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March 23, 2011

Airspan to Deploy 4G Solution for Romania's Mobile WiMax Network

By Narayan Bhat
TMCnet Contributor

Next-generation wireless solutions vendor Airspan Networks has won a contract from Romania's state-run telecom carrier STS to deploy a 4G platform for its countrywide mobile WiMax network.

STS is Romania’s largest state enterprise providing special telecommunications services and operating networks for the Romanian public authorities, powering thousands of public safety and border patrol sites.

But the 4G solution was delivered, installed and activated by Romanian systems integrator Mobilis on behalf of Airspan (News - Alert), which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla.

STS said it invested more than EUR 20 million ($28.3 million) with Airspan encompassing the primary communications solution.

The network is built to comply with European standards as this 4G network is a result of the Schengen Treaty which calls for the removal of systematic border controls between the participating countries and extends the EU immigration system.

Analysts say the network, which currently exceeds 1,500 base station sectors, is a critical building-block for ushering in a new era of economic development in Romania.

Moreover, some say this Romanian Wimax network is the largest in Europe to date and capable of delivering 4th generation services beyond basic broadband connectivity.

"After an extensive testing and points-based consideration process, Airspan emerged as the clear winner," commented Vasilica Lungu, CEO of Mobilis. "For a large project such as this, it was crucial that we not only have a product that provides the technical capabilities, but also that we partner with a dependable and experienced vendor such as Airspan."

The network supports a range of services from robust, fixed, multi-service (voice, video, high capacity data, VLANs) locations to fully mobile units (police, border patrol, etc) all concurrently running on the same sectors.

“The requirements imposed by this customer were of the highest, most complex standards and the competition was fierce," commented Eric Stonestrom, president and chief executive officer of Airspan.

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty originally signed in 1985, in Schengen, Luxembourg, between five of the 10 member states of the European Union. It calls for the removal of internal border controls between the participating countries for allowing free movement of persons. The Schengen area today consists of 25 European countries.


Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Narayan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee


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