BLACKSBURG, Va.-Virginia Tech will be the first local multipoint distribution services license holder to deploy Radiant Networks Inc.’s Mesh technology, which allows subscribers to connect with their neighbors rather than to a base station, the companies said.
Radiant will supply systems through TradeWinds Communications, and Virginia Tech will evaluate and use the systems as a university research project in support of broadband delivery to commercial subscribers and economic development within its license area, Virginia Tech said.
Radiant noted its Mesh technology can help wireless broadband carriers avoid the initial cost of base station infrastructure installation, and it allows for a network to grow and evolve at its own pace. It provides a high-data-rate connection from the operator’s trunk network to the customer’s premises.
In 1998, Virginia Tech was the first university in the United States to participate and purchase spectrum in a Federal Communications Commission auction. The school was awarded four LMDS licenses covering 16,507 square miles in Virginia and portions of North Carolina and Tennessee.
