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DragonWave Wireless Backhaul Equipment Helps Bring High-Speed Broadband
Access to Rural Georgia
DragonWave Inc.
March 10, 2009
Horizon Compact radios used in five-county network that brings area
to top 1% in world in speed and level of access
Ottawa, Canada -- DragonWave Inc. (TSX:DWI) a global supplier of
high-capacity, wireless native Ethernet backhaul solutions for mobile
and access networks, today announced that the South Georgia Regional
Information Technology Authority (SGRITA) has deployed DragonWave’s
Horizon Compact radios in a state-of-the-art broadband network
throughout Baker, Calhoun, Early, Miller and Mitchell counties in South
Georgia. |
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Phase I of the network is now
complete using DragonWave’s Horizon Compact radios on 25 towers,
stretching across five counties and covering 2,000 sq miles, providing
190 Mbps of capacity to the region. SGRITA is now able to provide
high-speed internet service to area industry, government offices,
schools, public safety professionals and other interests. The network is
designed to attract industry to the region as well. Applications include
VOIP, content filtering and distance learning. Previously, the region
was underserved in broadband capacity or had no broadband access at all.
SGRITA founders recognize that technology is increasingly important for
education, health, safety, communication, and economic competitiveness.
“We believe in wireless solutions for rural broadband deployments,” said
Lee Conner, Director of SGRITA. “Wireless backhaul presents an
affordable and, what we believe to be a more reliable solution. Before
deploying this network, our schools were in the bottom 8% in terms of
access capability in comparison to the rest of the country. We're now in
the top 1% in the world in terms of speed and level of access"
A greenfield deployment, the SGRITA project posed unique challenges to
network design in terms of climate. Southern Georgia’s sub-tropical
climate offers days where 100% humidity is normal and the Gulf of Mexico
brings daily thunderstorms or even hurricanes with the potential for
lightning and rainfall of two inches or more per hour. “DragonWave's
products have the ability to reliably cut through the humid sub-tropic
climate of South Georgia,” said Dustin Springman, SGRITA’s Network
Operations Manager. “With the product’s adaptive modulation, to date we
have had 100% uptime through some of the most severe South Georgia
lightning storms. The performance can be considered nothing less than
carrier class, and the reliability speaks for itself.”
“The mechanical aspects of the Horizon Compact radio configuration show
careful design and thought not only from an engineer’s point of view,
but also from an integrator and operator perspective,” comments
Springman. “The product’s design makes the cost of maintenance much
lower.”
About SGRITA
Founded in 2007, SGRITA’s work was funded with grants from OneGeorgia,
and direct and in-kind contributions by each of the five participating
counties. Phase II of the project will distribute the network further
into the field and will take place over the next one to two years.
http://www.sgrita.org/
About DragonWave
DragonWave™ is a leading provider of high-capacity wireless Ethernet
equipment used in emerging IP networks. DragonWave designs, develops,
and markets carrier-grade microwave radio frequency networking equipment
that wirelessly transmit broadband voice, video and other data.
DragonWave’s wireless Ethernet products, which are based on a native
Ethernet platform, function as a wireless extension to an existing fibre-optic
core telecommunications network. The principal application for
DragonWave’s products is the backhaul function in a wireless
communications network. Additional applications for DragonWave’s
products include point-to-point transport in private networks, including
municipal and enterprise networks. DragonWave’s corporate headquarters
is located in Ottawa, Ontario, with sales locations in Europe, Middle
East and North America. The company's Web site is
http://www.dragonwaveinc.com |
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