BridgeWave’s Gigabit Wireless Links Support Towerstream’s WiMAX Backhaul Network

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BridgeWave Communications, the leading supplier of gigabit wireless solutions, today announced that Towerstream, a leading wireless Internet service provider, has deployed BridgeWave’s high-capacity links in its fixed WiMAX network. Towerstream's operations in its largest metropolitan markets depend on BridgeWave’s 80 GHz products, for reliable carrier-class backhaul to provide high-capacity WiMAX connectivity to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), data services and other IP-based services.

“As we looked for a reliable backhaul provider, it was a clear decision to go with BridgeWave because of its ease of deployment and gigabit speeds”

Established in 2001, Towerstream delivers high-speed Internet access to businesses in markets including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Because of its growth, the company realized it needed a reliable backhaul solution to support its growing WiMAX broadband network that had expanded to include ten metropolitan areas. The company looked into wireless vendor options and determined that BridgeWave fulfilled its needs. Fiber optics was a possibility but not ideal because of its high cost, lengthy permitting and installation process. By proving to be highly scalable, coupled with its full-rate gigabit speeds, BridgeWave became the selected backhaul option for Towerstream.

BridgeWave’s 80 GHz links enables Towerstream to achieve gigabit WiMAX backhaul speeds while still providing “five-nines” reliability. Towerstream recognizes that through the use of BridgeWave’s 80 GHz links versus fiber, latency and packet loss actually decreases since the links provide direct connectivity between buildings, eliminating intermediary switching points. BridgeWave’s 80 GHz links provide full-rate gigabit connectivity with low latency, yielding fiber-like performance without the delays associated with installing fiber.

After a smooth installation process, Towerstream now looks to BridgeWave to provide a reliable, high-capacity WiMAX backbone at gigabit speeds. BridgeWave’s 80 GHz links are deployed in several metropolitan areas including New York City and Boston. Plus, because of BridgeWave’s ability to scale rapidly, Towerstream can also easily upgrade to meet evolving bandwidth needs and support future growth.

“As we looked for a reliable backhaul provider, it was a clear decision to go with BridgeWave because of its ease of deployment and gigabit speeds,” said Arthur Giftakis, vice president of engineering and operations at Towerstream. “Deploying BridgeWave’s systems proved to be more cost effective and these savings are seen at every level – less equipment is needed and the down time is limited. BridgeWave helps make it possible for us to provide our customers with exceptional WiMAX-based services.”

“Working with Towerstream in metropolitan areas such as New York City and Boston demonstrates the need for wire-speed GigE backhaul links in dense urban areas,” said Amir Makleff, president and CEO of BridgeWave. “BridgeWave’s product helps service providers such as Towerstream meet their backhaul needs with the best-of-breed product in its class. We look forward to future deployments in more cities as Towerstream continues to grow.”

About BridgeWave Communications

Founded in 1999, BridgeWave Communications is the leading supplier of outdoor Gigabit wireless connectivity solutions. The company's exclusive AdaptRate™ and AdaptPath™ technologies combined with its advanced Forward Error Correction capability deliver the highest availability at the longest distances for full-rate gigabit links. BridgeWave's point-to-point, wireless solutions are widely deployed in mainstream enterprise and service provider network applications and are poised to play a key role in the migration to 4G mobile network backhaul. With the largest installed base of GigE radios worldwide, BridgeWave delivers the highest levels of product quality and reliability. For more information, visit www.bridgewave.com.