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Airspan
Delivers First Commercial WiMAX Network to be Built in Russia
Other Topics: WiMAX Metro Area
Network, WiMAX vs. 3G
Robert Hoskins
Broadband Wireless Exchange Magazine
January 18, 2006
Airspan Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: AIRN), a leading worldwide provider of
WiMAX-based broadband wireless access networks and carrier class
Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions, announced that it has
deployed the first-ever Russian WiMAX network for MetroMAX. |
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MetroMAX was established in 2005 by private investors to build and
operate an IP-based voice and data network in the Samara region of
Russia. More than 3 million people currently reside in the region, which
covers approximately 536,000 square km. Samara is a major oil producing
and refining, light and heavy engineering center, with a gross regional
product per capita that is more than 30% above the Russian national
average. Less than 5% of Samaran residents currently have access to
broadband communications. MetroMAX’s goal is to cover the entire region
by the end of 2006 with a WiMAX-based system. The initial Airspan
deployment is in the largest city, Samara, which has 1.2 million
inhabitants. At first, MetroMAX will offer its subscribers high-speed
Internet access, standard VoIP services as well as virtual private
networks for small and medium-sized enterprises. By the middle of 2006,
it expects to have deployed Airspan’s VoiceMAX solution in the network,
giving it the ability to offer toll-quality VoIP services as well in a
fully-integrated network system. KKS Telecom, one of Airspan’s principal
distributors in Russia, is assisting in the deployment of the MacroMAX
base stations and EasyST and ProST customer premise devices in the
network.
Commenting on the transaction, Anders Rendahl, Airspan’s Vice President
and General Manager – EMEA, said: “We are very pleased to be the first
to sell and deploy a fully compliant 802.16-2004 system in the Russian
market, particularly to a company like MetroMAX. Airspan has enjoyed a
successful presence in Russia with its proprietary products since 1998.
We have built more than 50 networks there, with capacity in excess of
tens of thousands lines. The introduction of our newest WiMAX products
is the result of the excellent reputation we have built as the most
credible broadband wireless access systems provider in the country.”
Yuri Kozyrev, General Manager of MetroMAX added: “After extensive
comparison of WiMAX systems, we chose Airspan’s new AS.MAX platform
because of its exceptional performance and the ability of the system to
offer seamlessly integrated voice services. The ability to offer more
than just broadband data capabilities is essential to the success of any
broadband network operator in today’s market of bundled service
offerings.” |
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