wireless provider Cellular One of Amarillo plans to deploy commercial wireless broadband services using Flarion’s Flash-OFDM technology in Amarillo, Texas.
The Mobile Broadband Amarillo service will be deployed using the carrier’s 1.9 GHz spectrum and is expected to be commercially available before the end of the year. Access to the network will be through laptop and desktop computers, personal digital assistants and similar devices.
Flarion noted the initial deployment would cover approximately 100 square miles with an expansion planned for the future. The service will provide Cellular One of Amarillo customers with downlink speeds of up to 1 megabit per second with burst rates up to 3.2 mbps and average uplink rates of between 300 and 500 kilobits per second.
“We’re very pleased to offer our customers in Amarillo with one of the most advanced IP networks for ultra, high-speed Internet access,” said Ken Iscol, chairman of Cellular One of Amarillo. “With Flarion, we can now offer the most reliable mobile services at the highest speeds and lowest prices in Amarillo.”
Cellular One of Amarillo is the third U.S. wireless operator to announce plans to deploy Flarion’s technology. Nextel Communications Inc. launched a network in North Carolina, and Aloha Partners L.L.P. in October announced plans to begin testing a network next year.
In an unrelated announcement, IPWireless Inc., which provides a similar wireless broadband technology, reported that Australian operator Optus planned to begin trialing services in Sydney early next year with infrastructure from UTStarcom. The trial is expected to test capacity, range and reliability of the service and provide Optus with information on how many base stations would be required for a commercial deployment.
