Airspan Announces Air4G 1.8 GHz Base Station for Smart Grid

Airspan Networks Inc., a leading provider of broadband wireless access networks, announced today the introduction of Air4G, for the 1.8 GHz frequency band. Air4G supports both 4G WiMAX and 4G LTE radio interfaces in an extremely compact, all-in-one base station, allowing utilities to minimize operational expenses while maximizing capacity and range.

The Air4G family covers an extensive range of frequencies and is now augmented by the 1.8 GHz product to specifically address the needs of Canadian Utilities who have dedicated access to the 1.8 GHz band which the government allocated to them for building Smart Grid networks.

Air4G is an ideal platform for utility applications in difficult deployment areas, as it combines powerful 2 x10W transmitters and 4 receiver chains, delivering up to fourth order diversity on the downlink and eighth order diversity on the uplink. This enables the product to support a range of Smart Grid applications, such as direct-to-the-meter AMI, AMI backhaul, SCADA, Teleprotection and Distribution Automation.

Air4G's unique abilities include the support for dual-mode WiMAX and LTE operation permitting utilities planning to transition their networks to LTE, to move at their own pace. With a compact, all-outdoor design, Air4G is designed for quick, easy and affordable deployment meeting tight time and cost requirements. Air4G is ruggedized and able to withstand harsh weather and environmental conditions.

In addition to the Air4G 1.8 GHz base station, Airspan has also introduced a variety of WiMAX 1.8 GHz end-user devices including the MiMAX-Pro outdoor CPE, the MRT, a hardened mobile radio terminal designed for vehicle mounting, and an advanced 802.16e embedded multi-band module.

"One of Airspan's differentiating strengths is the wide variety of bands our equipment operates in," said Amit Ancikovsky, President of Products and Sales for Airspan. "The addition of the 1.8 GHz band allows us to target a range of new customers in places like Canada. Canadian utilities will now be able to incorporate direct-to-meter connectivity currently being used with the Air4G base stations in other bands, such as 2.3 GHz in Australia."

Air4G operates in frequency bands ranging from 700 MHz up to 3.8 GHz, and supports both FDD and TDD duplexing. Air4G is on display at UTC Telecom 2011 show in Long Beach until May 12 in Booth 342.

source: marketwire