Press Releases

SkyPilot Named Technology Market Leader in Municipal Wi-Fi Mesh Networking

New Yankee Group Report Positions SkyPilot Networks as "Greatest Technical Versatility" Vendor for Metro-scale, Municipal Wi-Fi Mesh Networks

Santa Clara, February 14, 2006 - SkyPilot Networks, the leading provider of carrier-class broadband wireless mesh networks, today announced it has been ranked by Yankee Group as a leader in Technical Versatility among Wi-Fi mesh vendors. In its February 2006 report titled Myths and
Realities of Wi-Fi Mesh Networking, Yankee Group compares SkyPilot's solution to other mesh networking vendors, including Tropos, Cisco, Motorola, Nortel, Strix, and BelAir.

Wireless mesh infrastructure has become a cost-effective way for service providers and municipalities to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver broadband access for public Wi-Fi HotZones, localized content, community services, and public safety applications. "Mesh networking addresses two issues that are critical in rendering metropolitan-wide Wi-Fi deployments practical: covering a large area (relative to conventional Wi-Fi) with each access point and providing cost-effective backhaul using the wireless meshing techniques," said Roberta Wiggins, Wireless/Mobile Technologies Research Fellow at the Yankee Group. "SkyPilot's architecture has several differentiating characteristics that can take scalability and performance to the next level. Unlike its competitors, it uses synchronous protocols to create a 5 GHz directional and deterministic mesh with integrated backhaul. The synchronous design could also enable an easier migration path to WiMAX mesh networking."

In addition to serving a municipality's needs for Wi-Fi public access, SkyPilot also offers licensed 4.9 GHz products that address their public safety requirements. The SkyExtender DualBand offers a cost-effective means to deploy ubiquitous, multi-frequency coverage by integrating 802.11b/g access point functionality with long-range 4.9 or 5 GHz mesh backhaul, thereby boosting network capacity and providing a multi-use network. SkyPilot has been deployed in over 40 countries by 180 service providers. This includes a leading domestic customer, Mountain View, CA-based MetroFi, which has built more than 40-square-miles of municipal Wi-Fi mesh networks in Silicon Valley.

Next Generation Mesh Architecture for Metro-Scale Networks

The SkyPilot system enables customers to quickly and flexibly deploy and manage a wireless mesh network. In order to consistently deliver high performance and low latency throughput for voice and data services, SkyPilot combines an intelligent, high-power antenna array with an enhanced synchronous WiMAX-like protocol and GPS coordination, to provide system-wide link management, mesh routing, quality of service (QoS) and sophisticated networking features. By combining these technologies, SkyPilot meets the needs of large-scale, multi- service wireless
municipal networks now being deployed.

Yankee Group noted these same requirements in its report with the observation that ".today's multi-radio systems more closely match the requirements laid out in recent municipal proposals." The report goes on to cite other advantages of third-generation solutions, including more modular designs based on open standards, increased mitigation of interference in the unlicensed spectrums, and utilization of the licensed 4.9 GHz spectrum for access/backhaul in public safety applications. The result is greater flexibility, reliability, scalability and upgradeability
over previous generations of mesh technology, according to Yankee Group.

“"Being recognized by Yankee Group as a technology leader in Wi-Fi mesh networking is a considerable achievement," commented Bob Machlin, president and CEO of SkyPilot. "This supports SkyPilot's technology advantage in providing multi-use, metro-scale Wi-Fi mesh networks - with the highest performance, reliability and security customers expect."

Download a complimentary copy of the full Yankee Group report here.

About SkyPilot Networks
SkyPilot Networks is the leading provider of carrier-class wireless broadband mesh networks that enable service providers and municipalities to rapidly deploy cost-effective broadband Internet access, voice over IP, public access Wi-Fi service , and video surveillance. The SkyPilot solution offers quick time-to-revenue and a compelling return-on-investment by extending reach, routing around obstacles, and increasing deployment flexibility, thereby dramatically reducing equipment
and operating costs. The SkyPilot products provide a highly scalable and reliable wireless mesh backhaul with a choice of CPE or Wi-Fi access. SkyPilot is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum™ and 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.