IgniteNet and ABQgig Brings Multi-gigabit Wireless to Underserved, Economically Disadvantaged Communities

IRVINE, Calif., June 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mozilla's WINS challenge awarded ABQgig's project BarelasGig for its outstanding achievement in leveraging existing infrastructure -- physical or network -- to provide high-quality wireless connectivity to communities in need.

The Barelas neighbourhood is one of the oldest and poorest in New Mexico. This large neighborhood was lacking the reliable and fast internet connectivity that fuels growth and development for students, businesses and residents. Deploying fiber to the home is a too expensive and time-consuming process. Understanding this challenging task, ABQgig selected IgniteNet's MetroLinq 60GHz mmwave platform in order to provide backhaul, last-mile, as well as Wi-Fi access connectivity for the Barelas community.

Two point to point links, 0.48km (0.3mi) and 1.127 km (0.7mi), were deployed using MetroLinq 2.5G - 35 products and provided a multi-gigabit backhaul with fiber-like speed and reliability. The MetroLinq 10G Omni radio was deployed in the heart of the Barelas neighborhood and delivered 360º of gigabit coverage within a 700m radius around the base-station. Further fixed wireless connections can be provided on the 5 GHz band, and best effort WiFi can be provided directly to end-user devices on the 2.4GHz band. All installations were also accompanied by an outdoor switch from IgniteNet, called the MeshLinq, used to distribute data and provide power. These MeshLinq switches also provide expansion and redundancy capabilities.

Stable and reliable internet connectivity provides many benefits for the Barelas community. Modern high-speed internet service in the community increases safety and is an economic asset that will strengthen existing businesses and attract new ones. The BarelasGig deployment will provide gigabit connectivity to many parts of the community, including residential, educational, business, tourist, police, emergency responders, tele-medicine services and future Smart City needs.

The deployment in Barelas (BarelasGig) is proving the economics of IgniteNet mmwave equipment as a perfect solution to fixed wireless access applications. It easily extends fiber networks in a hard to reach areas, saving time and cost, in addition to enabling quick access to new revenue streams by providing high quality and competitive internet connectivity at affordable prices. A combination of unlicensed bands simplifies the build out of universal networks and can also be expanded to security and smart city applications.

Multiple model options offered by IgniteNet ensure flexibility when deploying multi-gigabit networks in terms of distance, capacity and cost and such a broad selection of devices is not available anywhere else in the market. MetroLinq 10G Omni can support 300+ subscribers on 60, 5 and 2.4 GHz frequencies, from dedicated 60 GHz clients to lower speed 5 GHz clients, and even Wi-Fi clients on the 2.4 GHz band, it's part of a perfect solution in building future-proof multi-gigabit networks.

About ABQgig

ABQgig is a pioneering community broadband working group consisting of tech industry, academic institutions, research labs, local governments, businesses, start-ups and residents working together to improve the deployment of high-speed broadband infrastructure and service. More info at https://abqgig.org

About IgniteNet

Headquartered in Irvine, CA, IgniteNet is a wholly owned subsidiary of SMC Networks, Inc. IgniteNet has a proven track record of producing powerful, reliable, easy to deploy, and innovative cloud managed wireless solutions and the industry's lowest cost 60 GHz wireless technology through channel partners worldwide, focusing on Enterprises and Service Providers. For more information, please visit http://www.ignitenet.com

SOURCE IgniteNet