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Encinitas California Catches the Wi-Fi Wave; Cheetah Wireless Technologies and BelAir Networks to Provide Wide-Area Wi-Fi to Downtown Business and Residential District LAS VEGAS & KANATA, Ontario --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 4, 2004 -- The coastal town of Encinitas, California, will soon offer scalable, metro Wi-Fi access in its downtown. The solution, built on BelAir Networks' scalable wide area Wi-Fi system, will be deployed and managed by Cheetah Wireless Technologies, Inc. (CWTI) and used by municipal, business and residential users in Encinitas' historic downtown.Users will be able to connect to the Internet wirelessly from inside buildings, outside cafes, backyard patios, front lobbies, porches, and just about anywhere else - ideal for Encinitas' balmy year-round weather. The Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, a non-profit corporation working to revitalize Historic Downtown Encinitas, will promote and advertise the service to local businesses, residents and visitors. "Downtown Encinitas is packed with 250 businesses, 150 offices and 1,500 residents," said Peder Norby, executive director of the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association. "One of our main goals at the association is to advance the economic vitality of the downtown district, and a large-scale wireless solution like the one offered by CWTI and BelAir moves us a step closer." "As a reseller and service provider, our solutions must be both the best fit for our customer's immediate needs while being easy for us to manage from our Network Operations Center (NOC)," said Mitchell Gonzalez, president and founder of CWTI. "Because the BelAir mesh can be implemented in days, and has no impact on downtown aesthetics, it was easy for our team to sell in. The solution delivers excellent capacity today and can scale seamlessly to a larger area with thousands of concurrent users, allowing us to upgrade and expand the system easily as subscriber demand grows. This was especially important to us because we plan to use the network to provide VoWLAN to users." Comprised of eight BelAir200 wireless internetworking nodes deployed from the tops of buildings, the initial solution will cover more than eighteen square blocks stretching from Encinitas Boulevard to K Street, with Vulcan Avenue and Second Street forming the east and west boundaries. In addition, the city is exploring ways to expand the service, including providing Wi-Fi access to the transit agency that serves the region, and using Encinitas as a central point to expand Wi-Fi up and down Highway 101 to San Diego in the south and Los Angeles in the north. "We are pleased to be partnering with CWTI for Encinitas because of its full-service, customer-centric approach," said Phil Belanger, VP of marketing for BelAir Networks. "CWTI customizes best-in-class wireless technologies for a city's particular needs, deploys the network, then manages the network from its NOC. This comprehensive model complements BelAir's product strengths and makes it easy for a city to go wireless. We look forward to partnering with CWTI on more metro Wi-Fi projects in the future." Residential customers in Encinitas can connect to the BelAir200 CWTI network for $29.99 a month under a one-year contract. Businesses would pay $39.99 a month for a one-year plan. Customers will have traditional broadband service in their home or business, but will also enjoy broadband wireless access with their same account throughout the downtown area. Other pricing options are available for two-year subscriptions and for subscriptions with multiple accounts. Profits will be returned to consumers through lower rates or through assigned periods when users could enjoy free Wi-Fi access. The BelAir200 deployed by CWTI is a four-radio, wireless internetworking platform that enables wireless networks with the highest network capacity and broadest reach especially in challenging deployments such as high-density metro regions. The BelAir200 access radio modules use the 2.4GHz band to support Wi-Fi client access, while separate backhaul radio modules use 5GHz for the point to point links that form the wireless backhaul mesh that interconnects all of the BelAir200 nodes. The resulting system delivers unmatched capacity, security and scalability for metro applications. Built specifically for outdoor deployment, the BelAir200 includes integrated antennas that focus Wi-Fi signals to beam directly into multi-story buildings from the outside, which eliminates the need for indoor access points and their associated wiring. This outdoor-in approach is perfect for the plaster and wood construction that typifies Encinitas' downtown buildings. This high-speed mobile wireless service will be widely available in September 2004. The first 150 customers to pre-subscribe will receive an introductory rate of $19.99 per month for the first six months. Customers may subscribe by logging on to: http://www.cwti.net/Encinitasmain.htm and by choosing "Introductory Offer". About Cheetah Wireless Technologies Headquartered in Las Vegas, Cheetah Wireless Technologies, Inc. (CWTI) is a private company founded to provide high-speed mobile wireless infrastructure to public safety and commercial users through a network of best-in-class providers. The company's solutions are based on a hybrid of wireless technology "micro-cells" that can be utilized on existing infrastructure, and a specialized Network Operations Center (NOC) engineered to ensure successful deployment and maintenance to resolve common wireless data issues that surround municipal and private business communities. For more information, please visit www.cwti.net. About BelAir Networks BelAir Networks is the first and only company to offer scalable, Wide-Area Wi-Fi. Built specifically for outdoor deployments, BelAir Networks patented solution integrates easily and transparently into existing network and physical infrastructure of downtown business districts, hotels and resorts, and college campuses. BelAir Networks' Wide-Area Wi-Fi delivers maximum network capacity at the lowest cost - in days, not weeks. Founded in 2001, BelAir Networks is a privately held company headquartered in Kanata, Ontario. For more information, please visit www.belairnetworks.com. |
