Here is an interesting release, fresh for the day.
OTTAWA, Aug. 19 /CNW/ - MaxLink Communications Inc, following a meeting
of its Board of Directors held today in Ottawa at which it reviewed its field
operations, announced the Company has recently signed purchase orders for
delivery and deployment by Newbridge Networks of the first commercial Local
Multipoint Communication System (LMCS) network in Canada.
The orders and network deployment follow extensive collaborative design
and successful operation of voice, video and data services of the type to be
offered by MaxLink in its licensed areas, which cover 33 cities, including
Montreal, Ottawa-Hull and Calgary. The network represents an investment by
MaxLink of over $400 million over the next four years.
''MaxLink's LMCS services will provide the market with competitive and
advanced very high speed local telecommunications services, using wireless,
which can be used for voice, data and video, as the customer requires,'' said
Joel Bell, Deputy Chairman, MaxLink. ''Our LMCS can do everything that fiber
can do, at competitive prices. MaxLink initiated activities with Newbridge,
and we have been working together for over a year on design, technical and
services testing. The product is now ready, and we are moving on to the
operating phase.''
''Newbridge is proud to bring this exciting technology to Canada through
its close collaboration with MaxLink,'' said Terence Matthews, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, Newbridge Networks. ''Global licensing of broadband
wireless spectrum is leading to extensive opportunities to apply the Newbridge
solution in countries throughout the world.''
Canada was one of the first countries to license broadband spectrum for
two-way services. Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) auctions,
completed in the US in March, 1998, have made 28 GHz band spectrum available
there nationwide. Spectrum has also been allocated, or is under consideration,
in South America, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
Canadian Industry Minister, The Honourable John Manley said: ''The
announcement made by MaxLink and Newbridge demonstrates progress on our
telecommunications policy objectives of introducing competition, stimulating
innovation and fostering the development of industrial ability in Canada in
this rapidly growing sector which can generate many high quality job
opportunities for this country.''
Mr. Seymour Epstein, Chairman of MaxLink, commented: ''Based on our
experience to date with trial services, our shareholders are very
enthusiastic. We are pleased with our relationship with Newbridge in this
activity.''
MaxLink Communications Inc. is a consortium organized to develop and
operate new local telecommunications services. It is licensed in Canada to
provide a range of competitive voice and high speed wireless serrvices through
the use of 28GHz radio frequencies. The consortium members are: Joel Bell;
Stephen R. Bronfman, through Claridge (SRB) Inc.; Capital Communications CDPQ
Inc.; Seymour Epstein; James D. Meekison with Robert Bradshaw; Soci‚t‚ Gasbeau
Inc.; and US Wavelink Telecommunications Inc.
Newbridge Networks (NYSE: NN; TSE: NNC) designs, manufactures, markets
and services networking solutions to organizations in more than 100 countries.
Newbridge leverages its relationship with 16 Newbridge Affiliate companies and
strategic alliances with Siemens and 3Com Corporation to deliver seamless,
end-to-end solutions. Newbridge customers include the world's 250 largest
telecommunications service providers and more than 10,000 corporations,
government organizations and other institutions. Founded in 1986, the Company
employs more than 6,000 people on five continents. News and information are
available at www.newbridge.com.
Background
----------
The announcement of the first commercial LMCS (known as LMDS in the
United States and the rest of the world) network is the result of many months
of collaboration between the two companies who have developed and designed the
network for the provisioning of competitive and advanced local voice, data and
video services.
LMCS/LMDS refer to high frequency broadband wireless systems operating in
the 28 GHz band, licensed to deliver data, Internet, voice, video, and
multimedia services to business and residential customers. MaxLink has been
working on these applications since 1996 and approached Newbridge Networks to
collaborate in the design of a network and the equipment for this purpose. The
two companies have carried out extensive design, field testing and trial
operation of services to confirm the best approach for launching new
competitive local service.
Recently, the companies signed the first purchase orders providing for
the delivery and launch of services in MaxLink's first market locations.
MaxLink's initial trial network consists of three cells (wireless
coverage areas). All employ Newbridge's advanced broadband wireless
multiservices architecture. One base station, located across the Ottawa River
in Hull, Quebec, provides coverage of the commercial downtown Ottawa core and
the City of Hull. At the second base station, two sectors are currently
deployed to cover both downtown and the central west area of Ottawa. The third
cell consists of two sectors, with the base station currently servicing the
east end of Ottawa.
The network uses asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a communications
standard that enables the simultaneous delivery of high speed, high quality,
data, Internet, voice, video and multimedia services. Newbridge Networks, a
recognized global leader in ATM technology, was the first manufacturer to
develop solutions for extending full ATM capabilities into the broadband
wireless environment.
At the radio base stations, the MainStreetXpress(TM) 36170 enables
MaxLink to extend broadband capabilities associated with a fiber network into
the wireless environment. Point to multipoint transmitters collocated with
their associated receivers provide full 2-way services over the air. 90 degree
sectorization of the integrated base station antennas maximizes frequency
reuse (to increase spectrum efficiency) for the initial stages of the
deployment. MaxLink is able to centrally manage and monitor the entire network
using the MainStreetXpress 46020 network and service management system.
At the customer premises, Newbridge has provided both the outdoor
integrated transceivers and the indoor Network interface Units (NIUs) with
interfaces to a range of in-building connections enabling MaxLink to deliver
high speed Internet access, data services, telephone traffic, and
videoconferencing. A customer premise site located in downtown Ottawa serves
as a public showcase for the network, allowing MaxLink to demonstrate the
broad range of service delivery options available. A mobile customer premise
site measures the strength and quality of signals throughout the coverage
areas, in preparation for further customer premise installations.
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