Vivato announces details of Wi-Fi Bridge/Router.

Vivato, a Wi-Fi infrastructure systems company, has announced details about the Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router, an 802.11b product that performs multiple functions, including wireless backhaul, and extending the range of Wi-Fi coverage or filling gaps in coverage of larger Wi-Fi deployments, while serving as a stand-alone access point. The dual-radio Vivato Bridge/Router offers expanded coverage, with configuration flexibility for both large enterprises and small-to-medium businesses, at an affordable price.

The Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router contains dual 200 mW radios for increased coverage and capacity. One radio can be configured to support wireless-to-wireless bridging, using the Wireless Distribution System in difficult-to-wire locations, while the second can act as a high performing, smart access point to Wi-Fi clients. Alternatively, both radios can be configured as access points highlighting the flexibility of the product. The Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router, which is interoperable with existing Layer2/Layer 3 local area network infrastructure, operates with the same management and security software as the Vivato Wi-Fi switches.

Vivato debuted the Bridge/Router last April and is engaged in an extensive beta program to test the product's capabilities as a stand-alone access point and as part of a Wi-Fi system, which includes Vivato's 2.4 GHz Indoor and Outdoor Wi-Fi Switches. By adding the Bridge/Router to the Vivato system, Wi-Fi coverage can be extended further into buildings or open spaces and cover RF gaps that result from physical barriers within the environment.

Intag Communications, a Vivato value added reseller, has been testing the Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router and the Wi-Fi switch at multi-dwelling units, such as apartment complexes and student housing, with Austin-based Wi-Speed Communications. Vivato's Wi-Fi system eliminated the need to trench fiber optic cable to the buildings and run Category 5 cable to the existing access points within the buildings. Installed outdoors, the Vivato Wi-Fi Switch provides coverage to wireless clients inside nearby buildings, while the Wi-Fi Bridge/Router extends the signal to buildings at a greater distance from the switch.

"The coverage provided by the Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router is incredible. We would need three times as many access points for the same area," said Mike Wolleben, CEO of Wi-Speed Communications, a wireless internet service provider in Austin, Texas. "Combined with the fact that we don't need to run any wires back to a demarc, we now have a business model that provides a quick ROI."

Customer trials have confirmed the success of the Bridge/Router's multi-functionality, including its ability to receive backhaul from a Vivato switch and increase the capacity of the system by adding additional coverage using the access point functionality. Because of its high-level performance, the Bridge/Router enables small-to-medium businesses to deploy Wi-Fi over larger areas using a single device, rather than having to use multiple access points. This cost-effective method of deploying Wi-Fi decreases hardware costs and the time necessary to install and manage the wireless network.

"By combining the bridging and access functionalities into a single product," said Sarah Kim, a wireless technology analyst at the Yankee Group, "Vivato extends its core product offering to small and mid-sized businesses, while simultaneously enabling its larger customer to scale Vivato-specific functionalities at a lower total cost of ownership."

"At this price point, the Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router delivers great value as a complimentary addition to the Vivato system or a stand-alone access point," said Phil Belanger, vice president of marketing at Vivato. "Now Vivato offers a more complete system for our partners and customers."

The U.S. list price for the Vivato Wi-Fi Bridge/Router is $495 and will be available in November through Vivato value added resellers.