Redline Communications (www.rdlcom.com) Group Inc. (TSX: RDL), a leading provider of wide-area wireless networks for the most challenging applications and locations, and its customer, ABC Communications, a wireless Internet service provider (WISP), have announced the successful deployment of Redline’s Virtual Fiber™ wireless broadband system that bridges the Digital Divide for residential customers in rural British Columbia.
The Digital Divide is the gap in availability of high-speed Internet access between residences and businesses in urban areas, and those in under-served or un-served rural areas.
“We’re reaching customers who up to now have very poor or no Internet access at all,” says Falko Kadenbach, ABC Communications’ vice-president.
“We established connectivity with Redline’s wireless broadband system operating in television white space (TVWS) frequencies at 536-544 MHz (channels 25, 26, 27) under a developmental licence from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).
“With radios operating in these low-band frequencies, we are able to make strong connections between the base station and subscriber units in many cases without a line of sight over rolling hills and through foliage at long distances.”
The company’s initial deployment is in the Burns Lake. The company plans to expand the network to reach another 100 homes in the area.
The TVWS system consists of a single Redline RDL-3000 XP Ellipse base station programmed in the TVWS frequencies and mounted at 100 feet on a tower. The Ellipse radio is equipped with a 90-degree 12 dBi sector antenna that provides connections to Redline Edge subscriber units installed at 20 homes within a 15- to 20-kilometre radius. Depending on the subscriber location and the service package selected, ABC can deliver download speeds up to 15 megabits per second (Mbps), Kadenbach adds. “TVWS is very new in Canada as a frequency available to WISPs. We spoke to Redline about their product and decided to ask ISED for a developmental licence to conduct this test.
“We believe that this spectrum will allow Canadian WISPs to offer innovative services that reach further and through more foliage than ever before, and as a Canadian company, Redline is leading the way with innovative Canadian products for Canadian broadband projects.”
The Redline team and our partner Alliance Corporation are pleased to support ABC Communications in implementing this important project, says Jeff Gould, Redline senior vice-president.
“Redline is committed to working with WISPs like ABC Communications to extend wireless broadband services into rural areas throughout Canada and close the Digital Divide. Our TVWS product line is purpose-built to deliver reliable, competitive and profitable solutions with superior performance.”
About ABC Communications
Founded originally as a supplier of office telephone systems in 1989, ABC Communications was one of the first companies to offer internet services in British Columbia.
With a head office still based in Quesnel, this family-owned business has grown into B.C.’s largest privately-held telecommunications solution provider.
ABC’s private network includes more than 175 broadband broadcast sites across the province, stretching from the United States border to Northern B.C. ABC’s fibre backbone links over 30 cities to network centres in Prince George and Vancouver.
For more information, please visit www.abccommunications.com.
About Redline Communications
Redline Communications (www.rdlcom.com) is the creator of powerful wide-area wireless networks for the most challenging applications and locations.
Used by oil and gas companies to manage their assets, municipalities to remotely monitor highways, utilities and other infrastructures, and telecom service providers to deliver premium services, Redline’s powerful and versatile networks reliably and securely deliver voice, data, machine-to-machine (M2M)/Internet of Things (IoT) and video communications.
For more information visit www.rdlcom.com.
