IDC enters licence-exempt market with wireless modem for homes, SMEs

International Datacasting Corp (IDC) moved into the crowded licence-exempt device market with the official release of its WebWalker line of wireless modems. The standalone gateway, which operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, has already been deployed over a 25,000 sq-km area in eastern Ontario by Storm Internet Services, a subsidiary of the Ottawa-based IDC which is best known for its SuperFlex line. The move into the terrestrial wireless market is a first for IDC, and is part of its strategy to provide an end-to-end system from the satellite down to the individual user in under-served areas of the world. "We’re unique in this ability (to offer) complete end-to-end wireless broadband connectivity using Internet Protocol open standards," says IDC president and CEO Ron Clifton. The Internet access market using the 2.4 GHz frequency range is already served by established players such as Wi-LAN Inc, Calgary, and WaveRider Communications Inc, Toronto. Both offer outdoor systems in competition with IDC. But officials at the Ottawa-based company believe their ability experience as a satellite communications provider and an ISP, combined with their ability to delivery an end-to-end system, will distinguish them from the rest of the pack. "We definitely see it as a competitive advantage going after those full end-to-end problems," Clifton told Report on Wireless. Several years ago, IDC was known purely as a manufacturer. But in the past three to four years, the company has transformed itself into a powerhouse for satellite components, well-known for its SuperFlex product family. It now counts the terrestrial wireless amount its mainstay of products. Clifton describes IDC as being able to offer full turnkey integrated systems, while also being able to operate an ISP and a network infrastructure provider through subsidiary Storm Internet. The ISP also owns CDS/Prometheus which designs and builds terrestrial broadband wireless networks. IDC provides the network design, construction and the components, both satellite and terrestrial, that go in an Internet access system. The services are provided by the ISP. WebWalker developed by Storm It was engineers at IDC’s subsidiary, Storm Internet, that worked on developing a more robust version of a 2.4 GHz radio. And it was that research that led to the commercial deployment of the WebWalker line of wireless modems. But to finalize the prototype and bring it to market, Storm needed an experienced partner. It didn’t have to look far to find a suitable candidate. "They were looking for somebody with manufacturing experience and an international track record in exporting, and the next thing you know we’re all talking the same language," says Clifton. "This seemed like a perfect marriage." By developing a product that operates more effectively outside and with higher packing densities, IDC was able to double its access line capacity using the same amount of bandwidth, making it a cost-effective product. Clifton explains that in a system configuration using an omnidirectional antenna the distance between base station nodes and the antenna can reach about 8 kms. That distance increases to just over 20 kms when using a parabolic antenna. Optimum throughput rates top out at the 11 Mbs range and a typical distribution node will handle 100 residential and 10 enterprise clients all getting on average 2 Mbs speeds. The unit connects directly to a single PC or a LAN of PC’s using industry standard Ethernet interfaces and protocols. "So we’re pleased with that and our price looked like it’s at or below anybody else in the market at double the performance, so that says we’ve got a fair bit of capability," says Clifton. IDC also has customers in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia that may be interested in supplementing their IDC-satellite service with a terrestrial component that can accommodate more users.

IDC enters licence-exempt market with wireless modem for homes, SMEs

News | May 14, 2001

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