France Telecom Powers Tour de France with Broadband Wireless Access, Using Advanced Systems from Aperto Networks
Paris, France, (July 19, 2004) – Aperto Networks, a leading 802.16-class broadband wireless access (BWA) systems provider, announced today that France Telecom is using its PacketWave® systems for the 91st Tour de France 2004 bicycle road race. During the 21-day Tour de France from July 3 - 25, Aperto base stations are operating continuously along the race route and enables access to France Telecom's backbone network.
Aperto's PacketWave system provides quick and easily installable broadband delivery platform to cover a wide area with high quality, carrier class broadband services. It is capable of delivering 14 Mbps of throughput using a single channel in the 3.5 GHz band. The base stations being used for the Tour de France will operate under an environment that is challenging for most other wireless network technologies, moving each day as the race progresses to the next location (as shown on the route map on the official Tour de France website, http://www.letour.com/2004/us/index.html).
"In addition to providing critical business-grade broadband access for carriers worldwide, Aperto Networks is pleased to be chosen by France Telecom as its wireless systems provider of choice for the world-renowned Tour de France," stated Aperto Networks' CEO and chairman Reza Ahy. "This prestigious and high-profile competition proves that Aperto systems can be counted on to deliver the high-availability communications infrastructure demanded by such a globally popular event and its millions of spectators and press. As we proved during the recent European Union installation of new EU member nations in Ireland, Aperto equipment comes through flawlessly for world-class networking."
The 802.16-class PacketWave system is already being used to offer broadband services to urban as well as rural areas throughout the world, including France and other Western European countries. It has already proven its ability to deliver robust service and reliable links in environments ranging from mountaintops in Trinidad, Hawaii and Peru; tropical rainstorms in Belize and Malaysia; desert heat in Mali and Saudi Arabia; freezing weather in Siberia and Alaska, and building obstructions in Manhattan, Paris, Warsaw, Dublin and Mexico City. Aperto is providing BWA systems to wireless service providers in 50 countries.
Aperto Networks has also collaborated with France Telecom R&D on lab trials and marketing initiatives since 2001. These successful efforts resulted in France Telecom's first Aperto-based pilot deployment of a network in Brittany earlier this year, to supply broadband access to businesses, schools, and local government.
About Aperto Networks
Aperto Networks is a leader in 802.16-class multiservice broadband wireless access systems for global markets. The company was founded to provide breakthrough solutions to the bottleneck in last-mile broadband access, and is a founding board member of the WiMAX Forum as well as a founder and lead contributor to IEEE 802.16 and the ETSI-BRAN standards. Its PacketWave® system is a family of base stations, subscriber units, radios and antennas in 2.5, 3.5 and 5 GHz frequencies for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint deployment. PacketWave’s scalability and patented technologies support new wireless builds and complement wireline broadband access networks. Aperto is already deployed in 50 countries, meeting service provider needs for installation ease, IP-rich network functionality, cost effectiveness, rapid provisioning and interference resilience. For more information on Aperto Networks, go to www.apertonet.com.
