"We are excited to be offering everything from dial-up replacement to fully portable high speed broadband wireless access," said Paul Joncas, president and CEO, MegaBroadband. "At our price points, customers will find this a very attractive alternative to traditional DSL or cable."

MegaBroadband's initial network will support up to 3000 users with expansion plans to serve over 10,000 in the area. Navini's non-line-of-sight (NLOS) technology offers tremendous deployment and scalability advantages to achieve these goals.

For MegaBroadband customers, the development of the 2.3GHz spectrum opens the door for very high speed portable connectivity now at a lower price, with VoIP in the near term.

This commercial launch is highly significant given the regulatory constraints and timeframe restrictions imposed by the FCC on this band. Carriers owning 2.3GHz WCS spectrum must commercially deploy by mid-2007 or risk losing rights to the WCS Spectrum that they have invested millions in acquiring. The time restrictions are thus met since the technology is available today.

"Navini Networks is excited to be part of the first U.S. commercial 2.3GHz WCS network," said Roger Dorf, president and chief executive officer of Navini Networks. "And Navini's equipment will ensure that MegaBroadband is correctly positioned for the future with a commercially viable upgrade path to WiMAX 802.16e."

"We look forward to a bright future, working with Navini and MegaBroadband, and others, in the development of the 2.3GHz WCS spectrum and WiMAX," said Malcolm Walsh, president of BalRivgam.

"With our unique technology, we hope to enable other 2.3GHz WCS operators to roll out commercial service in that band," added Dorf. "Navini Networks is making that possible today."

By Robert Hoskins

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