Fiberlink First to Integrate Broadband Wireless EV-DO Technology into an Intelligent Access Client for Mobile Workers14 May 2005
Fiberlink Communications Corp., a leading innovator and trusted enterprise partner for secure mobile workforce solutions, today announced it will ship the industry's first broadband wireless service as part of a full array of security and access solutions. The wireless technology, known as CDMA EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) offers connection speeds many times faster than a modem and most competing wide-area wireless technologies. The integration of EV-DO in Fiberlink's Extend360(TM) software is the result of close partnerships with wireless card manufacturers and a major wireless carrier and Fiberlink, who will make the technology available to enterprises across North America.
Mobile workers stand to gain huge business advantages from having flexible access to their corporate network depending on their changing work environments. At times Wi-Fi technology may be too short-range or dial-up too slow to handle mobile computing tasks. The addition of EV-DO marks a significant upgrade to Fiberlink's "All Access" service plan, bundling Fiberlink's Extend 360(TM) software, various access technologies including unlimited EV-DO, Wi-Fi, dial-up, hotel broadband and a Sierra Wireless AirCard(R) 580 wireless wide area network card.
With the new service, Fiberlink's customers will be able to use the fastest wide-area wireless technology commercially available today in the U.S., providing up to 2.4 Mbps peak download data rates(1) over wide-area wireless networks. The technology represents a significant advance for mobile workers who need fast, secure access to corporate networks while traveling. The fast, seamless service will change the way employees work, freeing them from tightly clustered Wi-Fi hot spots and sluggish cellular and dial-up connections. EV-DO is commercially available in 30 major U.S. markets and is rapidly expanding nationwide. In areas where EV-DO is not available, Fiberlink's customers will be able to get connected using a nationwide 1xRTT data network.
"We are already seeing the relevance and impact of Fiberlink's new, fully-managed EV-DO service to the enterprise mobile workforce as significant as the introduction of wired broadband was for home dial-up Internet users. The incorporation of EV-DO into Fiberlink's service offering dramatically increases the efficiency and productivity of the mobile workforce interacting with corporate LAN-based enterprise applications," said Billy Stephens, vice president of Product Management. "By adding EV-DO wide-area wireless to our portfolio of software and services, Fiberlink extends its leadership position in the secure mobile workforce solutions industry."
The Sierra Wireless AirCard 580 is a Type II PC Card that offers "always-on" connectivity over a CDMA 1xEVDO or 1xRTT network, allowing users to work productively while away from the office or on the road. With seamless support for a wide variety of devices and operating systems, the AirCard 580 supports data transfer rates averaging 400 to 600 kilobits per second (kbps) with peak rates of up to 2.4 megabits per second (Mbps). The AirCard 580 functions as a wireless modem with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) connectivity. This card allows users to connect to the Internet, send and receive e-mail, and connect to a corporate network (VPN) without the need of a network cable or phone line.
Fiberlink is the only service provider to offer EV-DO wireless broadband network connectivity alongside a complete set of wired and wireless access options. Extend360(TM) gives Fiberlink customers a single solution that offers a diverse means of access for end-users while minimizing the enterprise IT department's cost to configure, deploy and manage remote access services.
Pricing and Availability
Fiberlink will make the EV-DO wireless broadband service available to new and existing customers as part of several promotional bundles, which include:
-- "All Access" Plan -- A flat rate for unlimited access to any and all of the networks Fiberlink provides: EV-DO, Wi-Fi, dial-up, wired broadband, hotel broadband and ISDN.
-- "Embrace it" Plan -- A pay-as-you-go plan that provides access to all networks and allows end-users to experience wireless wide-area technologies without requiring the enterprise to make large investments.
The EV-DO service will be offered on a stand-alone basis or and as part of an enterprise service plan. Exact pricing depends on the number of users, length of the contract and service set.
(1) Maximum possible speed varies. It declines with distance from cell site and is limited to 1.54 Mbps at certain cell sites with backhaul limitations. Number of users on the network may also affect maximum possible speed. Average download speeds expected to be between 400-600 Kbps. Average upload speeds expected to be between 40-60 Kbps. Speed claim based on our network tests with 5 MB FTP data files, without compression. Actual throughput speed and coverage vary.
About Fiberlink
Fiberlink provides the software and services that enable enterprises to securely mobilize their workforces and strike the best balance of user productivity and IT control. More than 800,000 mobile workers have relied on Fiberlink's ubiquitous Wi-Fi, wide-area wireless, broadband and/or dial-up solutions for "no-hassle" access to e-mail, data and other network-based resources. Fiberlink's mobile workforce solutions go beyond basic network connectivity to ensure IT organizations have total control over the myriad security threats, compliance policies and cost concerns that are often associated with mobile computing. Gartner, Yankee Group and Burton Group consistently recognize Fiberlink as an innovative leader in mobile and remote access solutions. Fiberlink customers include Continental Airlines, Grant Thornton and Targus Group International. Headquartered in Blue Bell, Pa., Fiberlink has offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Additional information about Fiberlink is available at www.fiberlink.com.
(C) 2005 Fiberlink and the Fiberlink logo are trademarks of Fiberlink and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other brand names are trademarks of their respective partners.
Contacts
Fiberlink
Susan Sutton, 215-664-1753
ssutton@fiberlink.com
or
A&R Partners (for Fiberlink)
James Boike, 212-905-6157
jboike@arpartners.com
Source: Business Wire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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