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Vivato Powers Coeur D'Alene Tribe's Triumph Over the Digital DivideSPOKANE, Wash., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Extended-range Wi-Fi technology from Vivato is helping bridge the digital divide for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in northern Idaho. The tribe is installing 16 high-powered Vivato base stations throughout the reservation, aiming to provide broadband Internet access by the end of this summer. Ms. Fast Horse said the tribe has built a Community Technology Center stocked with 40 computers, which will be available for free to tribal members who do not have computers of their own. In addition, the tribe will provide high-speed wireless access through the Vivato system to anyone living on or near the reservation at a price comparable to other Internet Service Providers. "This is a huge change for people on the reservation since there is no broadband Internet access of any kind available to us at this time," Ms. Fast Horse said. Tom Jones, systems engineer for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, said the extended-range capability of the Vivato Wi-Fi base stations was the deciding factor in choosing Vivato. Vivato's system uses phased array antennas and a patented PacketSteering(TM) technology to boost coverage up to 12 times that of competing Wi-Fi systems. Jones said a demonstration in which a Vivato base station provided coverage to a distance of 13 miles sealed the deal. The Coeur d'Alene Reservation covers some 345,000 acres spanning the Palouse farm country and the western edge of the Rocky Mountains. To reach all corners of the reservation, the tribe is installing the Vivato base stations at four strategically-selected locations. "Vivato is one of the most exciting things to happen in the Wi-Fi industry," Jones said of the system's ability to extend the 802.11g Wi-Fi frequency over large distances. "Hands down, it blows everything else away." Glenn Booth, marketing director for Vivato, said his company was pleased to play an instrumental role in providing Internet access to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. "We have seen our technology make a difference in a wide variety of situations, from large-scale municipal deployments such as in Spokane, WA, to public safety and campus uses," Booth said. "But the Coeur d'Alene tribal installation is one of the most gratifying we have been associated with, as it will bring this reservation's communications resources into the 21st century." About Vivato Vivato, Inc. is a wireless systems infrastructure company with technology that is based upon an innovative signal processing and antenna design. Vivato's unique system architecture enables cost-effective, large-scale indoor and outdoor wireless deployments in cities and towns, as well as airports, seaports, warehouses, universities, enterprises and hotels. Vivato is headquartered in Spokane, Washington. For more information, please visit http://www.vivato.com/ or call 509-343-6001. Vivato, Inc. CONTACT: Michael Vernetti of Trainer Communications, +1-510-769-1113, [email protected] Web site: http://www.vivato.net/ |