Spectrum Bridge, Inc. has announced a partnership with Carlson Wireless to expand adoption of TV White Spaces, in order to meet the growing demand for broadband coverage across rural America, according to the company.
Spectrum Bridge and Carlson are working together to provide wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) with the solutions and services necessary to reach "last mile" customers in areas that are geographically unsuitable for deploying fixed or fiber-based broadband services.
Carlson's RuralConnect products are designed to address the specific needs of the WISP, by harnessing the non-line of sight (NLOS) capabilities of TV White Space frequency bands to deliver speeds comparable to traditional wireless networks (up to 16Mbps in the current generation). Spectrum Bridge will provide guidance to Carlson during the FCC-certification process for RuralConnect and future products and services. In addition, Carlson will be distributing a new solution developed by Spectrum Bridge to give network operators unrivaled spectrum management capabilities.
Over the last year, Carlson has deployed this breakthrough technology in the most rugged parts of the U.S., bringing connectivity to remote communities, schools and public safety entities and implementing immediate improvements in the quality of life for residents.
"Many parts of the country and the world lack high-speed broadband access, due to the physical limitations of traditional wireless network technology," said Rod Dir, CEO of Spectrum Bridge. "Carlson has been one of the staunchest advocates for rural broadband deployment in the U.S., and we are proud to partner with them as they pave the way in delivering solutions to this underserved market with TV White Spaces."
The unique propagation of this new frequency spectrum allows NLOS wireless communication and wide geographical coverage, even in remote or rugged terrain. Businesses and agencies will benefit greatly from this new digital infrastructure for mission critical communications, asset tracking, telemetry, traffic control, and smart grid monitoring. Additionally, this technology is the first to use Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, simultaneously overcoming the existing scarcity of spectrum and other pervasive limitations of legacy wireless communication systems.
The FCC and the federal government have recognized that the availability of broadband is a vital component of global competition. The National Broadband Plan was established with the goal of increasing the affordability of and access to broadband Internet and mobile services. Spectrum Bridge is dedicated to working with partners like Carlson to create innovative technology capable of managing and harnessing TV white space and other wireless frequencies worldwide.
"Spectrum Bridge has been at the forefront of fostering the development of TV White Space technologies," said Jim Carlson, CEO of Carlson. "This strategic partnership fills an acute market need by supplying performance-proven equipment to service providers so that they can deliver affordable TVWS broadband to underserved residential customers, businesses and communities."