August 23, 2004 San Diego, CA--LightPointe, a provider of optical wireless products based on free-space optics (FSO) technology, is shipping FlightLite 100, the newest addition to its application-specific Flight family of optical wireless solutions. Designed as an affordable, entry level FSO offering, FlightLite 100 targets enterprises seeking LAN-to-LAN Fast Ethernet connectivity.
FlightLite 100 is the first LightPointe product to incorporate IEEE 802.af-compliant Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology, which provides direct Ethernet-to-laser connectivity and eliminates the need for additional electrical wiring. The result is an easier, faster and more economical installation because no fiber-optic cable has to be pulled to a building rooftop or window, and no additional power source is necessary. Weighing less than 10 pounds, the FlightLite 100 delivers high-capacity bandwidth free of the licensing, interference and security concerns associated with other wireless technologies.
According to Bob Preston, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at LightPointe, the FlightLite 100 is ideal for a variety of applications, including building-to-building connectivity, especially where IT managers are seeking to replace 802.11b products and looking toward 802.11a/g as the next logical step. "With FlightLite 100, remote buildings can be connected to the campus LAN for about the same price of competing 802.11 solutions but with about four times the bandwidth," he says."Our entry-level offering opens the door for enterprises searching for the ultimate balance of price, performance and bandwidth."
For 24 Hour Fitness, a privately owned and operated chain of fitness centers, LightPointe's FlightLite 100 provides an unbeatable outdoor wireless solution. "The FlightLite 100 gives us 60 times greater capacity than our T1--at the lowest price-per-bit on the market," explains Justin Kwong, manager of information technology for the networking group at 24 Hour Fitness. "The system paid for itself in less than one month." In addition to the compelling value proposition, Kwong cites ease of installation and use, simplified troubleshooting and improved reliability as further benefits of the optical wireless deployment.
Now shipping, the FlightLite 100 is available through LightPointe's authorized value-added resellers and integrators worldwide. As physical transport devices, LightPointe's products work seamlessly with any network protocol, switch, hub or router. To date, the company has sold more than 2,500 systems in more than 60 countries. In addition to the FlightLite line, LightPointe offers the FlightSpectrum with fixed four-beam operation; FlightStrata, the flagship product with advanced multi-beam tracking, optical beam shaping and speeds up to 1.25 Gbits/sec; and the FlightApex, the highest-capacity optical wireless product on the market, according to the company, with multi-beam technology and connectivity speeds up 2.5 Gbits/sec for combined voice, data and video applications.