Alcatel-Lucent is committed to the emerging fourth-generation of wireless. And they seem to like Spain as a venue for making 4G-related news.
Last month in Barcelona, Alcatel-Lucent made the headlines when Verizon Wireless named them to a select group of primary network vendors for its initial LTE network deployments in the United States. The company also announced a new LTE software module in Barcelona.
Today Alcatel-Lucent announced a WiMAX deployment with Iberian broadband communications service provider Iberbanda, a provider specializing in serving the nation's rural areas (the plain, in Spain, if you will...).
Iberbanda has deployed its first pilot network using Alcatel-Lucent's WiMAX 802.16-e (Rev-e) wireless broadband technology.
To showcase the new technology, a specially equipped bus is driving around Iberbanda's R&D center in Malaga testing mobile Internet access and other services such as voice over IP (VoIP) or video surveillance. This pilot is designed to validate simultaneous use of a WiMAX network by a variety of applications.
According to the official announcement, Iberbanda's bus is equipped with WiMAX CPE with WiFi functionality so that multiple devices can be connected en route. The CPE is connected to a WiMAX base station enabling Internet access at 18 Mb/s download and 3 Mb/s upload speeds. An IP phone, a videoconference system and several cameras for surveillance are also available for the different demos.
