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Making Wi-Fi act more like a small cell network

AirTies creates mesh Wi-Fi networks to spread coverage and capacity throughout your home

In-home Wi-Fi equipment provider AirTies is looking to use multiple access points to bolster the performance of Wi-Fi networks.

AirTies is using multiple access points placed around the home in a move to create an intelligent network designed to provide consistent Internet coverage through all areas of a home. The access points can be connected by a combination of wired connections and wirelessly into a mesh network.

Philippe Alcaras, AirTies CEO, said the Internet battleground has shifted from the last mile to the “last few feet. Ensuring that the bandwidth coming into the home is actually available throughout the entire home requires a new approach, and that’s what we deliver. Our Wi-Fi mesh networks have been proven to enhance in-home speed and coverage for operators across Europe and Asia, and our network intelligence capability is flexible enough to work across wired and wireless environments.”

AirTies is now targeting the North American market with its product line.

According to AirTies, the system, “creates alternate data paths between multiple access points to deliver much more resilient and higher capacity data streams throughout the home.” AirTies said it uses intelligent client steering technology allowing devices to switch between access points in real-time, while also switching within the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands to ensure optimal performance.

“This addresses a longstanding Wi-Fi performance issue, called the sticky client or bad apple problem, whereby devices remain hitched to the same access points as they are moved around the home, degrading overall performance for all active devices,” Alcaras explained. “Based on real-world deployments and tests, AirTies generally outperforms conventional Wi-Fi systems by three times in total capacity, and up to 10 times for link speed – depending on AP locations within the home.”

AirTies said it has met with success in marketing this technology to European telecom firms including Sky, Vodafone, Singtel and Swisscom. The company has now secured its first American customer in Midcontinent Communications, a firm that covers 1.2 million people across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Jeff Hawn
Jeff Hawn
Contributing Writerjhawn@rcrwireless.com Jeff Hawn was born in 1991 and represents the “millennial generation,” the people who have spent their entire lives wired and wireless. His adult life has revolved around cellphones, the Internet, video chat and Google. Hawn has a degree in international relations from American University, and has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Russia. He represents the most valuable, but most discerning, market for wireless companies: the people who have never lived without their products, but are fickle and flighty in their loyalty to one company or product. He’ll be sharing his views – and to a certain extent the views of his generation – with RCR Wireless News readers, hoping to bridge the generational divide and let the decision makers know what’s on the mind of this demographic.