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Airband’s suite of services is based on WiMAX fixed-wireless technology, offering wide-ranging, business-class network services designed to meet bandwidth requirements for companies of all sizes, with up to Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) speeds.  WiMAX differs from Wi-Fi, which creates Internet “hot spots” in a much smaller range at private and commercial locations, in that it can provide more bandwidth, across a larger geographic area, with quality of service guarantees.

What Is Fixed Wireless?

Just as an airplane flies over a crowded freeway, fixed-wireless networks avoid the “traffic jams” of hard-wired networks to stream high-speed data, voice and Internet services to customers with remarkable simplicity and reliability.  Fixed-wireless services can be installed in a matter of days, and the network is extremely scalable, so customers have the ability to easily increase bandwidth on an on-demand basis.

How Fixed Wireless Works

Airband delivers its integrated services over a wholly owned last-mile network.  Within each market, Airband builds multiple base stations to provide service for its customers.  Airband base stations broadcast and receive data through Access Points, which are typically located atop tall buildings to ensure maximum range.  The signal is received by another radio – Subscriber Units (SUs) – at the customer’s location.  Each base station covers up to a five-mile radius (an approximate 78 square miles of coverage) and can serve multiple customers in a point-to-multipoint configuration.  Most Airband customers receive service through this method, by which a base station connects multiple subscribers in the coverage area to Airband’s core network and managed IP backbone.

For customers who require higher bandwidth, typically above 45 Mbps or dedicated connection between two locations, Airband deploys point-to-point service in both the licensed and the licensed exempted spectrum.  Point-to-point service can reach up to 20 miles with clear line of sight. Unlike wireless broadband services for residences, Airband’s high-speed data and VoIP services travel securely via Airband’s private network – rather than over the public Internet.  This ensures that Airband customers are receiving true, business-class service that is both safe and secure.

The Fixed Wireless Advantage

Airband’s service differentation is based on the simplicity of its fixed-wireless network.  While traditional networks are mired in mix-and-match technologies pieced together over decades, Airband designed and built its network from the ground up for the sole purpose of delivering fast and flexible broadband solutions to businesses. Fixed wireless offers a number of compelling advantages over traditional copper and fiber connections, including:

• Rapid Installation: Whereas wired service providers take weeks – even months – to provision a connection for a new customer, Airband can have customers activated in just days.
• Scalable Bandwidth: When customers need more network bandwidth, it’s as easy as “turning up the dial,” and Airband can make it happen in a matter of minutes.  Such bandwidth elasticity is perfect for growing companies that need to ramp up service over time, or handle short-term spikes for business continuity and disaster recovery purposes.
• Path Diversity: Airband’s network offers a truly diverse path, unaffected by the vulnerabilities of traditional networks such as cable cuts that can take days to repair.  What’s more, Airband offers Dual Path Service Delivery (DPSD), which automatically “fails over” the customers’ service to the backup circuit to provide even greater protection against downtime.
• No Upfront Capital Investment: There is no additional equipment cost to implement Airband’s data services and upgrading circuits will not require equipment upgrade charges.
• Ethernet Connectivity: Our data service is delivered via an Ethernet connection, making it easy and simple for customers to connect directly to their LAN.

Reliability and Security

Not only is fixed-wireless a more efficient and affordable path to high-speed bandwidth, it is secured and reliable as traditional telecom networks.  First, Airband’s network is designed with dual-paths from each base station to its core network ensuring service reliability.  Airband’s wireless equipment is not configured for open access, meaning that only Airband and the equipment manufacturer are aware of the data transmission and authentication scheme used to initiate communication.  Additionally, data is transmitted to and from Airband customers using 128 bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), an extra layer of security.

From a quality of service (QOS) perspective, Airband deploys eight levels of signal modulation where the network radios automatically choose the appropriate level to ensure optimal throughput during adverse weather conditions.  Airband’s roof top radios are designed to withstand up to 120 mph winds.  Even through the devastating hurricane seasons of recent years, Airband’s coastal customers remained online. Airband backs up its service with a 100% uptime guarantee and is one of the few fixed wireless service providers that has service level guarantees on jitter, latency and packet loss.