Mobile Broadband Wireless Solution Selected for State of Rio De Janeiro Wi-Fi Pilot

GO Networks, a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc., today announced that the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will pilot GO Networks' Mobile Broadband Wireless Wi-Fi solution in the city of Paraty. The pilot will help local authorities determine the range, quality and price-performance requirements for municipal wireless broadband networks in cities throughout Brazil. The pilot will require the deployment of GO Networks' MBW 2100 Micro and MBW 1100 Pico Cellular-Mesh Wi-Fi base stations which utilize the company's advanced xRFTM adaptive beamforming smart-antenna technology to deliver superior network performance."The proven flexibility, quality, and performance of GO Networks' smart-antenna, wireless-mesh Wi-Fi technology is ideal to meet the needs of Brazil's municipalities," said Rafael Steinhauser, president of NextWave Wireless - Latin America. "We are excited by the opportunity to work on this very important pilot. GO Networks' global knowledge and experience in implementing highly capable and cost-effective wireless broadband solutions will play a big part in the success of this trial and in future deployments in cities throughout Brazil."

Overall coordination for the trial, called Paraty Digital, will be managed by PRODERJ, the information technology organization for the state of Rio de Janeiro. PRODERJ will be responsible for providing a public internet service through the Rio state data communications network (Infovia RJ), will establish a customer telecenter, and will develop tourist information kiosks that utilize the new wireless network. NextWave will build and configure the core network using GO Networks equipment for Wi-Fi gateways and base stations. The municipality of Paraty will be responsible for on-site equipment at government centers linked to the project, and provide logistical support for implementation of the new networks.

"Paraty Digital is an ambitious project, and is an important step toward realizing our goal of enabling the first Brazilian state to become 100 percent digital," said Tereza Porto, president of PRODERJ. "Each of our partners brings exceptional skills to the project. NextWave's global experience and range of leading-edge capabilities in wireless broadband technology will help make our goal achievable."

Photo: Panorama of Paraty and its mountain setting by Ricardo. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.