MCLEAN, VA – May 31, 2005 – fSONA Systems, today announced that Ball State University researchers will soon deploy fSONA's point–to–point laser
communications system designed to send broadband communications between buildings.
Faculty and students from Ball State's Institute for Wireless Innovation (IWI) are installing free space optics (FSO) communications equipment provided by fSONA, a developer of optical
wireless solutions for the military, homeland security and service provider markets.
"The project will allow students to determine the viability of using lasers to transmit broadband communications between businesses in nearby locations," said Steve Jones, IWI
director. "FSO communications are much cheaper and faster to install than using fiber optics that require installing wire–lines across blocks or miles yet they provide very high
bandwidth up to 1.5 gigabits per second. FSO technology has the potential to greatly lower the cost and time to deployment of broadband communications."
"fSONA's SONAbeam products represent a proven solution for broadband communications," said Sunny Taylor, Chief Executive Officer for fSONA. "In addition to the
deployment at Ball State, a number of universities worldwide are using SONAbeam to connect their campus buildings with secure, high-speed wireless networking."
FSO, also known as optical wireless, refers to the transmission of modulated visible or infrared beams for the purpose of wireless communications. Like fiber optics, FSO uses lasers to
transmit data, but instead of enclosing the data stream in a fiber optic band, it is transmitted through the air. fSONA's SONAbeam transmits invisible light beams which because of their
operating wavelength of 1550 nanometers are inherently eye–safe. SONAbeam terminals are protocol transparent, layer 1 devices that implement FSO links for transport of high-speed
protocols at full line-rate.
FSO technology has come full circle – it was initially developed by the military decades ago but languished until the commercial sector took up development and made significant
improvements such that now the military is purchasing systems from the commercial sector.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR WIRELESS INNOVATION
IWI was created as a result of partnership between Ball State’s Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS) and Ericsson. The goal of the institute is to provide opportunities for
CICS students and others to learn about leading–edge wireless technologies through workshops and hands–on labs.
About fSONA
fSONA Systems is recognized as the preferred provider of optical wireless solutions for government, enterprise and service provider markets around the globe. Leveraging leading edge advancements in 1550nm optical transmission, the SONAbeam™ family of systems, based on free-space-optics (FSO), use a globally unlicensed, wireless technology to provide speeds up to 2.5 Gbps over distances up to 7km. For more information visit www.fsona.com
or www.free-space-optics.org
Further Information
For more information about fSONA, SONAbeam or Free-Space Optical Wireless, please contact:
604-273-6333
media@fsona.com
fSONA and SONAbeam® are trademarks of fSONA Networks. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.
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