Nations Largest Metro Wi-Fi Network Goes Live in Rio Rancho20 January 2005
Mayor Owen was joined by Azulstar Networks and Intel Corp. to herald in
the new service, which already is in use by several local residents and
businesses. "Rio Rancho is on the air, and we're grateful to Azulstar and
Intel for helping us deliver this valuable new service." Owen said.
"Homeowners, businesses and mobile users are very pleased with the service and
the ability to connect to the Internet at broadband speeds from virtually
anywhere in the city."
The high performance mobile Wi-Fi network is the second successful metro-
wide deployment for Azulstar, which completed the nation's first Wi-Fi "hot
city" with parent company Ottawa Wireless Inc. in July 2004. This first-of-
its-kind mobile Wi-Fi service in Grand Haven, Mich., recently surpassed 1,000
customers.
According to Azulstar General Manager Scott Brown, "Rio Rancho is a good
example of how the public and private sectors can work together to deliver
valuable and affordable Internet service. The benefits of everywhere
connectivity can now extend across nearly every facet of this community. The
insights gained through our large-scale Wi-Fi projects will allow us to extend
services quickly to many other areas in the region and across the county."
High-speed Internet access begins at $19.95 per month for a 256k
residential connection that can be accessed anywhere in the city. Per-day
pricing and enterprise-class connections up to 4Mbps also are available,
surpassing the top speed of competing DSL connections.
In addition to wireless Internet access, Azulstar announced that it is in
final testing of its metro-wide mobile Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) service and
expects to launch this in Rio Rancho within the next 90 days. Azulstar also
has begun working with state public safety and transportation agencies to test
a variety of mission critical services using its highly powerful network
architecture.
Azulstar secured a 25-year lease agreement with the city in November 2004.
The network uses several hundred Wi-Fi (802.11a, b, g) and pre-WiMAX radios
strategically located throughout the city. Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity,
is a technology that gives users the freedom to receive and transmit data at
high speeds from anywhere within the broadcast signal range.
About Azulstar Networks
Azulstar Networks, a division of Grand Haven, Mich.-based Ottawa Wireless
Inc., is the world leader in mobile Wi-Fi/WiMAX metro-area networks and
services. Azulstar leverages a proprietary combination of licensed and
unlicensed wireless technologies to effectively serve the connectivity needs
of an entire community.
Azulstar was formed to enable the rapid rollout of mobile Wi-Fi/WiMAX
metro networks and services throughout the world. Azulstar teams with
governmental agencies looking to immediately offer wireless voice, data and
video services in their geographic areas.
Source: PR Newswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Related Voip Articles
|
