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Highspeed wireless broadband access a reality

With the recent announcement of Motorola's new fixed wireless access system, Canopy, residential and small business customers can now look forward to affordable access to the Internet at Broadband speeds of up to 6 Mbps (aggregate data rate). Already being widely implemented across the US and emerging economies in Eastern Europe, the Canopy system uses the 5 GHz frequency spectrum and is licence-free in the countries where it is being deployed. It is the ideal solution for geographic areas where cable and DSL services are unavailable or system deployment is not feasible due to infrastructure costs.

According to Nik Patel, business manager at Motorola's Commercial, Government & Industrial Solutions Sector (CGISS), access requirements and Internet usage needs vary widely across different communities, business and individual households, and the company is beginning to see more diversity emerge in the delivery of telecommunications.

"As a leader in end-to-end systems for the delivery of interactive digital video, voice and high-speed data solutions for broadband operators, Motorola's Canopy system will support additional delivery options for community networks, wireless and community service providers and small- to medium-sized private networks," he says.

The system consists of three core components:

* A subscriber module (which connects via Ethernet to a user's computer or network).

* An access point with integrated antennae (interfaces via Ethernet to serve the subscriber modules).

* A backhaul module (for serving greater distances).

Canopy is scalable for meeting user needs with each access point capable of serving up to 200 subscriber modules.

"Each access point has a reach of approximately 5 km but can be extended up to 15 km using the Canopy reflector kit. However, should greater distances be required, 20 Mbps backhaul units can be linked together to reach distances of up to 50 km and they can even be daisy-chained to create numerous links of up to 50 km each," adds Patel.

Canopy's simple network design makes it easy to install and there is no need to run overhead or in-ground wire, install microwave links or software. Intelligent protocols also make the deployment and operation of a large wireless network easy and cost-effective. The access point modules also feature all the network management and diagnostic capabilities needed to control and monitor the network remotely.

Patel notes the inherent flexibility of the system, indicating how easily it can be adapted to serve the needs of many customers and specific configurations.

"The point-to-multipoint application is ideal for providing high-speed Internet access in cluster villages and small business parks, while the backhaul application could be used as a dedicated data link - well suited for small business enterprises. In addition, security companies could use Canopy to interconnect CCTV equipment and relay images to a central control station," he says.

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