SAN JOSE, Calif., January 17, 2001 - Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced that its industry leading technology Vector Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VOFDM) has been awarded the Technology Frontier Award by the Wireless Communications Association (WCA). The award is presented to those vendors providing the most advanced technologies and/or the best broadband service to underserved communities, such as schools, colleges and remote rural areas. The "Wemmie" will be presented on January 18th at the 7th Annual WCA Technical Symposium, which is being held at the Double Tree Hotel in San Jose, Calif.
"These awards carry a unique worldwide distinction in our industry because they are conferred by a jury of the leading carriers and diversified engineering companies," said WCA President Andrew Kreig. "The award-winners show that fixed wireless is providing exciting advanced solutions both for customers who have big budgets and diverse options and for those who otherwise might be bypassed by the broadband revolution."
VOFDM increases subscriber coverage for high-speed, high-reliability Internet, packet local and long distance telephony services and Virtual Private Network (VPN) access. VOFDM also lowers the cost of provisioning and deploying infrastructure for a wireless network, and utilizes multipath signals to enhance or recreate transmitted signals, dramatically increasing overall system performance and scalability for service providers. This allows for high data throughput in a minimum of Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum and supports extreme multipath issues existing in obstructed or partially obstructed non-line-of-sight environments. The Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF) has adopted the technology in an effort to drive industry standards.
"Being awarded the 'Wemmie' is a tremendous honor and we are delighted to be recognized as a key player in driving industry standards for broadband fixed wireless," said Carson Chen, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Wireless Access Business Unit. "VOFDM has been successful in helping service providers lower the cost of provisioning a wireless network while increasing revenues and subscriber coverage."
About BWIF
BWIF is the principal organization chartered with creating and developing next generation fixed wireless standards. Along with industry leading companies and sponsorship from the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO), BWIF supports the development, promotion and compliance of open broadband fixed wireless specifications based on Vector Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VOFDM) and Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). Through membership and active participation in this forum, its members are committed to the establishment of product roadmaps that lower product costs, simplify deployment of advanced services, and ensure the availability of interoperable solutions.
About WCA
The WCA is a non-profit trade association for the fixed wireless broadband industry, with 435 members companies on six continents that represent the vast bulk of the world's leading carriers, vendors and consultants. WCA's annual Technical Symposium gathers operators who are using group action to provide guidance to vendors, standards bodies and regulators on technical issues that will be vital for the successful BWA deployments.
