Nortel announced commercial availability of Nortel WLAN Cable Access Point 6220, a wireless local area network product specifically designed for the cable market. This product allows cable operators to provide access to secure high-speed Internet and network services at ‘hotspots’ in public locations and residential neighborhoods.
“Cable operators are looking to bring to market new service bundles that include innovative services such as hotspots in order to win customer loyalty and build deeper relationships with subscribers,” said Lindsay Schroth, senior analyst of Broadband Access Technologies, Yankee Group. “Nortel’s WLAN solution enables hotspot service and gives cable operators a fast, low-cost alternative for delivering high speed data service to new business customers by eliminating the time, permits, and construction costs with traditional cable deployments.”
Hotspots, which can significantly increase productivity of businesses and consumers, allow users to access network services throughout the community in places like restaurants, university campuses, airports and train stations. WLAN Cable Access Point 6220 gives cable operators a cost-effective way to establish hotspots and generate new revenue opportunities by allowing people to access the network either as cable subscribers or by paying access fees.
“Wireless LAN technology offers cable operators an efficient way to deliver hotspot services beyond a subscriber’s home, extending access to the network as well as the connection between operator and consumer,” said Dan Mondor, general manager, Global Cable Solutions, Nortel. “We are bringing to market another powerful cable solution that gives operators the reliability, scalability and security needed to deliver differentiated service offerings and aggressively compete in this market. The flexibility to offer hotspot or high speed data services to business and consumers, without compromising network or end-user security, is a real-world example of Nortel’s commitment to develop solutions and products that address the needs of cable operators and lay the foundation of success for our customers.”
In addition to hotspot service, the WLAN Cable Access Point 6220 can be configured to deliver secure high speed data service to businesses in areas currently difficult to service because of distance from the network or challenges to installing cable.
In a high-speed data service deployment, the solution consists of three components: a strand-mounted Access Point (APU) Unit; a Corporate Services Unit (CSU) that receives wireless signals from the APU; and a choice of directional or omni-directional antennas. When in hotspot mode, users connect directly to the Access Point Unit using Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops and PDAs.
Nortel’s solutions are designed to help cable operators drive new revenue opportunities and reduce operating costs. Nortel’s comprehensive, integrated cable solutions span video and video on-demand, voice and multimedia communications, high-speed data services, managed network services for business customers, and next generation access.
Nortel continues to execute on its three commitments to the cable service provider market – new product development geared specifically to cable applications; commitment to the technology and standards organizations that serve the cable industry; and implementing real-world solutions that address the fundamental business and networking challenges of cable operators.
The Wireless LAN Cable Access Point 6220 complements Nortel’s existing end-to-end wireless solutions from the service provider to the enterprise, including wireless mesh, WLAN and core cellular technologies. In addition, Nortel has designed, installed and launched more than 300 wireless networks in over 50 countries across the globe and is the only end-to-end provider of all next generation wireless solutions.