News

World record for WiFi connection claimed

There isn't much to block a radio signal if you're in a balloon; so the news that Alvarion has managed to reach a 310 km distance probably isn't as exciting as it sounds.

The announcement came from the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) which announced last week that they have transmitted information via a broadband wireless link between a stratospheric balloon that was launched from Esrange near the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden and a base station located near Esrange.

The agency believes that this is the longest distance achieved using wireless LAN connectivity.

Credit for picking up the signal at that distance goes to Alvarion, which provided the antenna. The antenna was connected to a high-power amplifier with 6 watts power output,making it stricly illegal for on-the-ground use - plus a camera and a server.

Data, such as environmental conditions and weather patterns, was collected and the information was sent back to Esrange via an Alvarion base station which measured 2.4 meters with 6 watt power output and automatic tracking of the antenna using GPS technology.

Lars-Olov Jonsson, System engineer RF and microwave, at SSC Esrange commented: "This is an amazing technical achievement, the difficulty of which should not be underestimated. Alvarion has developed extremely robust equipment capable of operating in a very harsh environment. Its technology has helped us save money, time and energy."

Zvi Slonimsky, CEO of Alvarion, said: "Time and time again, wireless is proving to be a genuine option in the broadband arena for enterprises, incumbent and alternative operators looking for alternatives to fibre and satellite to be continued."

Alvarion "is a premier provider of solutions based on Point-to-Multipoint (PMP) Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) used by telecom carriers, service providers, and enterprises worldwide. Alvarion systems provide Internet access and voice and data services in the last mile, cellular network feeding, building-to-building and wireless local area network (LAN) connectivity."