Wireless vendor cozies up to Comcast

Wireless mesh network vendor BelAir Networks introduced a set of products designed for cable operators and MSOs (multiple system operators) on Wednesday, the same day it announced a round of funding from sources including a fund affiliated with Comcast, one of the largest U.S. cable providers.

Deepak Sindwani, a principal at Comcast Interactive Capital (CIC), will take a seat on BelAir's board of directors following the Series C funding round, according to a BelAir statement. CIC help BelAir address cable operator and service provider opportunities, the statement said.

Comcast, like other cable operators, is in a race with telecommunications carriers and other service providers to offer subscribers the broadest possible range of services, which could include voice, video and data over both wired and wireless networks.

BelAir, based in Kanata, Ontario, makes gear for networks that combine local Wi-Fi coverage for end users with a wireless backhaul network that can link all the access points in an area together. It uses outdoor access points that beam Wi-Fi into buildings and can link up with other BelAir outdoor access points in a mesh. This reduces the need for wired backhaul lines to access points and also can provide coverage with fewer access points than with typical indoor Wi-Fi systems, according to the company.

The products introduced Wednesday are designed to let MSOs and cable companies quickly expand their broadband offerings with wireless mesh networks connected directly into their cable infrastructures. This lets them bypass permits and fees associated with accessing other service providers' wired networks, according to BelAir. Power for the devices can come over the cable infrastructure, and they include the DOCSIS 2.0 interface commonly used in cable networks. Typical uses could include building wireless networks for campuses, municipalities, hotels and multiple dwelling units, BelAir said.

The BelAir50s is a wireless mesh node with a single radio for IEEE 802.11g Wi-Fi service and wireless backhaul. It can automatically discover other mesh nodes. The BelAir100s is a wireless mesh switch with two radios -- one for customer Wi-Fi and one operating at 5 GHz for backhaul. Both are in trials and will be generally available in the first half of 2006.

The funding round announced Wednesday, which also involved McLean Watson Capital, brings total investment in BelAir to $44 million, the company said.

CIC, which like Comcast is based in Philadelphia, is a $350 million venture capital fund that has invested in a wide variety of network infrastructure, software and Web companies, according to information on its Web site.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.