Carlson Wireless Technologies solution lets dealers, customers leverage TV-white-spaces spectrum

From providing telemetry to utilities to ensuring that remote enterprise or government offices have broadband connectivity, there are myriad use cases for RuralConnect—and, in many cases, the LMR dealer already has the all-important relationship with the potential customer and is aware of the broadband need, Carlson said.

“Anytime you want backhaul some significant bandwidth—10 MB/s or something like that—you’re not going to do that with narrowband solutions,” he said. “The other choice is unlicensed, and unlicensed in cities can be very difficult to obtain clear channels with.”

Given all of the attention and funding focused on FirstNet and its proposed public-safety broadband network utilizing 700 MHz spectrum, some might believe that first responders would not be interested in a broadband solution that leverages TV-white-spaces spectrum. But Carlson believes first-responder agencies—particularly those familiar with a local radio dealer—should consider RuralConnect as a viable option, particularly while the future of FirstNet remains uncertain.

“They’ve all been waiting on the promise of 700 MHz, but I don’t think that many have been fulfilled,” Carlson said. “This gives the opportunity to get the advantages of 700 MHz with no cost on [spectrum] licensing and little cost on hardware. That’s what we’re excited to do, and we’re the only company in this business with familiarity with public-safety companies and the municipal-wireless-type suppliers.”

For those interested in more information, Carlson Wireless will be demonstrating its RuralConnect solution next week in Booth 2080 on the IWCE 2014 exhibit-hall floor, which will located in the south hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.