Narad Networks and MediaCell Inc. are developing a platform that will enable cable operators to add wireless capabilities to their wired HFC (hybrid fiber/coax) plants.
The combined system, which will include business customers among its primary targets, matches Narad’s symmetrical 100 Mbps Ethernet-over-coax platform with MediaCell’s 802.11-based WirelessTap technology. In that scenario, Narad’s gear will handle wireless backhaul, and MediaCell’s will provide wireless connectivity, as well as security and provisioning features.
Via the partnership, “we are able to offer operators a complete solution that provides the security and symmetric high throughput demanded by discerning business segments such as the healthcare and financial industries,” said MediaCell CEO & CTO Don Bishop, in a statement. He added that the system will provide operators with a secure, scalable backhaul network over HFC without the higher construction costs tied to pure fiber grids.