Fixed Wireless Equipment

A 108 Mbps 802.11a Wireless Bridge

AIRAYA's AI108 family of high-performance 5 GHz wireless bridge products support bandwidth-intensive applications and large user counts, but are designed to be inexpensive and simple to use.

by Wayne Kawamoto [September 24, 2002]

AIRAYA's AI108 is a new family of high-speed, wireless bridges that is targeted at markets such as last-mile broadband wireless access (BWA) links and campus data networks that need to send large amounts of data over the air. AIRAYA says that its AI108 allows customers to use the latest 5 GHz technology to address their need for wireless bandwidth between E1/T-1, E3/T3, and Fast Ethernet (100Base-T) rates.

According to the company, a peak data rate of 108 Mbps sets the AI108 apart from competing solutions that are based on the 802.11a standard. The company says that traditionally, the market has been segmented into an array of 802.11a bridges restricted to 11 Mbps rates, and a number of proprietary 5 GHz products that offered higher speeds with expensive price tags.

For network managers, the 802.11a architecture may not have been an option because of issues of interference in the 2.4 GHz band and an inability to feed data at acceptable speeds. Furthermore, the company says that proprietary 5 GHz products exploited the high-speed capability of the 5 GHz band or other frequencies designated for broadband wireless access devices; however, cost constraints and product complexity prohibited their widespread use. AIRAYA's AI108 was designed to fill the void with a wireless link that has the capacity to support bandwidth-intensive applications and large user counts, and comes in a simple, cost-effective design.

The AI108 wireless bridge relies on a radio modulation technique known as OFDM, operating in the license-exempt 5 GHz U-NII band at a range of up to 1 mile. Data is transmitted over a half-duplex radio channel that offers scalable data rates from 108 Mbps to 12 Mbps. Each AI108 system consists of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, interconnected by a special category-5e weatherized cable. The outdoor unit includes a flat panel antenna and the RF and PoE subsystems housed in a NEMA enclosure.

The indoor unit provides a 10/100Base-TX interface to connect to an Ethernet switch or router, and generates the DC power and data signals for the outdoor unit. This architecture may eliminate the use of expensive RF cables while providing flexibility for rooftop and tower installations.

The company says that up to 300 feet of cable may be used between the indoor and outdoor unit without introducing any radio signal loss. Radio link level security is provided by the use of 152-bit SecureRF encryption and MAC address authentication, designed to prevent unauthorized intrusions and data theft. Finally, an integrated web server should simplify the configuration process by providing access to all parameters and settings through a single, consistent user interface.

"As customers continue to migrate from existing technologies to wireless, they are looking for solutions that are scalable, cost-effective, and easy to install," said Mike Nydam, AIRAYA's CEO and President. "With the AI108, we've coupled 108 Mbps speed with the kind of painless, out-of-the-box experience users expect today. These features play an important role in our overall strategy of offering corporations and ISPs a full range of simple, high-performance wireless networking options that meet their immediate and long-term connectivity needs."

Pricing and availability
The AI108 is offered as a complete all-in-one package for rapid deployment. It includes two outdoor units, two indoor units, and all the cabling and mounting hardware needed to establish a wireless link. Customers can choose between six pre-configured kits that vary by their indoor-outdoor cable lengths and antenna type.

Pricing begins at $3,599.

The AI108 will be available in late September.

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