High Speed Wireless Networking

Lucent offers high-speed wireless Internet and data networking with network management and bandwidth control.

by Wayne Kawamoto
[December 28, 1999]

Lucent Technologies' WaveACCESS, announced yesterday, provides high-speed (11 Mbps), point-to-point and point-to-multipoint outdoor wireless networking especially suited to ISPs, campuses, and large corporate complexes. WaveACCESS, according to Lucent Technologies, is a reliable and economical alternative to leasing phone lines or running cables between buildings. It operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz band and provides a range up to 10 miles.

WaveACCESS supports IP routing that allows multiple local area networks in different locations to connect using different IP subnets. The system's bandwidth management feature lets a network manager allocate bandwidth to specific networks. The system also offers various levels of security encryption (64-bit WEP and 128-bit RC4).

Flexible configuration
The point-to-point WaveACCESS system consists of a Central Office Router, which connects with up to 16 WaveACCESS Remote Office Routers and associated networks, with each running the Internet Client Software. By installing WaveACCESS Internet Client software on the WaveACCESS radio card, ISPs can provide wireless Internet access to their residential customers. In addition, a networked Remote Office Router may be connected to another Central Office Router, which creates another set of point-to-multipoint links.

"IP routing and bandwidth management are very important to us as a wireless ISP," says Gregory Friedman, CEO of Netbeam Inc., a wireless phone and Internet access provider in Breckenridge, Colorado. "Lucent Technologies WaveACCESS gives us the ability to provide high speed, high reliability Internet access to businesses as well as to individuals, without having to run cables or negotiate with phone and cable companies."

Existing WaveACCESS and WaveLAN users can upgrade their WavePOINT II to WaveACCESS Office Routers by installing WaveACCESS Central or Remote Office Router software and using a new 11 Mbit/s WaveACCESS radio card in an available radio slot. WaveACCESS Remote Office Routers can also be converted to WaveACCESS Central Office Routers via software upgrade.

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