Airvine Completes Installation of the Innovative WaveTunnel Indoor Wireless Backhaul System in an MDU Building

Airvine's "WaveTunnel" Gigabit-speed Ethernet backhaul system recently was deployed on 4 floors of a 65-unit senior living residence in Chicago

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Airvine, the first company to develop a multi-Gigabit-speed wireless Ethernet backbone system for indoor connectivity, today unveiled the first publicly-announced installation of its WaveTunnel system in the commercial real estate sector.

Working with QUILT, a local integrator of residential broadband systems and a specialist in providing high-speed service to underserved areas, Airvine recently completed a project at The Burnham – a 65-unit senior living multi-floor residence in the Woodlawn section of Chicago.  

QUILT installed three WaveTunnel nodes on each of four floors to create a 1.5 Gigabit "pipeline" on each floor to connect all Wi-Fi access points and other devices. The installation of the WaveTunnels and APs took a single day, and all nodes were mounted on ceilings using simple brackets. Further, WaveTunnel nodes can find each other and connect automatically as they feature advanced beam steering capabilities.

Many residents at The Burnham have special needs and limited mobility. Therefore, the installation process had to avoid any type of obstruction in hallways and other common areas and had to eliminate almost all noise and other disturbances caused by construction activities (such as drilling and conduit installation).

"By eliminating the need to run wires from an IDF switch to each Wi-Fi AP, we shaved two weeks off the project time and saved thousands in labor costs," said QUILT CEO, Dwayne Douglas. "The WaveTunnel technology simplifies future upgrades, allowing us to enhance internet speeds for tenants without heavy construction. We can install the WaveTunnels as the backhaul system simultaneously with the Wi-Fi APs, ensuring a seamless and efficient upgrade process."

Using the WaveTunnel to create a multi-Gigabit wireless backbone network to connect Wi-Fi APs and all other Ethernet-compatible devices saves significant costs in materials and labor in a number of large interior settings – such as factories and warehouse facilities, hotels and other commercial real estate and large public venues such as convention centers. 

Meeting today's bandwidth requirements in these environments means upgrading the existing wired indoor infrastructure, which to date has meant laying new cables or swapping out new for old (such as Ethernet CAT 5 cable).  This process can result in lengthy construction projects, which result in lost productivity or operational disruptions during these "down" times. 

The Airvine WaveTunnel represents a significantly faster and less expensive option, as the shoebox-sized modules are mounted on ceilings and other interior high points to provide multi-Gigabit links that pass through walls, down corridors and around corners to any Ethernet-ready device with minimal construction and personnel. 

WaveTunnel operates in the interference-free 60 GHz band, where there is also plenty of spectrum to provide multi-Gb/s backbone connectivity. Furthermore, the WaveTunnel takes advantage of patented advances in this mmWave band to make it the first 60 GHz system in the industry with the capability of non-line of sight connectivity. As a result, the WaveTunnel can penetrate most indoor walls as well as" beam steer" around corners, which greatly simplifies and expedites network set-up and operational readiness.

"We are pleased to demonstrate how our WaveTunnel system brought high speed Internet to a facility that would have waited years for a wired upgrade, if it ever happened at all," said David Sumi, VP of Marketing at Airvine. "We are the first to use wireless for indoor backbones, an accomplishment made possible by our patented implementation in the 60GHz band, and we look forward to more deployment announcements in multiple sectors in the coming months."

About Airvine

Airvine is a fast-growing Silicon Valley innovator of intelligent broadband wireless backhaul solutions for the enterprise. The company has developed the industry's first indoor 60 GHz wireless system that delivers multi-gigabit/sec data transfer rates without any of the complexity of legacy solutions. Patented RF innovations extend the range and gain of wireless signals, penetrating walls and steering around obstacles that impede transmission -- something never before possible within the 60 GHz band.

SOURCE Airvine