Link3 Technologies deploys Aperto Networks 3.5 GHz systems for business-grade broadband wireless access in Bangladesh

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, June 1, 2004

Link3 Technologies, Ltd. and Aperto Networks jointly announced recently that Link3 has deployed Aperto's 3.5 GHz PacketWave broadband wireless access (BWA) systems for business-grade VPNs throughout the operator's network. The first and now largest wireless Internet Service Provider in Bangladesh, Link3 has built the premier financial services subscriber base and is well-respected for its reliable and high-quality service delivery. Link3 uses Aperto Networks for its 3.5 GHz network deployment, as well as for backhaul of network traffic.

Link3 Technologies has been in operation for four years, serving the nation's top banks and financial development agencies, large international and local corporations, government offices and multi-tenant business properties. The company has extensive coverage and capacity in three large cities, and has plans underway to serve as many as 15 metro areas. It currently owns and operates 12 base stations across Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. All have been placed in strategic locations to provide the maximum coverage for these metro areas comprised of a population of 14 million.

"We have considerable expertise in wireless networking over unlicensed frequency bands, and received approval in 2003 to operate in the 3.5 GHz licensed band," stated Link3 managing director Sajjid Pasha. "After testing our current and prospective systems vendors, we chose Aperto for this substantial network expansion and migration of corporate clients to the 3.5 GHz infrastructure. PacketWave's IP feature richness, QoS and advanced capabilities such as adaptive modulation meet our needs extremely well, and the solution economics are very attractive."

"Link3 is astutely leveraging its reputation for network robustness and IT expertise in its new 3.5 GHz operations," stated Aperto Networks CEO and chairman Reza Ahy. "The company has also used the system's adjustable channel size to optimize its use of spectrum and interference avoidance. It is never easy to meet the networking needs of financial services, but Link3 has built strong loyalty in this demanding market segment and will continue to raise the bar in its serving territory."

Aperto Networks is a leader in IEEE 802.16-class multiservice broadband wireless access systems for global markets. The company was founded to provide breakthrough solutions to the bottleneck in last-mile broadband access, and is a founding board member of the WiMAX Forum as well as a founder and lead contributor to IEEE 802.16a/d and the ETSI-BRAN standards. Its PacketWave system is a family of base stations, subscriber units, radios and antennas in 2.5, 3.5 and 5 GHz frequencies for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint deployment. PacketWave's scalability and patented technologies support new wireless builds and complement wireline broadband access networks. Aperto is already deployed in 40 countries, meeting service provider needs for installation ease, IP-rich network functionality, cost effectiveness, rapid provisioning and interference resilience.