BelAir deploys compact LTE/3G/WiFi transmitter

BelAir Networks, which supplies WiFi transmitters to Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), said it has deployed what it is calling the first compact transmitter with WiFi, LTE and 3G capabilities.

The company says its new BelAir2100 LTE+3G_WiFi Metrocell can use wireless backhaul for outdoor deployments, and also supports wireline backhaul options. The 2100 can also work in conjunction with BelAir's strand mounted cell products to extend the range of small cell coverage, it added.

Spokeswoman Sheila Burpee Duncan told FierceCable that the BelAir is shipping the Metrocell to a tier one carrier for trials during the fourth quarter, but she wouldn't name the company that is testing the product.

Time Warner Cable recently said it would spend $150 million to build WiFi hotspots throughout Southern California. That MSO, along with Cablevision and Comcast, offer high-speed Internet subscribers throughout the New York metropolitan area free access to WiFi hotspots.

Cablevision has also said it is testing how it may be able to offer its subscribers mobile phone service through a hybrid network that would rely on WiFi transmitters and cellular networks.

For more:
- see the news release

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