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Local company rolls out ­proprietary wireless network

Vixnet recently finished installing dozens of high-sites to provide coverage for its own high-availability wireless network designed for applications with demanding requirements, such as the security sector.

The network operates over licensed spectrum in the 275 – 279 MHz and 364 – 366 MHz frequency bands and currently has a footprint covering the majority of Gauteng and Cape Town, with Durban and Bloemfontein rollouts in the planning phase. Boasting service level agreements (SLA) guaranteeing 99,98% up time, the network is reliable enough for security applications and is more than capable of supporting the needs of telemetry and smart metering systems.

According to Clinton Lemmer, Vixnet’s business development manager, some of the benefits provided by this network include excellent RF penetration in dense urban environments and resistance against interference and jamming thanks to the use of direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) technology. The system provides bidirectional communications and does away with the need to manage SIM cards. What’s more, triangulation techniques provide positioning accurate to within 4 metres.

Each high-site has its own power backup and provides redundant communications with secure hosted servers, through which Vixnet continuously monitors all network infrastructure, including power, IP traffic, environmental conditions etc. A web-based application allows each customer to monitor their own devices in the field in real-time.

Vixnet emerged out of QuikTrak, an Australian company that entered the South African market in 2006 with a tracking solution for high-end vehicles. Besides its very own new network, Vixnet continues to locally manufacture a range of devices designed to run on this network. These products include security systems, telemetry units and a module designed specifically to be integrated into OEMs’ metering products.

Lemmer also envisions a potential market in selling the communications modules that connect to the Vixnet network separately, allowing customers to develop their own applications to piggyback on this high-reliability network.

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