GigaBeam Corp. keeps racking up sales for its for wireless in-building infrastructure product, WiFiber, which the company says is being used by Telkonet Inc.’s subsidiary Microwave Satellite Technologies Inc. in New York City to expand an ultra high-speed wireless loop network among several Manhattan skyscrapers.
Buoyed by its high speed, the company’s virtual fiber solution offers an alternative to fiber for last-mile, local loop, central office bypass, local area network, metropolitan area network and wide area network customers.
“We are using GigaBeam’s WiFiber to connect multiple buildings in New York City to deliver the `quadruple-play’ of network services at ultra high speeds in a cost effective manner,” stated Frank Matarazzo, president and founder of MST. “With WiFiber, MST will now be able to offer its services to tenants and residents of these buildings from a single point-of-presence and thus bypass the local access issues and eliminate many of the costs of terrestrial fiber installs.”
MST said it’s installing five GigaBeam WiFiber wireless fiber links to build up a 70 to 80 gigahertz loop network that can deliver services such as IPTV, Voice over Internet Protocol, Internet access and Wi-Fi access. GigaBeam’s WiFiber products operate in the 71 to 76 GHz and 81 to 86 GHz radio spectrum bands, authorized for wireless point-to-point commercial use by the Federal Communications Commission in late 2003. The FCC allows point-to-point licenses in the band using very narrow beams that enable unlimited links in any geographic area. These large blocks of authorized spectrum support multi-gigabit-per-second communications through use of Gigabit Ethernet and other standard protocols.
GigaBeam says its WiFiber products have achieved speeds of 1 Gbps, the equivalent to 647 T1 lines or 1,000 DSL connections.
In 2004, GigaBeam and MST teamed to provide high-speed connectivity of 1 Gbps from a fiber node at the Trump International Hotel to various properties on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. GigaBeam said its WiFiber scaled the peculiar obstacles evidenced in many New York City locations where facilities are separated by buildings, streets and other right-of-way features that hold back connections using physical fiber.
On the left coast, GigaBeam’s WiFiber is being used by the San Francisco’s Public Utility Commission’s citywide backhaul network.
“The primary purpose of the WiFiber links is to provide backhaul for a WiMAX or meshed Wi-Fi network, which enables streaming video surveillance of the PUC’s water works pumping stations and valves,” stated Hans Loffeld, director of IT at the San Francisco PUC.
Xtech Inc., a San Francisco-based computer vendor is the systems integrator for both San Francisco’s WiFiber network deployment and those in Manteca, Calif., about 75 miles east of San Francisco.
The city of Manteca is using WiFiber links to for communications between city buildings, security services and WiMAX applications being developed to bring high bandwidth wireless mobile access to city residents.
Inland, GigaBeam’s WiFiber links are set to be installed in Sioux Falls, S.D. as the city prepares to launch its municipal project designed to support city services as well as public safety.
