High-Speed Laser Technology

Tellaire Corporation is deploying 622 Mbps laser technology for buildings in major cities in the United States.

by Wayne Kawamoto [October 27, 2000]

Tellaire Corporation announced the availability of its laser-based communications network that's designed to quickly and cost-effectively bring broadband services to the "last mile" for commercial building owners, building local exchange carriers (BLECs), and ISPs.

Promising speeds up to six times faster than today's best broadband wireless systems (up to 622 Mbps), Tellaire's solution is configured for 99.99 percent availability. In addition, the company says that because the technology is born from the military, laser transmissions are highly secure.

Tellaire's network solution involves placing small laser transceivers on building rooftops and connecting them to routing equipment installed in the buildings. Wireless network traffic is routed from one laser to another via the company's redundant mesh network and ultimately to the Internet. Fully deployable within days of gaining rooftop access, the Tellaire network may give commercial property owners, BLECs, and ISPs the ability to quickly implement high bandwidth, highly reliable data services in the last mile for their tenants and customers — all at a favorable cost. "Tellaire's network solution addresses the need for high-speed Internet connections in the local loop at higher speeds than any other wireless alternative and with much faster deployment than fiber alternatives, and at a very competitive cost," said Leah Bailey, Tellaire's president and CEO. "As a result, the 700,000 buildings in the U.S. that currently don't have a fiber connection to the Internet backbone now have a viable alternative for quickly increasing the value of their properties and immediately giving their customers the high-speed links necessary to succeed in today's economy."

Availability
The company claims that the system is "currently being used for high-speed communications between multiple locations in the Washington D.C." and that it has survived weather tests, working "even through heavy thunderstorms."

The company plans to deploy the solution in Houston, Austin, and New York City.

Pricing
Tellaire told us that their primary product for the wholesale market is 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet. They claim it will be priced at the same or less than a DS-3 (45 Mbps), thus providing double the bandwidth for the same or lower price.

—End