kaspaas
Expert Member
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=23821
Wireless internet coming to Gauteng
Johannesburg, South Africa
20 November 2003 11:46
South African technology company Sentech on Thursday announced plans to roll out its wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses.
Wireless broadband internet access becomes commercially available from the end of January 2004 and means that users do not need a physical connection in order to use the internet.
Sentech plans to provide wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses in three stages, starting with MyWireless 128. Two faster versions of the wireless offering with bandwidths of 256kbps and 512kbps, aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises, will be rolled out in the following months.
Winston Smith, portfolio manager of Sentech's broadband products, says My Wireless is the first broadband alternative to traditional dial-up internet connections.
"Instead of internet traffic being routed by wire line or satellite networks, it will be transmitted using high-powered radio technology from high sites that we will deploy," he says.
"Anyone who subscribes to the service and who uses our special device in the hot zone has always-on access to a high-speed wireless internet connection," he explains.
Smith says wireless broadband is different to wi-fi wireless technology.
"Wi-fi is a short-range technology, with a small hot-spot footprint. It also has to be coupled to a physical internet connection. Wireless broadband, on the other hand, has a 3km to 5km radius in an urban environment. That said, wi-fi and broadband wireless are complementary technologies."
General packet radio service is a cellular wireless technology but it is costly and there are relatively few applications for it on the market.
Sentech's initial broadband internet package will be a bundled service comprising the USB or PCMCIA modem, a connection and unlimited internet access for a fixed monthly fee. The products will initially be available in Gauteng early next year, with Durban and Cape Town following soon afterwards.
"The service will be competitively priced compared to what people are used to paying for traditional analogue dial-up internet access," says Smith.
Users can expect speedy connections because My Wireless is what's called a contended service, which means the number of people able to use the system at the same time is limited.
"There is no usage capping either, which means you can send and receive as much internet traffic as you like without paying extra," says Smith.
"These end-to-end services are totally contained on the Sentech broadband wireless internet network and we have sophisticated software to take care of load balancing. The network's coverage will grow over time and be available in more areas. We are expecting good demand for the service which has done well in other markets like the United States, Germany and Malaysia," he says. -- I-Net Bridge
South Africa needs World Class Broadband at World Competitive Prices.
Wireless internet coming to Gauteng
Johannesburg, South Africa
20 November 2003 11:46
South African technology company Sentech on Thursday announced plans to roll out its wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses.
Wireless broadband internet access becomes commercially available from the end of January 2004 and means that users do not need a physical connection in order to use the internet.
Sentech plans to provide wireless broadband services to consumers and businesses in three stages, starting with MyWireless 128. Two faster versions of the wireless offering with bandwidths of 256kbps and 512kbps, aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises, will be rolled out in the following months.
Winston Smith, portfolio manager of Sentech's broadband products, says My Wireless is the first broadband alternative to traditional dial-up internet connections.
"Instead of internet traffic being routed by wire line or satellite networks, it will be transmitted using high-powered radio technology from high sites that we will deploy," he says.
"Anyone who subscribes to the service and who uses our special device in the hot zone has always-on access to a high-speed wireless internet connection," he explains.
Smith says wireless broadband is different to wi-fi wireless technology.
"Wi-fi is a short-range technology, with a small hot-spot footprint. It also has to be coupled to a physical internet connection. Wireless broadband, on the other hand, has a 3km to 5km radius in an urban environment. That said, wi-fi and broadband wireless are complementary technologies."
General packet radio service is a cellular wireless technology but it is costly and there are relatively few applications for it on the market.
Sentech's initial broadband internet package will be a bundled service comprising the USB or PCMCIA modem, a connection and unlimited internet access for a fixed monthly fee. The products will initially be available in Gauteng early next year, with Durban and Cape Town following soon afterwards.
"The service will be competitively priced compared to what people are used to paying for traditional analogue dial-up internet access," says Smith.
Users can expect speedy connections because My Wireless is what's called a contended service, which means the number of people able to use the system at the same time is limited.
"There is no usage capping either, which means you can send and receive as much internet traffic as you like without paying extra," says Smith.
"These end-to-end services are totally contained on the Sentech broadband wireless internet network and we have sophisticated software to take care of load balancing. The network's coverage will grow over time and be available in more areas. We are expecting good demand for the service which has done well in other markets like the United States, Germany and Malaysia," he says. -- I-Net Bridge
South Africa needs World Class Broadband at World Competitive Prices.
oh well one more month with ISDN I guess
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and taken a liking to the naming convention.
