CALABASAS, Calif.—Strix Systems announced it is working with international carrier Accatel Inc. to cover Chittagong, Bangladesh, with wireless mesh networking infrastructure for voice, data and video services.
Accatel said it’s partnering with Nextel Telecom, a local carrier in Bangladesh, to build a turnkey solution that includes Strix’s Access/One outdoor wireless system network nodes, along with a softswitch, IP infrastructure and a billing system. Accatel and Nextel Telecom also plan to handle the operational and management aspects of the network, the companies said.
Initially, the 90-node Strix network will provide phone and Internet services to about 10,000 residential and business subscribers in an eight-square mile area of Chittagong, which is home to 3.5 million people. Within three years, Accatel expects to serve about 200,000 subscribers with wireless voice services. Ultimately, Accatel and Nextel Telecom plan to expand the wireless mesh network with hundreds of Strix’s network nodes to include all of Chittagong as well as other cities and towns within the licensing area, the companies said.
The companies said Strix OWS nodes will be deployed at a central access hub, where the wireless network connects to the Ethernet, while the rest of the OWS nodes will be deployed through the network, radially from the hub. Local calls placed on the Strix wireless mesh network will be sent to Strix nodes at the hub and forwarded to the softswitch. The switch will forward local calls through the Strix wireless mesh network and connect in-country calls to the local PTT.
“In developing countries such as Bangladesh, a reliable wireless mesh network is a quick and cost-effective way to facilitate communications and bring more citizens into the world economy,” explained Yishai Shapir, chief executive of Accatel.
Interestingly, in addition to being completely wireless, the network will also be completely electric-less, meaning it will run on battery and solar power instead of relying on the city’s electric grid for power. Chittagong is a port city and the commercial capital of Bangladesh.
With Ethernet IP at the network core as well as throughout the wireless network, subscribers in areas that do not currently have phone service will now have access to wireless voice, data and video services, the companies pointed out.
“The ability to support an all-IP deployment in Chittagong really distinguishes Strix’s solution from those of its competitors,” said Nan Chen, vice president of marketing at Strix. “We expect to see other emerging markets also go straight to an all-IP Ethernet solution not only because it’s cost effective but also because they don’t have to concern themselves with maintaining compatibility with legacy copper-based infrastructures.”
In early February, Strix won a contract with NeoReach Wireless to provide its wireless mess network equipment for the construction of a 72-sqare-mile municipal Wi-Fi network in Chandler, Ariz. The network will offer Wi-Fi access to about 19,000 businesses and 240,000 residents in the area, while another separate network would serve municipal employees, the companies said.
NeoReach Wireless, a subsidiary of MobilePro Corp., is already using Strix’s mesh technology in nearby Tempe, Ariz., where it is building a 40-square mile municipal Wi-Fi network.
