23 January 2004 Lake Success, NY Lightwave--The availability of Gigabit Ethernet networks is rising in the New York City area with the help of Canobeam, the free-space optics (FSO) technology from Canon U.S.A., a subsidiary of Canon. The high bandwidth, security and reliability of this FSO system has made it an integral part of the last mile in new fiber-based networks deployed by Open Access, a fast-growing network access company. Open Access provides these services through the use of fiber provided by KeySpan Communications.
"No other FSO vendor has the lasting value of Canon," says John Culbertson, co-founder of Open Access. "The Canobeam system meets the high standards of bandwidth and reliability we require, and Canon backs their technology extremely well - that gives Open Access and our customers all the confidence in the world."
For Long Island-based Open Access, the FSO system is an essential link in the company's hybrid approach to completing fiber networks, whether they're in logistically challenging places like Manhattan, corporate campuses, or sprawling educational facilities like SUNY Stony Brook. With the Gigabit Ethernet transmission capabilities of the Canobeam system, Open Access uses FSO to connect their fiber backbone to their customers' place of business, for an easy setup that gets networks running quickly and keeps them online.
"FSO is one of the important ways that we enhance our network, as well as provide disaster recovery to those buildings," Culbertson explains. "Once they have these air interfaces, those buildings are better off than just having fiber. In some places the Canobeam system is in place permanently, and in others it serves as a solid interim bridge where we replace FSO with fiber."
With the demand for high bandwidth constantly on the rise, the Canobeam units had both the technical specifications and reliability to make it the top FSO system for Open Access, allowing them to give their customers service level agreements that promise extremely high dependability. "The Canobeam solution far surpassed our bandwidth requirements, and we also feel that it's more secure than RF, microwave and Wi-Fi," says Culbertson. "It has no interference issues that can happen with the other technologies in the industry, and that's the type of reliability that our customers require."
The Canobeam system features an autotracking function, which automatically maintains the beam's alignment for maximum reliability, compensating for shifting of buildings and platforms due to vibration, wind, temperature changes and other environmental conditions. It also incorporates a 3R function (re-shaping, re-timing and re-generating), allowing the data signal to be relayed without loss of strength or quality even when operating at maximum transfer speed. No FCC allocation is ever required for the Canobeam system.
Proven to provide wireless connections between buildings and locations where traditional networks cannot be established, the Canobeam system gives network administrators a dependable option for completing high speed, high bandwidth data links. The Canobeam line has also been chosen in telecom applications for last mile connectivity, corporate LANs, municipal and government video transmissions, and "instant-on" transmission in disaster situations.