Harris Corporation Announces Contract with Midwest Wireless for ClearBurst 1000 Deployment and ClearBurst 2000 Upgrade
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2000--Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), the largest supplier of microwave communications equipment in North America, announced that Midwest Wireless will deploy the Harris ClearBurst 1000 system at its headquarters site in Mankato, Minnesota. The ClearBurst(TM) system, a point-to-multipoint, LMDS (local multipoint distribution service) system based on adaptive time division duplexing (TDD) technology, will be used to deliver high-speed data to businesses in Mankato. The agreement also provides for Midwest Wireless to upgrade the ClearBurst 1000 with the new generation ClearBurst 2000, coming soon.
"Midwest Wireless is pleased to be trialing high-speed data services and pleased to be working with Harris on the deployment," said Brian Fingerson, vice president of engineering and technology for Midwest Wireless. "We are convinced that the ClearBurst system incorporates the best technology for an LMDS system--it nod only offers high capacity, but also the best in spectrum efficiency the industry has to offer. These technology benefits combined with the tremendous expertise of Harris in network integration and customer support, make us very positive about delivering high speed access services to our customers today." Midwest Wireless will utilize the LMDS system to trial a variety of services, including voice over IP, streaming video, and high-speed Internet access.
The ClearBurst system is the first TDD-based, LMDS system to appear in the market. The benefits of TDD, which has now been recognized as the most appropriate technology for LMDS broadband wireless, include more capacity per megahertz of spectrum, simplified frequency planning, and increased flexibility and scalability in network deployments, all resulting in a higher return on investment for operators.
The ClearBurst 2000, the bigger and faster version of the ClearBurst 1000, is the most advanced LMDS system in the world. It features the industry's fastest modem, highest capacity, greatest flexibility, and is a fully redundant system with carrier-class reliability and quality of service guarantees.
"Midwest Wireless will be the first carrier in the country to deploy the ClearBurst 2000, and the first to benefit from its efficiencies in delivering high-speed services to customers," said Sam Wyman, president of Harris microwave communications division. "The ClearBurst 1000 has already demonstrated the viability of TDD technology, and the ClearBurst 2000 will demonstrate the viability of the complete system in enabling service providers to launch profitable services and build out networks on a large-scale basis. The ClearBurst 2000 is the first LMDS system to come along that has the right feature set and the right price needed to really ignite the market. We are very pleased to be working with Midwest Wireless on this industry-leading installation."
The ClearBurst 2000 will be available in the spring of 2001. The system's patented airlink combines adaptive TDD, TDMA (time division multiple access) and variable index modulation (4, 16, or 64 QAM) to maximize spectral efficiency and provide more throughout per megahertz of spectrum than any other system in the market today. The system supports 20 RF carriers per hub and each carrier has a transport capacity of 180 Mbps, for a total system capacity of 3.6 Gbps. The ClearBurst 2000's high burst rate, the highest in the industry, is a function of the patented airlink technology and very high speed, industry-leading 40 Mbaud modems. The system also supports 20 and 10 Mbaud modems and a variety of channel bandwidths, 12.5 to 56 MHz.
Midwest Wireless is a leading wireless services provider, operating in 68 counties of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, with nearly 180,000 customers. The company is a provider of cellular, digital and local digital services (marketed under the brand names Cellular 2000, ClearlyDigital and Realm respectively). An early pioneer in TDMA digital technology, Midwest Wireless was credited for being the first rural provider in the country to offer two-way e-mail messaging (SMS) between digital phones and other devices. In addition to LMDS, Midwest Wireless is currently exploring a multitude of other telecommunications services and conducting research to determine their benefits to consumers.
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) is an international communications equipment company providing product, system, and service solutions for wireless, broadcast, network support, and government markets. The Microwave Communications Division, one of five divisions within Harris Corporation, is the largest supplier of microwave systems in North America. The division delivers wireless solutions to telecom service providers of all types, and its product line--the broadest in the industry--covers frequency bands up to 42 GHz. Harris has sales and service facilities in nearly 90 countries. |
