pr-2006-across the country

CALABASAS, Calif., July 12 – Strix Systems, the leader in high-performance wireless mesh networking, today announced that Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has selected Strix’s Access/One® Network Outdoor Wireless Systems (OWS) and Indoor Wireless Systems (IWS) to create its new Wi-Fi service. KDN, which is East Africa’s largest public data network operator, employs Strix’s solution for KDN’s Butterfly® service, which provides broadband wireless connectivity to the Internet and local network. Initially available in the cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret—which have a combined population of over 4 million—Butterfly will ultimately provide seamless connectivity throughout Kenya.

KDN deployed the Strix solution to meet the needs of many of its clients for an affordable, easily accessible Internet solution. The company also wanted to create a platform that would enable it to offer localized content, without necessarily paying for high-cost international capacity.

“KDN was looking for data connectivity solutions, especially for Wi-Fi, that would let us service clients in a clear non-line-of-sight environment,” said Dr. Kai U. Wulff, Managing Director of KDN. “Another goal was to reduce the entry barrier for customers, particularly in rural areas, to gain access to high-quality voice and data service. Because Butterfly is KDN’s first retail brand, its strategic value is high. We found that the wireless mesh outdoor nodes (OWS) and CPE (IWS) from Strix, in combination with our data backhauls—a mixture of free-space optical, fiber, copper, and microwave—best met our needs.”

The operator chose Strix’s multi-radio, multi-channel, multi-RF solution based on its architecture, Strix’s ability to provide professional services and support, and the company’s roadmap for future product developments, including WiMAX. Strix has announced its WiMAX strategy, and its planned WiMAX module, which will be a simple plug-in upgrade to existing nodes, will enable KDN to provide additional WiMAX backhaul and high-speed services. In addition, the multi-radio design offers seamless high-performance broadband coverage in the areas where the Strix nodes are deployed, allowing users to move around without losing connectivity. KDN found that Strix’s architecture provides coverage far superior to all other solutions it evaluated.

Strix Solution Supports Cost-Effective Broadband Services

The Strix architecture reduces operating expenses for KDN’s clients by enabling the operator to deploy a network within the free Wi-Fi spectrum. As a result, end users do not have to pay frequency fees, which are quite high in Kenya, and their cost of entry is cheaper. The Strix solution enables KDN to expand its subscriber base and provide high-quality broadband service to Butterfly customers throughout Kenya. Strix’s OWS and IWS are the only wireless systems KDN tested that could simultaneously support multiple real-time services such as Internet connectivity, wireless VoIP (wVoIP), and video. Today, Butterfly allows standalone palmtop, notebook, laptop, and desktop computers with Wi-Fi capability to remotely connect to the network from any place, at any time.

Strix’s modular, multi-radio architecture allows for simple configuration and automatic self-tuning of radios within a node, providing a customizable approach to deploying wireless mesh that ensures the highest performance, even when KDN deploys additional services and applications or expands its mesh network. KDN expects that the combination of seamless connectivity and low cost of entry to its Butterfly service will increase people’s productivity and have a positive effect on the economies of the areas where the service is deployed.

“As the KDN deployment demonstrates, using a Strix wireless mesh network to provide seamless Wi-Fi connectivity can benefit both operators and their end users,” said Nan Chen, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Strix. “As KDN expands the scope of its service, Strix has the proven capability to support wireless services that blanket entire metropolitan areas and beyond.”

About Kenya Data Networks

Kenya Data Networks (KDN), a member of Sameer Group, is a full-service data communications carrier that was licensed by the Communications Commission of Kenya in January 2003 as a public data network operator. KDN is a local company and has a stated policy to use local investors and local expertise to build world-class infrastructure in Kenya. KDN believes that we have the ability to build our own future, and we are investing over $300 million U.S. in that future. KDN has established itself as a leader in commercial leased lines, Frame Relay, and Metro Ethernet-based services in the Kenyan market. KDN has laid fiber cables in Nairobi and other major cities/towns with an aim to establish the first fiber backbone for Kenya. This also readies KDN for the East African Submarine Cable System backbone (EASSY). The company at present has an international gateway license and is able to offer Internet backbone and related services. Plans are also underway to have a presence beyond the borders of Kenya, provide total communication solutions to businesses, and be the infrastructure provider of choice for operators and users alike.

About Strix OWS

The Strix Access/One OWS and IWS modular mesh products deliver the largest capacity (up to six radios and 768 users per node, three to six times the norm), highest throughput (five times the norm at 35 Mbps), and best scalability (users can add more radio boards, WiMAX modules, or new technologies). An independent wireless mesh test sponsored by Light Reading and completed in June 2006 found Strix’s OWS 2400-30 delivers the best throughput and capacity, the greatest scalability for voice applications, and the best mobility/roaming. Strix networks scale to 10 or more wireless hops with near-zero throughput loss and latency. Customers can deliver real-time applications with a minimum of wired connections for a given area, which reduces CapEx and OpEx.