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By Susan
Curtis, editor, fibers.org
Published: July 9, 2003
FSONA Communications of Canada has gained
another stamp of approval for its SONAbeam free-space optics (FSO) system,
and in particular for its use in wireless applications. The US equipment vendor
ADC, which markets the Digivance
family of digital wireless-coverage solutions, has fully qualified the SONAbeam
system for expanding the capacity and coverage of the Digivance solution.
ADC's digital wireless system is designed to extend the range of mobile communication
networks at minimal cost to service providers. By deploying a "Base Station
Hoteling" architecture, carriers can centralize base-station equipment
and rapidly deploy antennas to provide extra coverage and capacity where it's
needed. Digivance then transports wideband radio-frequency information via
digital optical signals transmitted over fiber or free-space optics.
Combining SONAbeam and Digivance eliminates the need for costly fiber construction
and thus accelerates the deployment of extra capacity as and when needed by
wireless carriers. The SONAbeam series operates at the "eye-safe"
1550 nm laser wavelength, which allows the system to deliver high transmit
power and link margins. This translates into longer ranges and superior availability
in all weather conditions.
"Digivance provides wireless carriers with a variety of new, low-cost
options to extend coverage and capacity to their networks where it's needed,"
said Jeff Quiram, president of the ADC's wireless business unit. "Integrating
SONAbeam with Digivance markedly increases the potential locations for remote
antennas and indoor wireless coverage solutions."
ADC's endorsement of the SONAbeam system is just the latest in a series of
significant announcements by fSONA. In June, Anixter,
the world's leading distributor of data communication products, agreed to
sell the Canadian firm's family of FSO systems because of its carrier-class
capabilities.
And back in March, Alcatel
of France announced that it had incorporated fSONA's technology into its high-capacity
optical wireless system. The system is able to interwork with Alcatel's microwave
radio technology and fiber-based products, allowing operators to protect their
previous investments and to take advantage of both microwave and FSO technologies
in their networks.
"Alcatel's wireless solutions offer our customers multiple ways to deliver
rapidly deployable high-capacity connections to fill the last-mile gap,"
said Gianni Jones, president of Alcatel's wireless transmission activities.
"The addition of FSO into our product catalogue positions Alcatel to
provide fully optical wireless solutions for a broad array of applications."
The challenge now for fSONA is to translate these vendor endorsements into
major contract wins with wireless carriers. The traditional problem with the
technology is that weather conditions, and fog in particular, can limit the
range of FSO systems to a few hundred meters to guarantee the 99.999% availability
required by operators. But vendors such as fSONA are continuing to add backup
radio-frequency links, multiple transceivers, redundant components, and algorithms
to interpret and reconstruct signals, in a bid to extend the technology's
distance capabilities and gain a general access-network extension role.
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