Alvarion Ltd. announced that its IEEE 802.16e BreezeMAX 2300 and 2500 WiMAX and wireless broadband base stations have received Rural Utilities Service (RUS) acceptance from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The BreezeMAX 2300 and 2500 base stations represent the radio access network (RAN) foundation of Alvarion’s 4Motion Mobile WiMAX solution. The acceptance follows months of evaluation of performance documentation and detailed testimonials from multiple operators with commercial BreezeMAX networks, and it is required for operators requesting federal funds from the Rural Broadband Access Loan program for the purpose of purchasing and deploying broadband systems. From 2001 through 2007, the RUS has provided almost $6.5 billion in telecom grants, loans and loan guarantees for rural development.

Kelley Dunne, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DigitalBridge Communications, an Alvarion customer, noted: "Rural Development acceptance of a licensed WiMAX system is something the USDA has never done before. Not only can 2.3 and 2.5 GHz operators across the U.S. now leverage the hundreds of millions of federal dollars available each year for rural broadband access, but they get to do it with the market’s benchmark WiMAX solution for these bands." DigitalBridge Communications uses BreezeMAX equipment in 14 U.S. markets to serve thousands of customers.

Greg Daily, president of Alvarion, added, "We are proud to be the first to receive the RUS licensed WiMAX acceptance for our BreezeMAX solution. The timing is perfect with WiMAX so much in the news lately and our BreezeMAX 2.5 GHz being one of the first base stations to achieve the WiMAX Forum Certified seal. Now license holders of WCS and BRS/EBS frequencies can access federal funds to deploy WiMAX for the first time."

www.digitalbridgecommunications.com
www.alvarion.com

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