Telegens Selects SkyPilot Networks to Supply Jamaica with Island-Wide Carrier-Class Mesh Systems; Jamaican Wireless Internet Service Provider Leverages SkyPilot's Mesh Network Architecture.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & KINGSTON, Jamaica -- SkyPilot Networks, the leader in carrier-class mesh solutions, today announced it has been selected by Telegens, a Jamaican Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), to provide the access, mesh network and customer premise equipment (CPE) infrastructure for broadband wireless services for business, multi-unit dwelling (MDU) and residential customers. By using SkyPilot's long-range, high-capacity 5 GHz mesh backhaul, Telegens is delivering cost-effective data, video and voice-over-IP services across substantial distances with highly reliable coverage. The use of SkyPilot's mesh network architecture provides Telegens with multi-hop capabilities to work around non-line-of-sight (NLOS) areas, a critical capability due to Jamaica's mountainous terrain.

"Initially, we were using the SkyPilot equipment to build out a carrier-class broadband wireless infrastructure to support our financial services, gaming, and agricultural customers, as well as remittance services," said Phil Ricketts, general manager for IT & Engineering with Telegens. "But our current objective is to provide broadband coverage across 90 percent of the island to deliver a combination of data, voice and video services that also reach residential customers, many of whom reside in metro area multi-unit dwellings. SkyPilot's product family of SkyGateways, SkyExtenders and SkyConnectors are delivering exceptional reliability, range and throughput, all of which are essential for our business and residential customer requirements."

Telegens, which already supports over 300 business customers, has set up 30 communications towers island-wide in preparation for a more wide-scale access deployment. SkyPilot SkyGateways and SkyExtenders are being deployed in key metro areas including Kingston, Spanish Town, Montego Bay, and Negril, as well as in more rural areas such as Murphy Hill, Ocho Rios and Savanna-la-Mar. Moving forward, Telegens will use SkyPilot gateways exclusively for Internet access services to multi-unit dwellings as more residential customers transition from dial-up services. Telegens has calculated that a single SkyPilot gateway for multiple subscribers in multi-unit dwellings versus a T1 landline will produce a superior return-on-investment.

"The SkyPilot carrier-class mesh system is ideally suited for WISPs like Telegens that operate access networks in rugged, NLOS environments," commented Bob Machlin, president and CEO of SkyPilot. "The SkyPilot mesh architecture combines multi-hop routing around obstructions and fault tolerance to provide the reliability and throughput essential for triple play services. Plus, our aggressive price/performance model is enabling Telegens to offer broadband wireless access that is cost-competitive with dial-up services and positions them for a quick return on investment."

Minimizing CAPEX and OPEX overhead is essential to Telegens. "In order to be a competitive broadband service provider, we have to streamline the usage of our precious network design and management resources," explained Ricketts. "Ease of deployment is not a check box item to us; it's absolutely vital to our ability to expand our business to meet pent-up customer demand for affordable wireless data, voice and video services." Telegens expects to meet these objectives by leveraging a combination of key SkyPilot features, including dual-spectrum operation with backhaul based on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and a synchronous Time-Division Duplex (TDD) protocol. An intelligent high-power eight-antenna array, and the scalable self-forming and self-healing mesh topology offered by SkyPilot will play a pivotal role in overcoming interference and line-of-sight obstructions and minimize the resources needed to configure, tune and deploy the Wi-Fi access infrastructure.

About Telegens

Telegens is the Carrier-Class Premier Broadband Wireless Company in the Caribbean for voice, video and data including local and long distance services. Registered in St. Lucia with offices at 1 Brazil St., Castries, the company maintains corporate offices located at 8 1/2 Worthington Terrace, Kingston 5, Jamaica, to provide additional technical support to Telegens' customers. For more information on Telegens, visit www.telegens.com

About SkyPilot Networks

SkyPilot Networks is a leading provider of carrier-class wireless broadband mesh systems that enable carriers, network operators, and service providers of all sizes to easily deploy cost-effective last-mile IP-based services. The SkyPilot solution offers quick time-to-revenue and a compelling return-on-investment by extending reach, routing around obstacles, and increasing deployment flexibility, thereby dramatically reducing equipment and operating costs. The SkyPilot products provide a highly scalable and reliable wireless mesh network with a choice of subscriber access options. SkyPilot Networks is a privately held company based in Santa Clara, California. For more information on SkyPilot and its solutions, contact [e-mail] or visit http://www.skypilot.com.