Press Releases
SkyPilot Debuts SkyAccess DualBand
"Mesh Edge" Product Lowers Cost of Municipal Wi-Fi Deployments
Santa Clara, CA — March 12, 2007 — SkyPilot Networks, the leading provider of carrier-class broadband wireless mesh networks, today launched the SkyAccess DualBand, a low-cost dual-radio product designed to complement SkyPilot's existing line of citywide Wi-Fi products. With one radio dedicated to the SyncMesh™ backhaul and a second radio providing Wi-Fi access, the SkyAccess DualBand's architecture is similar to SkyPilot's flagship product, the SkyExtender DualBand. In contrast, the SkyAccess DualBand does not extend the mesh but resides at the "mesh edge" as the last hop of the mesh network. With the SkyAccess DualBand implemented as the last hop, capital expenditures for a citywide Wi-Fi deployment can be reduced by up to 33 percent.
"The SkyAccess DualBand allows service providers and municipalities to significantly reduce capital expenditures for large-scale Wi-Fi deployments," said Brian Jenkins, vice president of product management for SkyPilot. "Since a last-hop mesh node doesn't need to repeat the wireless signal, we designed the SkyAccess DualBand to provide the same Wi-Fi performance and coverage but at a lower cost, helping improve the return on investment (ROI) for municipal wireless networks."
The SkyAccess DualBand offers service providers a cost-effective way to build out their mesh network and fill in Wi-Fi coverage holes. With the SkyAccess DualBand, SkyPilot strengthens its commitment to offering solutions for scaling network capacity and mitigating interference. The dual-radio design delivers scalable Wi-Fi access without contending with the backhaul, while the highly directional backhaul antenna effectively lessens interference throughout the mesh.
"As a service provider building out citywide Wi-Fi networks, we carefully consider the impact that capital expenditures have on our business model," said Jim McKenna, president and CEO of RedZone Wireless. "The price point of the SkyAccess DualBand allows us to fill in the coverage gaps and expand the reach of our overall service area without breaking our budget. The increased service area improves our revenue-to-capital ratio and greatly enhances our overall return on investment with the SkyPilot network."
Key features of the SkyAccess DualBand include:
- A mesh backhaul component that operates in the 4.9-5.8 GHz frequency band and uses a high-power (400 mW / 26 dBm) radio and high-gain (16 dBi) directional antenna to provide high modulation rates over long distances (up to 7.5 miles / 12 kilometers) to an upstream mesh node.
- SkyPilot’s patent-pending SyncMesh protocol is used in the mesh backhaul to synchronize and coordinate mesh transmissions to increase overall capacity and mitigate self-interference.
- A Wi-Fi access point that operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequency band and uses a high-power (400 mW / 26 dBm) radio and high-gain (7.4 dBi) omnidirectional antenna to provide IEEE 802.11b/g support to Wi-Fi clients such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)/dual-mode phones.
- An integrated Ethernet port for connecting devices such as video surveillance cameras, automated meter reading (AMR) transceivers and telemetry equipment.
- An optional light pole mounting bracket with photoelectric connector.
The SkyAccess DualBand is available in a variety of configurations of backhaul frequencies in the 4.9-5.8 GHz spectrum. It has enough transmit power control to meet both high-power Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and lower-power European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) regulations for 2.4 GHz operation through a simple software setting. All SkyAccess DualBand configurations and have a list price of $1,799 and are available through SkyPilot's distributors.
About SkyPilot Networks
SkyPilot Networks is the leading provider of carrier-class wireless
mesh solutions that enable service providers, municipalities, and
public safety agencies to rapidly deploy cost-effective broadband
access, voice over IP, public and private Wi-Fi access, video surveillance,
and other wireless applications. The SkyPilot solution utilizes a
patent-pending synchronous mesh architecture with high-speed switched
directional antenna arrays that extends reach, mitigates interference,
and maximizes spectral reuse. The result is a highly scalable, reliable,
and deterministic mesh network that simplifies design, increases deployment
flexibility, and dramatically reduces equipment and operating costs.
SkyPilot has proven scalability and reliability with over 300 customers
in more than 50 countries. SkyPilot is a privately held company based
in Santa Clara, California. For more information on SkyPilot and its
solutions, contact pr@skypilot.com
or visit http://www.skypilot.com.
