A cable TV operator in Billings, Montana, is tesing a solution that, according to a story in InformationWeek, may provide “a novel remedy for municipalities struggling with Wi-Fi deployments.”A cable TV operator in Billings, Montana, is tesing a solution that, according to a story in InformationWeek, may provide “a novel remedy for municipalities struggling with Wi-Fi deployments.”
The square-mile hot spot in the city’s downtown uses a DOCSIS solution from Fujitsu Network Communications and BelairNetworks’ 100s Hardware in a platform that enables Wi-Fi service over the cable network. DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications) is a group of technical specifications that enable data to be distributed over a cable network. It has been around since the late 1990s but this appears to be the first time it has been tested in a metro Wi-Fi situation.
The technology should allow cable companies to push connectivity out to presently underserved areas that cannot be reached by cable in a cost-effective way. This could be significant in the muni market.
Cable companies, after all, enjoy pre-existing relationships with the municipalities in which they have video franchises. Their high-speed infrastructures are, for the most part, already built-out and they extend to a large number of homes in their market areas. Wi-Fi, by providing last-mile connectivity, enables them to further their reach, at least for data services. Given that the infrastructure is already in place, this could provide a cost-effective alternative for cities looking to minimize the costs of muni build-outs.
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Click here to read the story.
Click here to read Fujitsu’s press release.
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