Wireless broadband is the transmission of wide bandwidth data over a high-speed wireless Internet connection.
WAV is the distributor for the technology and communication platforms (point to point and point to multipoint radios) to deliver bandwidth to rural areas where traditional fiber optic solutions cannot reach. As a distributor with the largest and most consistent stocking position in the service provider market, WAV is ready to assist with your next project.
Since 2001, WAV has been bridging the digital divide by providing our service provider, municipal and tribal communities with unlicensed and licensed wireless broadband and LTE equipment. In situations where traditional fiber solutions -are not economical nor feasible, our point to point and point to multipoint solutions, available in a myriad of frequencies for each application, including, but not limited to 5GHz, 3.65GHz, 60GHz, 80GHz, can be leveraged to connect communities in hours and days instead of weeks and months.
The adoption of wireless broadband as an alternative to fiber communications was accelerated in March 2020 as Covid-19 exposed digital inequality throughout the United States. As shelter in place orders were implemented, students, businesspeople, tribal communities in areas where rural broadband was unavailable, struggled to stay connected to their schools, places of work and healthcare providers and trenching fiber to those in need resulted in long lead times. In areas where fiber could not be trenched at all, wireless broadband played an integral role. Government subsidy programs via the CARES act as well as RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) and CAF II (Connect America Fund) are at the forefront of bridging the digital divide.
Why wireless broadband for the service provider in federal subsidy environments instead of exclusively fiber? Many of WAV’s customers in the Internet service provider and wireless Internet service provider market have been awarded CAF II as well as RDOF federal subsidy. These federal programs are designed to mitigate digital inequality and bring acceptable Internet connections with speeds varying from 10/1, 25/3, 100/10 or 1GB within 4 to 6 years of the Internet service provider being awarded this subsidy. A fiber only approach is potentially flawed from a speed of deployment, construction, trenching and availability perspective. The difference between fiber reaching a student in 6 months or a tribal elder seeking remote healthcare services versus a wireless broadband connection (as an extension of a major fiber trunk) in days or weeks, is a major difference. Concurrently, a wireless only approach is similarly flawed based on line of sight, non-line of site environments as well as RF interference.
At WAV, Last Mile Gear and MBSI WAV, we see many of our customers taking a hybrid wired and wireless broadband approach where both fiber and point to point, and point to multipoint solutions, deliver a seamless, homogenous network experience. At the end of the day, it is all about bringing the bandwidth and connectivity needed to connect rural communities, FAST. A hybrid approach accomplishes this.
One of the wireless broadband point-to-point and point to multipoint solutions we have seen adopted by many wireless Internet service providers for its spectral efficiency and massive multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), is the Cambium Networks cnMedusa product, available in 5GHz and 3.65GHz frequencies. With today’s bandwidth and capacity needs, combined with service level requirement from federal subsidy programs, Cambium’s cnMedusa solution boasts a 14 x 14 Multi-user MIMO system on the 5 GHz model, allowing simultaneous communication to up to seven SMs. 8 x 8 Multi-user MIMO system on the 3 GHz model allows simultaneous communication to up to four SMs. Want to get started?
Contact WAV today to align with a dedicated WAV sales representative. As your wireless broadband distributor, our team takes a responsive, communicative, and pro-active approach to your business, and with the strongest and most consistent inventory in the Internet service provider and wireless Internet service provider market, we’re make certain your projects are on time with the technology you need when you need it. Request your dedicated WAV sales rep today.
