In 2016, data showed that more than 34 million people, as a result of where they live, do not have access to decent broadband service
Multi-Tech Systems released a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) that will enable one-to-many connectivity to families with more than one child and to multi-dwelling buildings over a CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) cellular network. The solution, called MultiConnect CBRS Wi-Fi AP, is intended to be operated by school districts, educational facilities, smart cities and hospitality providers to improve connectivity for rural communities.
In 2016, the FCC published data showing that 39% of Americans without high-speed Internet access live in rural populations, and in total, more than 34 million people, as a result of where they live, do not have access to decent broadband service.
The 2020 pandemic, of course, brought this issue into sharp focus: “The impact of the pandemic on students and teachers has accentuated the growing importance of providing affordable Internet connectivity to academic communities wherever they may be. No student should be without secure access to teachers, schools and online educational content — and our new MultiConnect CBRS Wi-Fi AP Access Point now makes that possible. We are proud to be part of this important initiative,” said Stefan Lindvall, CEO of MultiTech.
The latest CBRS solution, like the others in MultiTech’s portfolio, can be remotely provisioned and managed at scale using an auto configuration server (ACS) or DeviceHQ, a cloud-based tool set featuring secure configuration, over-the-air updates, operational performance metrics and CBRS connection management.
The use of CBRS in the 3.55-3.7 GHz spectrum was authorized by the FCC for commercial use in January 2020 and for fixed broadband service, it can be significantly more cost effective than putting in fiber. In addition, CBRS allows independent school districts, local governments and enterprise organizations can provide connectivity without having to purchase licensed spectrum to establish their own private LTE or 5G mobile networks.
In early June, MultiTech was involved in a project, run by Intel, AWS and Megh Computing, that deployed a CBRS private network to part of Sacramento, California. The goal was to provide high-speed connectivity to students and teachers for remote schooling, as well as edge compute capabilities for video analytics applications. The Intel-based Chromebooks were outfitted with a MultiTech CBRS dongle.
