Aperto covers Mexico

MVS Communicaciones, a telecom carrier and radio/TV broadcaster serving Mexico and Latin America, announced it will deploy Aperto Networks’ PacketWave broadband fixed wireless access systems to cover 28 million potential customers in the three largest urban areas of Mexico.

The carrier also plans to expand the deployment to six more cities by the end of 2004. MVS will use Aperto's systems this year to deliver broadband wireless services in the greater metro areas of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey through local and regional operators. With next year’s planned expansion to Tijuana, Veracruz, Mexicali and three other cities, MVS will boost potential customer base to 50% of the Mexican population.

The carrier currently holds MMDS licenses capable of addressing 70% of Mexico's 97 million inhabitants.

Ernesto Vargas, president of MVS Television, said in a statement that Mexico City offers several broadband deployment hurdles, including dense population and a large amount of urban vegetation that could hamper line-of-sight technology. He said Aperto's PacketWave system proved itself in rigorous testing.

Andy Fuertes, senior analyst with Visant Strategies, commented that the MVS contract was long awaited and hotly contested.

Aperto’s IP base stations and subscriber units enable both licensed and unlicensed frequency broadband wireless access for business-grade users. Carriers can use the system to deliver wireless E1 and Fractional E1 speeds, wireless VPNs and VLANs, disaster recovery and backhaul for Wi-Fi hot spots, among other applications.