|
October 26, 2005
(West Des Moines, IA) – Iowa Network Services
(INS) announced today a pilot project testing
WiMAX wireless broadband service in Iowa next
year. Iowa Network Services will be among the
first companies in the nation to test WiMAX on
a community basis for use by both consumers and
businesses.
Initial deployment of the WiMAX technology will
take place in Norwalk, Iowa and Mason City, Iowa.
INS will work with Prairie iNet, an Iowa-based
wireless broadband provider, to design and build
the WiMAX pilot networks. Local independent telephone
companies affiliated with INS will work with local
customers to offer WiMAX services. CLTel of Clear
Lake, Iowa, OmniTel of Nora Springs, Iowa and
WCTA of Lake Mills, Iowa will be part of the Mason
City,
Iowa pilot project. Interstate Communications
of Truro, Iowa will be part of the Norwalk, Iowa
pilot project. INS anticipates that the Norwalk,
Iowa and Mason City, Iowa networks will be operational
by mid 2006.
WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access which is a wireless operating
standard also know as 802.16. ”WiMAX is
an emerging technology,” said Richard Vohs,
President and CEO Iowa Network Services, Inc.
(INS). “We want to test WiMAX’s ability
to provide affordable fixed wireless, nomadic
and mobile broadband Internet services to Iowans”
he added, “We have assembled a strong team
with Prairie iNet, a nationally recognized leader
in the design and operation of wireless broadband
networks, and the local telephone companies that
have been providing state of the art telecommunications
in their
communities for decades”.
The most noticeable benefits WiMAX will offer
Iowans will be the expanded range in which wireless
broadband service will be available throughout
the state. Other advantages to the WiMAX standard
include faster connection rates for wireless devices,
and the ability to support enhanced video, and
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol.) applications.
WiMAX will be an open standards technology, not
a proprietary technology, meaning that Iowans
will be able to buy WiMAX ready computers and
other devices from a variety of vendors.
About Iowa Network Services
Iowa Network Services is privately owned by a
group of 127 independent telephone companies that
serve 500,000 rural Iowans. Core network transport,
broadcast video and internet service via netINS
are among the products offered by Iowa Network
Services to telephone companies across the state
of Iowa and to enterprise customers nationwide.
For more information visit www.IowaNetworkServices.com
and www.netINS.net.
About Prairie iNet
Prairie iNet, of Des Moines, Iowa is a nationally
recognized leader in the design,
development, and operation of wireless high-speed,
Internet networks. Prairie iNet currently utilizes
standards based wireless technology to provide
broadband Internet solutions for residential,
business, educational, and governmental entities
in 115 communities, located in Iowa and Illinois.
For more information visit www.prairieinet.net.
For additional information contact:
Neil J.
Mulholland, Prairie iNet, 515/440-0848, ext.
106
|
News
