Alvarion Earns FCC's First Authorization for 802.16e Equipment for 3.65GHz Networks

(Product News, 24 Apr 2008)

Alvarion Ltd has announced commercial availability and FCC authorization for its 802.16e BreezeMAX 3650 base station and CPEs (customer premises equipment). Federal approval is required for all equipment deployed in the 3.65GHz band, and the FCC specifically allocated this frequency band for wireless broadband to help overcome broadband service gaps in the U.S. Currently, various U.S. operators including Towerstream are using Alvarion's BreezeMAX 3650 in commercial trials to deliver broadband services.

BreezeMAX 3650 supports self-install CPE, advanced antenna technologies, including MIMO, and enables up to fourth order diversity to maximize capacity and coverage. "BreezeMAX 3650 leverages the same mature and field-proven Alvarion 802.16e Open WiMAX technology chosen by many operators around the world," said Adlane Fellah, Senior Analyst and Founder of Maravedis Inc. "Given the nationwide low broadband penetration rate in the U.S. market, BreezeMAX 3650 will serve urban, suburban and rural markets for both enterprise and residential customers. This will further help speed up broadband adoption in the U.S."

Since the FCC 3.65GHz to 3.7GHz spectrum allocation is near the global 3.5GHz allocation—a band where Alvarion customers in more than 100 countries deploy BreezeMAX today—U.S. 3.65GHz operators now have the ability to leverage the performance of an 802.16e solution, which is the most advanced version of WiMAX technology. Operators can also benefit from the economies of scale generated by the WiMAX ecosystem, which revolves around 802.16e WiMAX technology.

"The 3.65GHz band presents a unique opportunity for U.S. operators to deliver WiMAX services to customers around the country," remarked Greg Daily, President, Alvarion. "As part of Alvarion's innovation, flexibility and commitment to the North American market, we chose to offer an 802.16e solution because of its excellent performance, future proof technology and cost saving opportunities for operators using this frequency band."

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