St. Maarten Telephone Company launches advanced wireless Internet service

Saturday, October 11, 2003

TORONTO, Ontario: WaveRider Communications Inc., the leader in non-line-of-sight wireless broadband technology and deployments, has announced that its Last Mile Solution® (LMS) has been deployed by TelEm, part of the St. Maarten Telephone Company, to deliver high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses in Dutch St. Maarten. The service has been launched in Phillipsburg this week, and will quickly expand to serve subscribers throughout the region. 

With WaveRider's Last Mile Solution® system, TelEm's wireless network can deliver broadband services to subscribers in all areas, even those with heavy tree coverage, since the network does not require a clear sight-line between the company's antennas and the subscribers' sites. The WaveRider modem and indoor antenna can be easily installed by subscribers, which makes it faster and more cost-effective to connect new users to the network. 

"TelEm is investing in significant upgrades to the entire telecommunications infrastructure throughout St. Maarten that will give our businesses and residents access to the most advanced communications technologies," said Dennis Richardson, President and Director, St. Maarten Telephone Company. "Our new wireless broadband service is an important part of this initiative. We have now deployed the only wireless system available that can provide the level of service our constituents need." 

TelEm is working with UniiGo Communications to upgrade the entire telecommunications infrastructure on the island, including the deployment of its wireless broadband network. UniiGo specializes in the planning, engineering and installation of telecommunications solutions and has deployed WaveRider's LMS systems in several cities in North America. 

The first phase of the wireless broadband roll-out includes five base stations surrounding Phillipsburg, Cole Bay, Simpson Bay, Maho Bay and other business and residential areas, which have the combined capacity to serve more than 5,000 subscribers. When complete, the wireless network will make broadband service accessible throughout the island. The company's wireless service will be offered via Telnet Communications Inc., the Internet Service Provider managed by TelEm. 

"The Internet services that have been available on the island to date were simply not adequate to suit the needs of businesses or individual Internet users," said Jeffrey DeLacombe, Deputy Director of Commercial Affairs, TelEm. "As we roll out our WaveRider non-line-of-sight wireless network, all of Dutch St. Maarten will have access to fast, reliable, affordable broadband services." 

"WaveRider's Last Mile Solution products enable us to connect subscribers throughout entire communities. Other wireless systems are limited by the need for a direct line-of-sight between the base station and the subscribers' sites," said Dudley Freeman, President and founder of U.S.-based UniiGo Communications. "In areas like St. Maarten that have varying elevations and beautiful tree coverage, line-of-sight connections are either not possible or not desirable because they would require large antennas at each subscriber site throughout the area. The WaveRider system provides the non-line-of-sight connections needed in St. Maarten, with the speed and reliability that business and residential subscribers demand, and without large antennas that can interfere with the enjoyment of the landscape." 

WaveRider's Last Mile Solution® (LMS) is the world's first fixed wireless broadband product to deliver true non-line-of-sight Internet connections in the license-exempt spectrum. WaveRider's LMS is distinguished in the non-line-of-sight category by its user-installed indoor antenna, which enables broadband connections through buildings, tree canopies and other line-of-sight barriers. 

WaveRider's NLOS system delivers up to 2.0 Mbps throughput at a range of up to two miles, in non-line-of-sight conditions, with WaveRider's indoor antennas. For installations using outdoor antennas, WaveRider's NLOS products delivers throughput speeds of 2.0 Mbps at a range of up to five miles, in non-line-of-sight conditions, and up to eight miles when there is a line-of-sight connection between the base station and subscriber antennas. 

The Last Mile Solution® systems also include WaveRider's proprietary Dynamic Polling MAC and grade of service controls, which enable operators to easily manage their networks and deliver broadband services to hundreds of subscribers using a single base station unit. 

WaveRider's LMS systems have been deployed by service providers in more than 90 per cent of the U.S. states. WaveRider's customers have now made wireless broadband service accessible to millions of potential subscribers across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. 

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