BeamReach extends wireless coverage

BeamReach Networks has introduced a broadband wireless access system based on adaptive beam-forming and null steering technology that can serve a large cell area of thousands of subscribers with a customer-installable CPE using a fraction of the base stations required by competitive technologies.

“This could fill the gap between 30% and 100% of the subscribers served within a cell,” said Bernard Aboussouan, BeamReach’s marketing vice president.

It also can work as a last-mile solution for DSL providers that want to extend their offerings but can’t because of plant conditions and the distance from the central office, he said. Verizon, which is invested in BeamReach, will trial the technology as part of its DSL service, he said.

The technology is also important for CLECs as a way to quickly and inexpensively enter into the high-speed data delivery business to compete with cable and DSL, he said.

The BeamReach technology incorporates multibeam orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and time division duplexing to improve spectral efficiency and cell coverage area, said Aboussouan. It can also be used for cellular backhaul.

“The cell is a function of the height of the antenna,” he said, noting that cell sites can range from a normal 4 miles to 20 miles.

It also offers a relatively quick payback, with cash flow turning positive in the fourth year, he added.

“The cost per subscriber is significantly lower” than other forms of broadband wireless or DSL deployments, he said. “Consider this as an alternative to a cable modem or DSL."