Adtran adds wireless access to router

Adtran this week announced a new 3G wireless wide area network module for its NetVanta 3305 modular router, enabling its enterprise customers to securely connect remote locations into a corporate network via wireless access. The NetVanta 3G Network Interface Module has been certified for use with Verizon Wireless’ Broadband Access Wireless Router Service.

Citizens National Bank in Sevierville, Tenn., is already using the new wireless capabilities to connect its Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) that otherwise would not easily have broadband connections, said Jeremy Carrigan, network administrator for the bank.

“We had to convert all the ATMs that are not inside a branch office to an IP-type service, and most of those are connected via ADSL,” Carrigan explained. “But one of the ones that did not qualify for ADSL was in a high-traffic tourist area.”

Carrigan agreed to beta-test the 3G NIMs and ran the service successfully for 65 days in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where heavy foreign tourist traffic generates substantial fees for the bank. “The connection is just as fast,” he said.

Going forward, Citizens is using the 3G NIMS for mobile account teams that attend special events or set up on college campuses at the beginning of the school year to open accounts. “We are able to more easily do mobile ATMs, where we set them up in the parking lot of an event,” Carrigan said.

When a card is inserted, an Internet connection is established, and a VPN tunnel is built to secure the traffic between the ATM and the bank itself.

The NetVanta 3G NIM is also an option for smaller, remote office locations that need connectivity but can’t get affordable ADSL, and for network backup, said Tim Saunders, vice president of product management for Adtran’s Enterprise Networks Division.