Wilan Wins An AwardFriday April 26, 9:10 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN Wins Prestigious APEGGA Project Achievement Award For W-OFDM Based BWS-3000 Series Products
CALGARY, CANADA--Products Demonstrate Outstanding Engineering Skills and a Substantial Contribution to Technical Progress and the Betterment of Society
Wi-LAN Inc. (TSE:WIN - news), a global innovator of high-speed wireless data/Internet communications, is pleased to announce that the company has received the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) Project Achievement Award for its BWS 3500 Project, which resulted in the W-OFDM based BWS 3000 Series products. The award recognized the project for demonstrating outstanding engineering skills and representing a substantial contribution to technical progress and the betterment of society.
"We are thrilled to receive this award from our peers in APEGGA and thank the selection committee for this honour," said Dr. Sayed-Amr El-Hamamsy, Chief Operating Officer, Wi-LAN Inc. "The BWS 3500 project resulted in a product series that is the first commercial implementation of Wi-LAN's patented W-OFDM technology. This project represents a quantum leap beyond where the broadband fixed wireless industry was when we began the project in 2000."
For service providers offering broadband wireless access, the BWS 3000 Series offers superior multipath robustness, improved non-line of sight (NLOS) performance and high spectral efficiency, which translates into more customers per cell-site, maximum usage of valuable licensed spectrum and higher effective data transmission rates. Operating at an unprecedented throughput of up to 192 megabits per second per six-sector cell, and with a transmission range up to an estimated 40 kilometers, Wi-LAN's BWS 3000 Series includes access points and customer premises equipment, and can be used in broadband access applications alone or in combination with wired alternatives. Using a cellular network design, Wi-LAN's solution can easily serve a growing customer base. Network cells can be expanded quickly and cost effectively. By starting small and expanding, network operators experience early profits.
The current hardware is capable of supporting several generations of enhancement to the system software. Features such as quality of service, voice-over-IP, video services and additional network management features are being made available, as the market requires, via over-the-air software upgrades. Also, current products will have a migration path to future products based on the emerging IEEE 802.16a (North America) and ETSI BRAN HyperMAN (European and international) standards.
The BWS 3000 Series, which includes the BWS 3500 products, is offered in 3.5 MHz, 7 MHz and 14 MHz channel widths, in various frequencies covering the worldwide 3.5 GHz licensed spectrum. The series meets the needs of service providers who have obtained spectrum licenses from government licensing bodies in more than 40 countries worldwide.
The W-OFDM Advantage
W-OFDM is a variation of OFDM that further improves its characteristics. The signal reception is corrected for distortions, allowing greater transmission speeds, and the signal is processed to maximize the range and multipath resistance. W-OFDM allows lower-power, multipoint radio frequency (RF) networks to be implemented, minimizing interference with adjacent networks.
W-OFDM effectively permits several independent channels to operate within the same frequency band, allowing multipoint networks and point-to-point backbone systems to be overlaid on one another. Less disruption of adjacent users and insensitivity to external noise means that high-speed multipoint data networks can be simply and rapidly deployed. These systems are tolerant of changes in the RF environment, limiting maintenance requirements, and the systems can be easily and economically expanded to meet the service provider's growing business.
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN is a global innovator in the field of high-speed wireless data communications, specializing in high-speed Internet access, LAN/WAN extension and broadband wireless access. Wi-LAN is the Chair Company of the OFDM Forum (www.ofdm-forum.com). Wi-LAN believes its W-OFDM patent is necessary for the implementation of devices using the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g or ETSI BRAN HiperLAN/2 standards. Wi-LAN's products are known worldwide for their high quality and industry-leading technology. Wi-LAN's common shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WIN." Detailed information on Wi-LAN can be found at www.wi-lan.com