BOCA RATON, Florida, 28 December 2004 — Airspan Networks, a worldwide provider of broadband wireless access networks, has announced the completion of the sale of a WipLL-based broadband data network to Neda Telecommunications of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Neda Telecommunications (www.neda.af) is the first and the largest ISP in Afghanistan, with a rapidly growing customer base, providing reliable broadband wireless “last mile” solutions. The company is a subsidiary of Aspen Wind Corporation, a US-based trade and finance company with offices in New York, London and Moscow.
WipLL is a high-capacity point to multipoint wireless wide area networking system that utilizes IP technology, with an operating range in excess of 10 km line of sight (LOS). It carries voice, video and data services on a single platform over the metropolitan area. WipLL allows the construction of high-capacity broadband wireless access (BWA) networks taking IP services to remote users.
Under its contract with Neda, Airspan has delivered base stations and related subscriber packet radios for deployment in Kabul. Airspan has also provided its AS3030 networking solution for the network backbone. The AS3030 is a high-performance OFDM-based broadband wireless system designed to provide point-to-point operation. It will be used in the Neda network to relay bandwidth throughout Kabul’s highly mountainous terrain to provide a complete service throughout the city.
According to Henrik Smith Petersen, Airspan’s president-Asia Pacific, the transaction is expected to be the initial step in Neda’s rollout of broadband Internet and voice services in other major cities in Afghanistan.
Neda is using the WipLL network to supply high-speed Internet access services from 64Kbits-2Mbits, capable of delivering videoconferencing solutions, e-mail and web browsing solutions, host FTP/web server solutions and live newscast feed solutions for the NGO, business and residential communities in Kabul. The equipment is operating in the 2.7-2.9Ghz band, frequencies for which Neda has exclusive radio license rights across the whole of Afghanistan.
Charles Tryon, CEO, Neda, said: “We are very pleased to have been able to deploy Airspan solutions in our network in Afghanistan. Airspan was very quick to provide us with a solution in our licensed frequencies, allowing us to expand the network in time to meet the rapidly growing demand in Kabul for broadband services from the growing private business and government sectors. The flexibility designed into the system allows us to meet their diverse voice, data and video needs on one platform, and the reliability of the network provides a quality of service unmatched in the country.”
