Iberbanda, de Spaanse aanbieder van breedband- en telecommunicatiediensten, heeft in Spanje de eerste uitgebreide test van commerciële WiMAX-apparatuur in Europa met succes afgerond. Iberbanda testte de mogelijkheden van breedbandinternet en IP-telefonie met gebruik van Intel WiMAX-technologie. Het bedrijf gebruikte voor de tests zijn BreezeMAX-apparatuur, gebaseerd op de Intel PRO/Wireless 5115-breedbandinterface. De proef, gehouden in de dorpen Canjayar, Instinción, Ohanes, Padules en Ragol in de Spaanse provincie Andalusië, is een belangrijke stap naar het eerste commerciële WiMAX-aanbod voor consumenten in Europa. Iberbanda verwacht in het laatste kwartaal van 2005 breedbanddiensten via WiMAX aan consumenten te kunnen aanbieden in gebieden waar geen xDSL-aansluiting mogelijk is.
Zie hieronder voor het volledige Engelstalige persbericht.
Voor meer informatie:
Intel Corporation
Kristof Sehmke
Tel.: +32 (0)3 450 0913
E-mail: Kristof.Sehmke@intel.com
Lammers van Toorenburg Benelux PR
Sabine Lakerveld
Tel.: 030 - 656 5070
E-mail: intel@lvtpr.nl
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Alvarion integrates WiMAX-ready BreezeMAX(tm) PRO CPE with Intel® PRO/Wireless 5116 Broadband Interface Chip
IBERBANDA AND INTEL PAVE THE WAY FOR FIRST COMMERCIAL WIMAX SERVICES IN EUROPE BASED ON INTEL SILICON THROUGH SPANISH TRIALS
* The trials, that were carried out in a network of 300 base stations and 20,000 subscribers, kicked off migration to Intel technology and are ensuring that the WIMAX technology is fully optimized for commercial public WiMAX services launching in Q4 2005.
* Initially, Iberbanda will deploy fixed WiMAX technology, updating the WiMAX-ready trial networks that have already been deployed across 25% of Spain, notably in Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla y Leon and Navarra.
* WiMAX technology will provide telephony services and broadband Internet access across areas of over 30km and at speeds of up to 10 Mbps per second.
Seville (Spain), September 13, 2005 - Iberbanda, the Spanish broadband telecommunications operator, has completed the first European commercial pilots of broadband and Internet telephony access services using Intel technology for WiMAX. The pilots took place in Andalusia and as a result, Iberbanda is planning to launch the first European commercial WiMAX services in the fourth quarter of 2005.
In July and August 2005, Iberbanda tested Alvarion's (NASDAQ:ALVR) WiMAX-Ready BreezeMAX(tm) equipment in 50 customer sites in Spain. BreezeMAX(tm) is based on the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface.
The pilots, that were carried out in the towns of Canjayar, Instinción, Ohanes, Padules and Ragol in the Andalusian province of Almeria, have allowed Iberbanda to optimize technology extending bandwidth and distance.
Iberbanda's commercial public WiMAX services, that are expected to launch in the last quarter of 2005, will deliver broadband and Internet telephony services with 10 Mbps bandwidth and more than 30km coverage, enabling the rapid deployment and extension of new broadband networks in areas where xDSL cable cannot reach.
Iberbanda will initially offer its public WiMAX services in rural towns and suburban areas of Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla y Leon and Navarra, where the company has already run trials and won public bids to build networks without broadband coverage to date. Thanks to these networks, based on pre-WiMAX technology, more than 20,000 individuals and companies already enjoy telephony services (VoIP) and high speed Internet access in these regions.
"The successful pilots helped us to optimize real commercial networks based on more than 300 base stations and covering more than 25% of the Spanish territory. We made a decisive step towards WiMAX standardization, equipment and network interoperability and cost reductions in the deployment of new broadband networks," said Carlos Morell, general manager of Iberbanda. "With the trials we have started migration to Intel silicon and have developed one of the greatest pre-WiMAX networks in Europe, what positions Iberbanda in the vanguard of WiMAX implementation," he concluded.
"We are very pleased with the success of the trials, which are paving the way towards the first large scale commercial WiMAX deployments based on Intel silicon in Europe," said Jesus Maximoff, Country Manager in Spain at Intel. "Iberbanda is playing a pioneering role in making WiMAX happen, bringing wireless broadband to Spanish regions where cable or DSL cannot reach."
"We are pleased to be working with an innovative operator like Iberbanda that has leveraged WiMAX-ready networks based on our BreezeMAX(tm) platform, and that is now using the market's first commercially available subscriber unit, BreezeMAX PRO, that uses Intel's WiMAX chip," said Zvi Slonimsky, CEO of Alvarion. "The economic and technological advantages that WiMAX offers operators are clearly demonstrated when deploying the BreezeMAX PRO. Iberbanda's progressive penetration into more areas around the country is a major step for the entire industry toward the mainstream adoption of WiMAX services."
WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, and is a standardized IEEE wireless technology. It complements DSL and cable technologies for the last mile delivery of broadband access to both residential and business customers.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Intel
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at http://www.intel.es and http://www.intel.com/pressroom
Iberbanda
Iberbanda is an innovative broadband communications provider utilizing wireless local loop technology in its own access network deployed in Spain. The company offers managed bandwidth services plus a new generation of telephony, Internet access, hosting, data transmission and online IT solutions. Iberbanda is a member of WiMAX Forum.
For more information, please visit www.iberbanda.es
Alvarion
With more than 2 million units deployed in 130 countries, Alvarion is the worldwide leader in wireless broadband, providing systems to carriers, ISPs and private network operators, and also in extending coverage of GSM and CDMA mobile networks to developing countries and other hard to serve areas.
Leading the WiMAX revolution, Alvarion has the most extensive deployments and proven product portfolio in the industry covering the full range of frequency bands with both fixed and mobile solutions. Alvarion's products enable the delivery of business and residential broadband access, corporate VPNs, toll quality telephony, mobile base station feeding, hotspot coverage extension, community interconnection, public safety communications, and mobile voice and data. Alvarion works with several global OEM providers and more than 200 local partners to support its diverse global customer base in solving their last-mile challenges.
For more information, visit Alvarion's World Wide Web site at www.alvarion.com