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Chippenham-based Deltenna has unveiled a ‘wireless broadband enabler’ device it claims will deliver widespread rural internet access.
The launch follows the Coalition Government’s announcement yesterday that it is scrapping Labour’s proposed 50p ‘broadband tax’, which would have gone towards improving the quality of the country’s broadband, particularly in remote areas.
The Deltenna WiBE is an 18 x 13cm combined SIM-equipped 3G modem and a high-tech steerable phase array antenna designed to lock onto the best signal tower and deliver a typical 2MB/s connection speed.
Using four 90 internal degree sector antennas, the WiBE also incorporates a Wi-Fi router to link to household equipment. The company says the WiBE provides average data rates of 2.8Mbit/s and theoretical rates up to 7.2Mbit/s downstream and over 5Mbit/s upstream.
“We are reinventing broadband by allowing 3G mobile operators to provide broadband efficiently over their networks,” said Andrew Fox, CEO and founder of Deltenna.
The WiBe stands alone in a good location for optimal signal reception and provides broadband Wi-Fi to the house or small office
The antenna system finds the best link by running a link test, and automatically tests and switches between basestations depending on signal conditions, reflections and contention to maintain the best link.
“The unit can learn through the day or the week which direction has the best link – for example there may be more contention on one basestation in the morning and less in the afternoon, and it will switch between the two,” said Fox.
The WiBE is set to go into volume production later in the year and with plans to be offered through network operators and internet service providers.
