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Weekly UpdatesFlarion Technologies, Bedminster, N.J., the inventor of a flash-OFDM(tm) mobile communications systems for end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP)-based mobile broadband networks, has announced the industry's first successful seamless mobile data handoff between a 802.11b wireless Local Area Network (LAN) and a fully mobile broadband Wide Area Network (WAN). The mobile data handoff demonstrated a real-life scenario where people working on a laptop and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) in an enterprise LAN environment, left the office and drove away in a car experiencing an "always-on" broadband desktop experience in a fully mobile WAN. The car traveled within the range of two intersecting macro cellular sites, reaching highway vehicular speeds.
"I was very impressed by the mobile data handoff demonstration, especially by the ease at which Internet applications could be openly, wirelessly and seamlessly accessed from laptop and PDA devices, while on the move," said Dr. Andrew T. Campbell, a recognized authority on IP and wireless networks, and a professor with Columbia University's Department of Electrical Engineering. "Flarion has built an impressive high-speed wide-area packet radio and router for the wireless IP era. The company is first at showing that true end-to-end IP is indeed possible without making changes to the Internet Protocol or applications that run on top of it."
The mobile data handoff demonstration was conducted in the town of Bedminster, New Jersey, in late November 2001, using off-the-shelf network hardware and software, Flarion flash-OFDM modems, and the Flarion RadioRouter base stations as the air interface.
"This breakthrough addresses two key goals which are critical to the emergence of the mobile data market: mobility and WAN-to-LAN interoperability," said Ray Dolan, president and CEO of Flarion Technologies. "Working together with licensed operators around the world, we can now look forward to the day where broadband access to the Internet can be presumed regardless of time and place."
With flash-OFDM, the desktop experience is mobilized with "always on" connectivity to any laptop, PDA or other IP-enabled device with the simple add-on of a flash-OFDM PC card. The flash-OFDM technology offers the capability of up to 3Megabits-per-second burst speeds, and Quality of Service (QoS) for tiered class-of-service, delivering licensed operators worldwide with the ability to offer profitable mobile data services to mass-market and enterprise customers.
"Wireless network operators are deploying 2.5 and 3G networks. They face challenges in delivering both voice and non-voice services," stated Jane Zweig, CEO of The Shosteck Group, an international telecommunications consultancy based in Wheaton, Maryland. "IP networks are the most efficient for delivering non-voice services. Technology solutions which effectively deliver on the IP proposition will benefit wireless network operators as they move forward."
About Flarion Technologies
Flarion Technologies is mobilizing the Internet with its innovative mobile communications network technology, flash-OFDM(tm). This technology will make seamless mobile broadband access to the Internet truly affordable to the mass market - anytime, anywhere. Flarion's flash-OFDM technology, which originated in Bell Labs, enables mobile operators to profitably offer Internet Protocol (IP)-based broadband services. For mobile operators, Flarion's technology is the lowest subscriber cost of installation and operation of any mobile broadband service in the world. Flarion's RadioRouter(tm) base station product easily overlays onto a mobile operator's existing cell sites and spectrum, and will provide a seamless routing interface to the operator's existing IP network. Flarion's flash-OFDM-based devices allow mobile users to have the same user experience they have on a broadband-wired connection.
Flarion Technologies is based in Bedminster, New Jersey (USA) and now employs approximately 135 people. Investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, Cisco Systems, Equitek Capital, Lucent Technologies' New Ventures Group, Nassau Capital, and Pequot Capital.
For more information, visit http://www.flarion.com or call 408/202-4278.
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