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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article

February 20, 2008

Proxim Wireless Helps Connect Rural Communities in Scotland


CXS, a Proxim integrator, has reportedly deployed a wireless system using Proxim's equipment in the county of Renfrewshire in Scotland that is benefiting from online learning and general e-commerce facilities such as online banking.



In order to provide citizens with residential high speed broadband, Renfrewshire Council searched for a sustainable solution. Known as the Digital Inclusion Project, the programme was designed to cover an area of around 5 square kilometers. The council decided to work with CXS that put forward a proposal for a wireless solution, which was 1/10th the cost of hard-wired solutions compared to the proposals by other vendors.

CXS delivered the large and robust network by using 70 Proxim AP-4000MRs to cover over 2,600 households and 25 point-to-point and point-to-multipoint links (utilizing 40 Proxim Tsunami MP.11s) for backhaul to a 30Mbps internet 'pipe'. According to Proxim, the 30Mbps wireless backhaul extends over 12 kilometers from Johnstone in Renfrewshire to Shortroods at Glasgow Airport.

“This has been a new and innovative project. I'm not aware of many other initiatives that provide wireless and mesh broadband into residential homes to allow social inclusion covering an area of 5 square kilometers,” said Gordon Giles, Renfrewshire Digital Inclusion Manager in a statement.

Noting that the final decision to deploy Proxim's Tsunami was not just due to low cost, Paul Devlin from CXS said that they evaluated a variety of wireless deployments and conducted research on point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless technology.

CXS’ focus and concerns were the ability to manage the long term elements of the network, and they decided that Proxim's technology was most suited for the environment in which they wanted to deploy it. Devlin added that Proxim's solution outperformed other vendors which were evaluated and is easy to manage and very user-friendly.

Proxim's support infrastructure also matches CXS’ needs as a company developing its own IT strategy. Devlin observed that Proxim has been very supportive throughout these deployments, from pre-installation to the management and maintenance of the implementation.

Anthony Fulgoni, VP International Strategic Sales said that they are already working on numerous other projects to enable remote communities to enjoy the same facilities as other more connected areas.

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

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