Technology will increase range by three-fold Despite a market already saturated with Wi-Fi technology, Wavion debuted this week and unveiled a metro-scale access point technology. Products are expected to follow before the end of the year.The products will be one of the first to incorporate MIMO (Multimedia Input Multimedia Output), SDMA (Space Division Multiple Access) and beam-forming technology in a metropolitan scale outdoor access point, according to Alan Menezes, vice president of business development at Wavion.MIMO technology, which will be incorporated in the upcoming IEEE 802.11n specification, creates a standard for using multiple radios and antennas in an access point. The beam-forming technology will increase the range of a conventional access point from 600 feet to 1,500 feet by focusing the energy transmitted from six radios and six antennas. SDMA can send four packets downstream to four different clients simultaneously.The access points will work with standard client Wi-Fi cards.The real benefit of the technology for companies looking to deploy outdoor solutions will come in cost savings, said Craig Mathias, principal at Farpoint Group. “The idea is for a given level of service you need fewer access points,” Mathias said.Because mesh networks are considered an important element in outdoor access points, Mathias expressed some surprise that Wavion is not using a mesh topology in its products. Menezes said the company plans to work with the current mesh vendors instead.“Our strategy is to work with the existing mesh players and allow them to port their mesh management and networking software on the platform that we provide. This way we can each leverage the others strengths,” Menezes said. Although the products are still in trials, Mathias said he is confident the technology works well.“Israelis are fabulous radio technologists because of the defense industry there. They know what they are doing,” Mathias said.Wavion expects to ship in volume in 60 to 90 days. Technology Industry