10 September 2003 Orlando, FL Lightwave - Systems integratorLightRiver Technologies and free-space optics supplier fSONA Communications announced that the City of Moreno Valley, CA has completed the deployment of the fSONA SONAbeam 155-S free-space optics system to connect remote offices to the city's communications infrastructure. The announcement was made at the National Fiber Optics Engineers Conference (NFOEC) held in Orlando this week. With tight budgets affecting municipalities throughout California, free-space optics solutions, which transport broadband data networking services through the atmosphere, are proving to be a reliable and extremely economical alternative to running fiber-optic cables.
The City of Moreno Valley turned to LightRiver Technologies (Lafayette, CA) to help them design and deploy a free-space optics system to connect their City Hall communications room with nearby city offices. The city is leasing office space near City Hall and needed to establish Ethernet and T1 circuits to the new location. LightRiver provided the fSONA SONAbeam 155-S system, which transports services ranging from DS-1 to Gigabit Ethernet through the atmosphere using a laser-based free-space optics system.
"Given our budget constraints, an economical solution was important as was a short deployment interval," said David Ebarra, telecommunications administrator for the City of Moreno Valley. "We looked at several alternatives, including radio frequency products and laying fiber between the two buildings. The SONAbeam from fSONA was the most economical and practical solution we evaluated. It was available immediately, and was easy to install. fSONA was very responsive to our technical questions, and we were able to tap LightRiver's expertise in helping us deploy the system on time and on budget."
Joe Lara, lead telecommunications technician and John Harding, assistant telecommunication technician for the city, installed the necessary power and fiber connections at each end to the SONAbeam transmitter/receiver mounted on the roof of each building. "Installation was easy," said Lara. "The SONAbeam was up and ready for service before our employees had moved into the new location. It's usually the other way around," he said.
fSONA Communications was founded in 1997 to deliver simple wireless solutions for carrier, service provider and enterprise networks. The SONAbeam series of free-space optical networking products use an unlicensed, wireless technology operating at speeds up to 1.5 Gbits/sec and distances up to 5 km. SONAbeam avoids the cost of digging to lay fiber, licensing for radio frequencies, is immune to interference, and is extremely secure. SONAbeam is operational in 24 countries.