Super-Fast Broadband Possible for Everyone, Anywhere, as Bluwan Launches High-Speed, High-Capacity Backhaul and Access Solutions


BARCELONA, Spain, -- 2011 is shaping up to be the year of super-fast broadband, as numerous providers enhance their offerings in an attempt to bridge the digital divide.
Research from Point Topic (http://point-topic.com) highlighted the extent of the divide, with urban areas of Britain scoring 67% on the Broadband Infrastructure Index in mid-2010, whereas rural areas scored only 25%; a figure that is set to increase(1). To reduce this gap, Bluwan (http://www.bluwan.com), today announced its carrier grade, super-fast, high-capacity Fibre Through The Air (FTTA(TM)) solution, enabling service providers to dramatically increase network capacity and deploy next generation services to areas where fibre cannot go.

Bluwan's FTTA(TM) technology has two main applications: mobile backhaul and high speed broadband access, and is set to give consumers and businesses reliable, consistent and cost-effective speeds of up to 100 Mbps in both urban and rural areas. Bluwan's FTTA(TM) technology provides a high-capacity solution for 3G and 4G networks, as well as wireless hotspots, enabling superior download capacity(2) compared to existing broadband solutions.

Whilst Bluwan's technology offers a solution to the digital divide problem, it also addresses the saturated urban mobile networks that require more capacity to handle increased demand caused by consumers' use of smartphones and multimedia applications. Music streaming, online gaming, participating in a video conference and watching HDTV whilst downloading large files puts a huge strain on operators' networks. By using new technologies, such as FTTA(TM), network operators can immediately increase their bandwidth, and future proof networks for ever-increasing usage and growth, at a greatly reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

In addition, Bluwan's technology can also benefit businesses, particularly those in the technology sector, which rely on higher capacity broadband and reliable speeds to expand. 2010 highlighted the desire of European governments to grow this sector, which is already worth an estimated 100 billion pounds Sterling to the UK economy,(3) with plans to invest a further 200m pounds of equity finance for businesses. "Bluwan is really exciting because it means emerging technology and media startups can access true high-speed broadband - whether they're based in the Scottish Highlands or a major city like London," said Elizabeth Varley, co-founder and CEO, TechHub (http://www.techhub.com). "By providing a fast, wireless and reliable alternative to fibre, Bluwan can help bridge the digital divide for small businesses in a faster, greener and more cost-effective way."

Bluwan currently has two existing trials taking place with the City of Paris (Paris Gigacom) and Orange Slovakia. Both trials use Bluwan's FTTA(TM) technology to provide large areas with high speed broadband, demonstrating long-range coverage, value for money, and fast deployment. By using FTTA(TM), an operator doesn't need to dig up roads or trench fibre, thus saving costs and time. They can install and deploy services within a six-month timeframe.

According to research by Trova Consulting (http://www.trovaconsulting.com), commissioned by Bluwan, the cost of FTTA is significantly less than laying fibre and compared to a 'Fibre to the Home' (FTTH) proposition, can cost up to ten times less per subscriber.

"Currently, operators are unable to make an adequate profit when deploying super-fast broadband in areas with insufficient demand. Solving this problem requires government intervention, which can be seen with initiatives like Digital Britain, as well as a disruptive force to enable a change in economic models," said Jean-Francois Galey-Sand, CEO, Bluwan.

"Bluwan aims to be this force, disrupting the economics of broadband, making it a viable solution for service providers, resulting in a healthy return on investment, whilst ensuring consumers receive a more reliable, robust and high-speed service in return."

Figures from Mobile Insights Europe in 2010 showed that by using a solution like Bluwan's(4) for backhaul, savings in comparison to fibre leasing will equate to around $2.8 billion per year by 2014. This figure will likely rise to an incredible $248 billion in comparison to current widely used broadband solutions.(5)

If you would like more information, Bluwan will be at Mobile World Congress in Hall 2, stand #2F33 at the Fira from the 14th - 17th February. We will also be hosting cocktails and canapes on the stand every evening from 5pm onwards, so please come and join us. For more information on Bluwan, please go to www.bluwan.com, and check out our demonstration video here (http://www.bluwan.com/info-centre/videos/bluwan-ftta-overview.html).

About Bluwan

Established in 2005, Bluwan was co-founded by Francois Magne, Pierre Lagoutte and the Thales Group (http://www.thalesgroup.com), a world leader in mission-critical information systems for defence and security, aerospace and transportation. A privately owned company, Bluwan's solutions are the culmination of several years of research and development.

Bluwan delivers a paradigm shift by providing carrier-grade multi-gigabit wireless solutions with fibre-like speeds and capacity, allowing service providers to increase existing network capacity (42 GHz and 12GHz spectrums) and deploy multimedia services at a fraction of the cost of deploying optical fibre in those hard to reach areas. Bluwan's FTTA technology has two main applications: mobile backhaul and high-speed broadband access.

Bluwan has deployed several pilots in France and in Europe, and has been awarded sizeable subsidies in government sponsored competitive programs, to develop very compact radios and antennas for CEPT 12 GHz and 42 GHz radio frequencies.

(1) point-topic.com/content/dslanalysis/BBAbbi101124.html
(2) Multiples of 100 Mpbs per link, 12 GBps total capacity
(3) Research from Google and Boston Consulting Group
http://www.connectedkingdom.co.uk, October 2010
(4) Point to Multiple Point technology
(5) This is a comparison between FTTA and PTP (Point to Point) microwave technology

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