CONXX to Buy at Least 300 APs for Rural Pennsylvania Project Funded by Unique Wireless Services Business Model
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 11, 2007- Wavion™, a company transforming the metro Wi-Fi market with a new category of access point (AP), today announced that systems integrator CONXX™ will incorporate a minimum of 300 WS410 spatially adaptive APs into a new multi-service wireless communications network for Cambria County, Pennsylvania. The new network, to launch in 2008, will ultimately deliver high-performance connectivity to all government agencies, educational institutions, public safety organizations, commercial buildings and more than 150,000 residents over the county’s almost 700 square miles.
By deploying its own carrier-grade network, Cambria County will eliminate most of its current communications costs while securely providing a variety of services and applications to a diverse user community. The savings generated by the network enables the county to including high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access through Wavion’s APs. Wavion’s proprietary digital beamforming technology saves as much as 50% on capital and operating expenditures by requiring far fewer units than other outdoor APs to cover identical areas.
“Wavion’s technology offers system integrators and network operators a new path to profitability,” Benny Zilberstein, Wavion’s Corporate Vice President Sales and Marketing, said. “While Wi-Fi is a phenomenal way for communities to bridge the digital divide facing rural residents and governments, someone still needs to pay the capital and operating costs of the network. Other companies may be struggling with their business models, but CONXX has proven that a community network with the right technology can literally pay for itself.”
In traditional metro Wi-Fi deployments, municipalities ask the private sector to finance the deployments. Prospective network operators must find anchor tenants to finance the deployments. The typical mesh infrastructure can only support a limited set of services and applications because of bandwidth and security constraints. Several notable deployments around the world have been delayed or canceled because of these challenges.
CONXX pioneered a different approach. Since 2003, the CONXX Carrier Communication Platform has been operating successfully in Allegany County, Maryland. The Allegany County Net, or AllCoNet, is a completely self-reliant network provider with ATM at its core and Ethernet at its edge. Operated as a utility, the network rivals major RBOCs at a fraction of the cost while providing a catalyst for performance-based contracting opportunities.
“When we found that we had to upgrade our public safety system, I was concerned about the cost,” Brian Feist, director of emergency service for Cambria County, said. “We needed to find a system that would not only fix our public safety problems, but could also address some of the bigger communication issues we have to leverage the investment. I think we succeeded.”
Rather than outsource ownership of their network, Cambria County looked to the model pioneered in Allegany County. There, the CONXX platform offered public Wi-Fi access, T1 and DS3 replacements for education and municipal buildings, HD video surveillance for public safety, carrier-grade VoIP, business-grade Internet, Automatic meter Reading (AMR) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems among other applications.
“The rural counties we serve cannot afford systems that don’t deliver substantial savings and performance,” David Kartchner, president of CONXX, said. “CONXX and Wavion have proven that municipalities can pay for their own carrier-grade wireless networks through performance contracts while delivering the quality and reliability demanded by private enterprise, public agencies and local residents. Everyone wins.”
About CONXX
CONXX™ has developed network architecture and infrastructure to help rural communities overcome both digital and economic divides. The CONXX Carrier Communication Platform™ combines carrier-grade telecommunications technology at the core with cost-effective Ethernet technology at the edge. The CONXX Carrier Communication Observer™ is a full-service, web-based network management and operating support system for municipal networks. The privately held company’s wired and wireless networks support multiple services and service providers. CONXX is headquartered in Cumberland, Maryland, and maintains a regional office in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information visit http://www.conxx.net.
About Wavion
Wavion is delivering a new category of spatially adaptive access point to service providers and equipment vendors. The company’s new generation of Wi-Fi technology is the first and only to resolve the significant performance, penetration and profitability challenges facing metro Wi-Fi deployments. Wavion is privately held and backed by world-class investors including Sequoia Capital, Tel Aviv-based Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., Star Ventures, and BRM Capital. Wavion has offices in Silicon Valley and Yoqne’am, Israel. To learn more, please visit Wavion at http://www.wavion.net.