CoWave Networks Introduces MeshCast, the First Broadband Wireless Technology to Equip Service Providers with a Strong Business Case for Addressing the Residential/Small Business Market.Business Editors/Technology Writers FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2002 MeshCast Eliminates Line-of-Sight Restrictions, Services up to Ninety Percent of Subscribers Using Indoor Units, Provides Uniform Coverage, and Significantly Lowers Expensive Backhaul Costs CoWave Networks today announced the successful development of a new broadband wireless See wireless broadband. technology, called MeshCast(TM), which will provide service providers with the most cost-effective broadband technology broadband technology Telecommunications devices, lines, or technologies that allow communication over a wide band of frequencies, and especially over a range of frequencies divided into multiple independent channels for the simultaneous transmission of different signals. for the residential/small business market. Based on a broadcast-mesh topology, MeshCast completely eliminates line-of-sight requirements for subscriber equipment. It also reduces the number of units requiring an outside antenna to fewer than ten percent to allow self-installation without expensive technical support for the vast majority of subscriber units A Subscriber Unit, or SU is a broadband radio that is installed at a business or residential location to connect to an Access Point to send/receive high speed data wired or wirelessly. Devices commonly referred to as a Subscriber Unit include cable modems, mobile phones, etc. . At the heart of the technology is a repeater-based, broadcast-mesh topology that lets each subscriber unit repeat appropriate traffic to other subscriber units in its sector. Fewer base stations are required because each subscriber unit is able to access the network from its nearest neighbor See point sampling. . MeshCast will provide complete coverage of service areas and can be installed with very little technical support. Unlike DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary and cable, MeshCast creates short hops that follow an area's geographic topography to produce efficient and uniform broadband coverage for every potential subscriber. These short hops also significantly reduce aggregation and backhaul costs -- creating another major business advantage for service providers. MeshCast effectively multiplexes traffic and replaces expensive point-to-point wireless or wireline backhaul to multiple base stations. "Although DSL and cable are well established, there are many tier two This article or section documents a scheduled or expected spaceflight. Details may change as the launch date approaches or more information becomes available. and tier three markets that can't get service from either, and service providers need a practical way to provide coverage to them without incurring expensive technical support," said Kathie Hackler vice president and chief analyst of telecommunications at Gartner Dataquest. "However, the most interesting aspect of this new technology for service providers may well be the promise of significantly lower backhaul costs, which can slowly bleed them to death." "MeshCast is the first technology expressly designed to help service providers successfully address the massive residential/small business market," said Steve Goldberg, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. at CoWave Networks. "In addition to giving service providers a strong business case for addressing this market, MeshCast will reward their success with performance that actually improves as more users are added to the network." CoWave Networks will deliver subscriber equipment, a multi-sectored base station, a Network Element Management System (EMS), and a Web-based Network Deployment tool. The CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Communications equipment that resides on the customer's premises. CPE - Customer Premises Equipment will consist of an indoor unit that is both self-aware and self-installable. It will be small in size, draw low power, and feature fully integrated RF, baseband and a LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. interface. It will also include integrated gateway functionality, a firewall, NAT (Network Address Translation) An IETF standard that allows an organization to present itself to the Internet with far fewer IP addresses than there are nodes on its internal network. , DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Software that automatically assigns temporary IP addresses to client stations logging into an IP network. It eliminates having to manually assign permanent "static" IP addresses. DHCP software runs in servers and routers. and VoIP. "MeshCast is clearly targeted to hit all the pressure points in today's broadband wireless market," said Peter Jarich, analyst at Strategis Group. "When fully deployed, it promises to execute on the potential of broadband wireless, allowing broad coverage and service options for the frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: users who can't get DSL or cable service." The base station will feature over 6 Mbps of shared user bandwidth per sector, and will serve up to eight sectors with coverage over twenty square miles A square mil is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of length one mil. A mil is one thousandth of an international inch. This unit of area is usually used in specifying the area of the cross section of a wire or cable. per sector. The product will also include an off-the-shelf router "backend." The Network Deployment tool will help service providers set up the coverage area for maximum efficiency. They will be able to input the desired coverage area, terrain data and available tower sites, and the Deployment tool will output recommended tower sites, target subscribers for initial outdoor units and estimated coverage and data rates. Product is in development now with Beta trials expected to be complete in Q3 of 2002 and customer shipments expected to begin in Q4, 2002. About CoWave Networks CoWave Networks is a wireless telecommunications equipment provider currently developing a next generation broadband wireless access platform. Its patent-pending repeater-based mesh architecture will deliver: -- multi-megabit data rates -- ubiquitous coverage, typically characteristic of picocellular networks, at a fraction of the infrastructure cost -- low-cost, self-installable, indoor, non-line-of-sight subscriber equipment -- data and voice capabilities -- service to residential and small business users -- low-cost market entry and success-based capital deployment justifying business case requirements of ROI and EBIDTA for service providers. MeshCast is a trademark of CoWave Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. U.S. Corporate Headquarters: CoWave Networks 47224 Mission Falls Court Fremont, CA 94539 www.cowave.com email: info@cowave.com Tel: 510-657-0612 |
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