Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The other day my power went out. Of course, I immediately looked over at the stove clock to see the time and it was just a blank LED screen. So, what was my next move? I instinctively turned to look at the microwave to see the time there. No such luck. Obviously, they were both on the same connection to the power grid so of course they would both be out. They shared a common point of failure. That "duh" moment was the beginning of a great new idea.

What if that had been my internet, not my power… and it wasn't my oven clock that was down, it was my point-of-sale system? If you use one carrier and that carrier goes down, then what back-up can you have?

Recently, Accel completed an implementation for a retail store chain. With hundreds of stores, we were responsible for implementing both primary networks and network continuity (back-up) at various sites. The unique part is this: our multi-carrier antenna technology allowed us to tune one site's primary network to one carrier with their back-up network on another. The site's entire network was wireless, allowing for deployment in a matter of days. And their continuity is as bullet-proof as networks get.

Best of all, even though there a multiple carriers, there is only ONE bill. So you get the coverage you need, without the administrative nightmare. Accel delivered a predictable and reliable fixed wireless broadband service faster than any wireline could ever boast. How will you connect your next store opening?

Labels: backup network, Broadband, Coverage, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Network Providers

posted by Unknown at 11:18 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
To be honest, I'm not a shopper. I refuse to go to one store to buy tomatoes on sale and then another to get the onions just to save a few cents. Convenience is my motivator. In business, I'm the same way. Once I have found a vendor that I like, I don't want to worry about diverse contracts with multiple suppliers. The biggest value to me isn't the money saved, its the time saved.

But, I've learned more recently about entire business models growing around the concept of supplier aggregation. A friend of mine runs a business that serves offices throughout the Indianapolis area, providing all of their office supply needs. He shops the competition, gets bids, and buys from a half-dozen different vendors each time he fills any order. Sole-sourced? Yes and no. The end-customer is receiving product from a host of sources, but the frustrations and headaches that usually accompany such shopping are no longer theirs to bear.

The same thing has been happening for years in the telecom industry. Retail stores, restaurants, and c-store locations all need one thing: broadband access. Yet, fewer and fewer are going directly through any one provider. Sure, it's quite a hassle for a network administrator to negotiate and manage contracts with AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all at the same time. But, what if they didn't have to?

The Accelerator™ antenna technology allows one company to have multiple sites each served by different wireless broadband providers--whichever one is best for any individual site. It's the best of both worlds: ideal coverage and flexibility while Accel Networks handles the procurement nightmare.

Labels: Broadband, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Network Providers

posted by Unknown at 6:24 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
St.Petersburg, FL., April 22, 2009 - Accel Networks ("Accel"), the leading provider of managed fixed wireless broadband services, has expanded its management team with the addition of Jesse Chappell, the company’s new Director of Network Operations. In his new role, Chappell will be responsible for expanding Accel’s network operations and customer support systems. Chappell draws from his ten-years of senior management experience and seventeen-year career in networking and IT infrastructure.

Since the release of their proprietary Accelerator™ antenna technology for fixed wireless broadband in June 2008, Accel has experienced dramatic growth in its installed base. "We were looking for an individual with the proven ability to rapidly scale Accel's network operations. Service is our franchise and we recognize that maintaining quality is essential in order to continue to fuel our growth. We are very impressed with the contributions that Jesse is already making," commented Mark Gianinni, CEO of Accel Networks.

Chappell, former Director of Network Engineering for Cybera, Inc., has a successful track record of building PCI-compliant networks for multi-site retail, hospitality, and convenience store customers. Chappell is well acquainted with both the technical aspects of multi-carrier networks and the creative aspects of meeting unique and ever-changing customer needs. Chappell will lead his department which is responsible for Accel’s network design, capacity planning, creating and maintaining the systems and processes to support Accel’s rapid growth. Customers will continue to receive the utmost in service that has been a staple of the company’s success to-date.

About Accel Networks
Accel is the leading provider of managed of fixed wireless broadband services in North America. Drawing on its experience in fixed wireless networking, Accel fused proprietary technology and intellectual property with the 3G GSM and CDMA networks and created the first PCI compliant broadband fixed wireless enterprise network. Accelerator™ brings together the availability, reliability, network management and security of terrestrial frame relay with the data throughput and price point of DSL, without the long lead times, complex installations, and high fallout rates of terrestrial broadband.

Labels: Press Release

posted by Nick Carter at 11:26 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
In March, the FCC auctioned licenses to the 700MHz spectrum which was made available by the nation-wide mandated transition to digital TV. Who wound up owning the vast majority of those licenses? Verizon Wireless. The FCC raised $19.6 Billion but the real winner was Verizon Wireless, who now estimates they will have enough network to reach every corner of rural America with 4G fixed wireless broadband access.

Aside from the fact that infrastructure already exists all over the nation for broadcasting this spectrum; And, not to mention that receivers and devices on this spectrum have been developed and redeveloped since the dawn of television; It's the physics of the waves that makes Verizon, and all of the broadband industry, excited to see what develops. The 700MHz spectrum waves can travel long distances and propagate through walls, which makes it ideal for covering broad, geographically dispersed regions of the U.S.

