SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruckus
Wireless, Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) and Globalstar, Inc., (OTCBB: GSAT)
today announced the successful results of new Wi-Fi testing that
used a combination of unlicensed spectrum in the Industrial
Scientific Medical (ISM) band and Globalstar's licensed Mobile
Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum. ISM radio bands, where most all
public Wi-Fi traffic operates, are portions of the radio
spectrum that have been reserved internationally for the use
of radio frequency (RF) energy for purposes other than
communications.
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All tests were performed within the 2.4 GHz band, using
carrier-grade Smart Wi-Fi equipment manufactured by Ruckus
Wireless, and existing smartphones that were enabled to operate
over the new channel via a remote firmware upgrade. This new
testing provides compelling proof of how quickly and dramatically
Terrestrial Low Power Service (TLPS) can expand the nation's
wireless capacity to address the looming exhaustion of existing
Wi-Fi spectrum.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently freeing
up satellite spectrum for terrestrial mobile broadband services to
meet the ambitious goals of the National Broadband Plan. Former FCC
Chairman Julius Genachowski has
identified the "Wi-Fi Traffic Jam" as a critical problem that
should be solved, saying: "As consumer adoption of wireless devices
continues to soar, Wi-Fi congestion is becoming a critical problem
for consumers and innovators."
"There's an insatiable demand for wireless capacity, whether in
the licensed or unlicensed band," said Bart
Burstein, Senior VP of Field Operations and Business
Development for Ruckus Wireless. "The technical advances we have
made in managing Wi-Fi signals to maximize performance enable us to
support industry efforts, like those of Globalstar, to creatively
help solve the wireless capacity crunch."
What is Terrestrial Low Power Service?
Globalstar's Terrestrial Low Power Service (TLPS) has been
proposed to the FCC as a new 802.11-based service in the 2.4 GHz
band that enables a privately managed extension to the 2.4 GHz
Wi-Fi band using adjacent licensed spectrum to support mobile
broadband applications throughout the
United States.
TLPS is expected to be a licensed service that is readily
compatible with existing 802.11-compliant Wi-Fi devices, offering
data speeds and distances that are far superior to those currently
existing on public Wi-Fi channels.
TLPS represents an opportunity for suppliers of carrier-grade
access points capable of supporting channel 14 within the 2.4 GHz
Wi-Fi frequency band to help eliminate the "critical problem" that
former Chairman Genachowski identified. TLPS will be part of
a Globalstar's managed services offering, coordinated with its
satellite services, and will utilize custom, carrier-grade access
points to provide substantial 'Wi-Fi offload' capacity and a
superior end user experience.
Testing Details
The Wi-Fi/TLPS testing, performed by Jarvinian, showed that
combining Globalstar's unlicensed ISM bands with 802.11-compliant,
adaptive antenna array technology from Ruckus results in a
carrier-grade service that vastly exceeds the performance of
conventional public Wi-Fi. According to Jarvinian, Ruckus
Smart Wi-Fi technology helped to significantly increase Wi-Fi
performance and signal range within the managed channel (14) while
providing a better method of managing co-channel interference
between access points.
"We appreciate the work of the Federal Communications
Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology in issuing the
experimental licenses that we needed to test and prove the
tremendous potential that this service holds for a mobile-driven
public," said Jay Monroe, chairman
and CEO of Globalstar. "The testing builds a robust measurable
technical foundation for discussions with prospective equipment
providers and service partners."
Ruckus Wireless played a key role in the success of the
experiment. "The combination of the Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi equipment
and TLPS exceeded expectations for distance and capacity while not
interfering or degrading the existing traffic on traditional Wi-Fi
channels," said John Dooley,
managing partner and founder of Jarvinian. "Even in an indoor urban
environment made difficult or otherwise unusable by spectral
congestion, usable connections were established at 3-5x the
distance of public Wi-Fi. More critically, very high-speed
connections were maintained much more uniformly and over
significantly longer distances."
For more information on the Wi-Fi/TLPS testing, please visit:
http://www.globalstar.com/en/ir/docs/Globalstar_Webinar_Presentation.pdf.
ABOUT RUCKUS WIRELESS
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (NYSE:
RKUS) is a global supplier of advanced wireless systems for the
rapidly expanding mobile Internet infrastructure market. The
company offers a wide range of indoor and outdoor "Smart
Wi-Fi" products to mobile carriers, broadband service
providers, and corporate enterprises, and has approximately 24,400
end-customers worldwide. Ruckus technology addresses Wi-Fi capacity
and coverage challenges caused by the ever-increasing amount of
traffic on wireless networks due to accelerated adoption of mobile
devices such as smartphones and tablets. Ruckus invented and has
patented state-of-the-art wireless voice, video, and data
technology innovations, such as adaptive antenna arrays that extend
signal range, increase client data rates, and avoid interference,
providing consistent and reliable distribution of delay-sensitive
multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. For
more information, visit http://www.ruckuswireless.com.
Ruckus, and Ruckus Wireless are trademarks of Ruckus Wireless,
Inc. in the United States and
other countries. All other product or company names may be
trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contact
Mark
Priscaro
Ruckus Wireless
mark.priscaro@ruckuswireless.com
+1 925-367-5505
SOURCE Ruckus Wireless, Inc.