XO adds consecutive point wireless technology

(Telephony)XO Communications has successfully completed field trials of a point-to-consecutive point fixed wireless system in Boston, and plans to utilize such systems in other metropolitan networks.

The company has signed a non-exclusive contract with Triton Network Systems for the provisioning of consecutive point radio equipment transmitting at OC-3. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to Paul Keefe, vice president and general manager of XO Massachusetts, consecutive point fixed wireless systems resemble Sonet fiber rings in basic architecture and redundancy. “If one of the link goes down, the traffic goes the other way,” he said.

In addition, consecutive point networks, though more expensive, have “higher bandwidth than the conventional point-to-point systems, which are somewhat limited in the number of T-1s that can be deployed in those systems,” Keefe said.

For XO, consecutive point fixed wireless systems add to the company’s portfolio of broadband access technologies, which already includes point-to-point, point-to-multipoint and DSL. They give the company an additional last-mile option when there are construction delays for fiber builds or line of site issues for other wireless technologies, Keefe said. “This allows us to extend our network. If I’ve got a fiber loop that isn’t closed, I can use [a consecutive point ring].”

Currently, though, XO has not finalized plans to deploy a consecutive point network in any areas outside of Boston, according to a company spokesman. XO, however, has fiber networks and broadband wireless spectrum licenses in many tier one markets, he added, any of which would be likely candidates for consecutive point networks.