Mobile wireless broadband launches in Texas

By John Cox, NetworkWorld.com, 02/07/06

A wireless service provider called Xanadoo has launched a wireless broadband Internet service to blanket Lubbock, Texas.

Xanadoo's net is based on the same gear, from Navini Networks, that BellSouth is using in its trial network in Atlanta.

The new service is a rival to wireline DSL and cable services. Xanadoo is touting the ability for subscribers to access its service anywhere in Lubbock, using a portable modem or laptop wireless card.

Several service plans are available. For folks who spend a lot of time on the road or at different locations, there is a "totally connected" package that starts at $50 per month, with modems for one desktop and one laptop computer. Laptop speeds are 400-700Kbps downloads, 200-400kpbs uploads. Desktops get 1.0Mbps down and 512Kbps up.

The net is based on Navini Networks' client and base station Ripwave radios. Navini's gear will be upgraded to support the mobile WiMax wireless broadband standard, 802.16e. The Richardson, Texas vendor combines support for mobile WiMAX with a phased-array antenna technology that punches the radio beam through windows and walls. The result is that end users can access the net with a standard client card, without the need for separate antenna or other on-premises equipment.

Xanadoo, a subsidiary of Pegasus Communications, Bala Cynwyd, Penn., offers the service in the licensed 2.5-GHz bands. It plans to deploy the new service soon in Wichita Falls and Abilene, and other Texas communities through 2006 and 2007.

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