"The SkyAccess DualBand allows service providers and municipalities to significantly reduce capital expenditures for large-scale Wi-Fi deployments," said Brian Jenkins, vice president of product management for SkyPilot. "Since a last-hop mesh node doesn't need to repeat the wireless signal, we designed the SkyAccess DualBand to provide the same Wi-Fi performance and coverage but at a lower cost, helping improve the return on investment (ROI) for municipal wireless networks."
The SkyAccess DualBand offers service providers a cost-effective way to build out their mesh network and fill in Wi-Fi coverage holes. With the SkyAccess DualBand, SkyPilot strengthens its commitment to offering solutions for scaling network capacity and mitigating interference. The dual-radio design delivers scalable Wi-Fi access without contending with the backhaul, while the highly directional backhaul antenna effectively lessens interference throughout the mesh.
"As a service provider building out citywide Wi-Fi networks, we carefully consider the impact that capital expenditures have on our business model," said Jim McKenna, president and CEO of RedZone Wireless. "The price point of the SkyAccess DualBand allows us to fill in the coverage gaps and expand the reach of our overall service area without breaking our budget. The increased service area improves our revenue-to-capital ratio and greatly enhances our overall return on investment with the SkyPilot network."
Key features of the SkyAccess DualBand include:
* A mesh backhaul component that operates in the 4.9-5.8 GHz frequency band and uses a high-power (400 mW / 26 dBm) radio and high-gain (16 dBi) directional antenna to provide high modulation rates over long distances (up to 7.5 miles / 12 kilometers) to an upstream mesh node.
* A Wi-Fi access point that operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequency band and uses a high-power (400 mW / 26 dBm) radio and high-gain (7.4 dBi) omnidirectional antenna to provide IEEE 802.11b/g support to Wi-Fi clients such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)/dual-mode phones.
* An integrated Ethernet port for connecting devices such as video surveillance cameras, automated meter reading (AMR) transceivers and telemetry equipment.
* An optional light pole mounting bracket with photoelectric connector.
The SkyAccess DualBand is available in a variety of configurations of backhaul frequencies in the 4.9-5.8 GHz spectrum. It has enough transmit power control to meet both high-power Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and lower-power European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) regulations for 2.4 GHz operation through a simple software setting. All SkyAccess DualBand configurations and have a list price of $1,799 and are available through SkyPilot's distributors.
SkyPilot Networks also announced today that it has surpassed 25,000 units shipped and has mesh networks deployed by more than 300 customers in 50 countries. This milestone occurred less than a year after SkyPilot reached its 10,000 unit goal, which took 18 months to achieve.
In addition, SkyPilot has teamed up with service providers in more than a dozen cities for Wi-Fi coverage including California cities Concord, Cupertino, Foster City, Riverside, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale; Portland, Oregon; Vail, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Aurora and Springfield, Illinois; Steilacoom, Washington; and Burleson, Texas.
