UK start-up promises rural broadband without DSL
Deltenna's WiBE creates HSPA-backed hotspot, 30 times faster than dongles
Published: 22 June, 2010
READ MORE: UK | Broadband | Dongle/Datacard | UMTS
Femtocells and Wi-Fi oriented fixed/mobile solutions are both important for improving wireless services in rural areas, but they rely on availability of decent quality DSL or cable lines for backhaul. But many parts of the world, including regions of Europe and north America plus emerging economies, remain underserved by wired infrastructure. A UK start-up today launches a response to that challenge, a self-installed wireless router backhauled by the cellular network and using innovative antenna technology to optimize the signal.
The WiBE (Wireless Broadband Enabler) from Deltenna is targeted mainly at rural areas with little or poor quality DSL, though it could also be used to improve indoor reception for urban users. Its supplier, a specialist in antennas and their integration with radio systems, promises a reliable 2Mbps connection for users far from the DSL exchange. It also pledges sustained data throughput at 30 times the rate, and five times the range, of a 3G dongle in areas where signal quality is poor. These USB modems have been widely touted as a solution to rural broadband, and are marketed by some cellcos, even in well-served regions, as a lower cost alternative to a DSL line, but remain less reliable than a wired option.
The WiBE is designed to be plug-and-play, and once installed, creates a 2Mbps Wi-Fi hotspot within the home or office, backhauled by 3G. The directional antenna technology achieves average download speed of 2.8Mbps over the HSPA network when a conventional handset or dongle can scarcely register a signal, the company claims after tests in rural UK. Deltenna has patented antenna technology and alignment algorithms, which enable the WiBE to identify the cell that will support the best available download speed, and configure itself automatically to focus on that cell.
The WiBE will be sold to OEMs and operators, targeting rural and emerging economy carriers. An LTE version is in development and will be announced next year, promising rural broadband speeds of 50Mbps.
Andrew Fox, CEO of Deltenna, said: "There are still millions of people throughout Europe and the US for whom fast broadband is a myth."
Iain Wood, of broadband benchmarking organization Epitiro, commented: "Rural broadband consumers in Europe and the US suffer low speeds over copper wiring as a result of being a long distance from the exchange. This challenge of achieving higher speeds lies with the implementation of new technologies to the last mile, be they wired or wireless." However, Eptiro finds that phones and dongles typically achieve only 1Mbps in rural HSPA networks.
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