As we wrote about a while back, fixed wireless broadband has always been the most feasible technology for bringing internet to rural areas. That fact has not changed. What this purchase means, however, is that one of the most technically capable spectrum in air waves is now under the control of one of the nations largest telecom companies, Verizon, with the express mission of bringing delivering broadband to more Americans than ever.

When can we expect to see the roll-out begin? Verizon plans to begin building a 4G network as early as 2010. However, reaching every household could take years. Whatever the time frame, this purchase marks an exciting new era for wireless broadband.

Labels: Broadband, Coverage, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Rural Broadband Access, Verizon

posted by Unknown at 5:18 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
In San Jose, California last week thousands of businesses lost connectivity for nearly 10 hours when vandals reportedly climbed through a manhole and cut fiber-optic cables. Fixing the problem had to start with finding the problem. Then, fixing fiber-optics isn't like splicing a 10-gauge wire with a stripper and some black tape. All this leaves me wondering, should your broadband be hanging by a fiber?

According to CNET, among the businesses affected was everyone from email marketing firms with millions of emails to serve all the way to small retail, convenience stores, and private homes. The outage affected people in at least 3 nearby cities.

How many cell towers can be found in that same radius? Not less than a dozen. It would take a small army of vandals to black out the redundancy of that GSM wireless grid. Fixed wireless broadband, whether as a primary network or a backup network, could have kept tens of thousands of businesses online. If each business does just 10 transactions an hour of $10 a piece, that would be no less than $1 Million in sales processed without a hitch.

Now, imagine if your store wasn't located in a grid like urban San Francisco. How long could it take to restore connectivity to your new store in a developing community or the gas station off a rural highway. When just one over-zealous digger severs a cable or a vandal finds an unguarded manhole, what can that mean for your expanding business? Will you be ready? Will you stay connected?

Labels: backup network, Broadband, Fixed Wireless Broadband

posted by Unknown at 4:57 AM Link to this Article  1 Comments

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
I had a noon appointment yesterday, so I decided to head out about 10 minutes early and stop off at a store to pick up something real quick. I knew exactly what I needed and where to find it, so it should just be a quick in-and-out, right? Wrong.

My first clue should have been when the associate had to call the back room manually and check to see if an item was in stock. Should the computer tell him that? When I approached the registers, lines were longer than usual, but nothing too daunting, and besides, I had time to spare. Ten minutes later, however, I was about to abandon the mission and just come back later when at last a new register opened that I could move to. Finally, just a swipe of the credit card and I'm out the door.

I was wrong. The delays that I was experiencing were due to a network outage. The store's local network was up and running just fine, but they had lost their layer 2 network connection with the central store. Their point-of-sale system was entirely dependent on the central network, as was inventory (even local inventories) and credit card processing. After waiting for a manual imprint of my card and a telephone authorization, I arrived at my meeting 15 minutes late.

Fixed Wireless Broadband backup networks offer more reliability than any wireline network could dream. Since the "grid" relies on no physical connectivity, careless diggers and even natural disasters have far less effect. The store's sales and customer satisfaction could have been significantly higher with a PCI-compliant back-up network from Accel Networks.

Labels: backup network, Broadband, Coverage, Fixed Wireless Broadband

posted by Unknown at 9:15 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Thursday, April 2, 2009
St. Petersburg, FL – March 30, 2009 – Accel Networks ("Accel") announced today the successful completion of its annual audit under the rules of the PCI-DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and that Visa has renewed Accel’s certification as a Tier 1 Compliant Provider. Accel provides multi-site retail and hospitality businesses with managed PCI-compliant wireless broadband networks, including payment processing and other secure data transfers.

Founded by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa International, the PCI Security Standards Council is an independent body formed to develop, enhance, disseminate and assist with implementation of security standards for payment account security. Additionally, CISP is a certification program whereby Visa individually enforces PCI-DSS compliance among all merchants in their network. Accel is one of very few wireless broadband providers in the US to achieve PCI Compliance and CISP Certification.

"Our clients trust us with their customers' most sensitive data, their customers’ cardholder data," said Mark Gianinni, CEO of Accel Networks. "Helping merchants keep that data secure is the most important requirement of any retailer’s wide area network. That's why we work hard to achieve and maintain a PCI Compliant broadband solution for our customers."

To learn more about Accel's PCI-compliant network solutions, visit www.accel-networks.com.

About Accel Networks

Accel is the leading provider of managed fixed wireless broadband services in North America. Drawing on its experience in fixed wireless networking, Accel fused proprietary technology and intellectual property with the 3G GSM and CDMA networks and created the first PCI compliant broadband fixed wireless enterprise network. Accelerator™ brings together the availability, reliability, network management and security of terrestrial frame relay with the data throughput and price point of DSL, without the long lead times, complex installations, and high fallout rates of terrestrial broadband. For more information, visit www.accel-networks.com.

Contact:

Nick Carter

Carter and Company, LLC

317-594-9550
nick@carterandcompanyllc.com

Labels: PCI Compliance, PCI Compliant Broadband, PCI-DSS, Press Release

posted by Unknown at 1:54 PM Link to this Article  0 Comments