Airspan Networks will supply its broadband fixed wireless access solution to the Comsat International – America Inalambrica Consortium for the deployment of a turnkey project in Colombia. The Colombian government, through COMPARTEL, conducted a competitive tender for the installation and operation of a turnkey telecommunications network which will provide broadband internet access to locations throughout the country. The tender called for bids on 5 designated zones, of which the Comsat-led Consortium bid on three. The Consortium bid an innovative combination of VSAT and WipLL technologies. COMPARTEL will pay the Consortium in excess of $20 million over five years as it builds and operates the networks.
The COMPARTEL Program is a six-year initiative to provide telecommunications access to public institutions in Colombia. The Project was divided into three phases to support Rural Telephony, Telecenters and Broadband Internet access. In particular, this third phase was designed to support Broadband Internet access for more than 3,700 sites throughout Colombia, of which approximately 2,300 sites are in the zones to be built by the Consortium.
Airspan said anticipates initially that approximately one third of the sites in the three zones will be served by its WipLL base stations and customer premise equipment, which will be installed over the next 18 months. The equipment will operate in the 900MHz and 2.4GHz frequencies. The VSAT equipment will be used to backhaul the traffic from most of the WipLL sites. http://www.airspan.comAirspan is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with its main operations center in Uxbridge, U.K.
