Friday, August 28, 2009
Accel Networks ("Accel") announced a contract today with the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) that will allow Accel to offer wireless broadband services to state and local government agencies at a discounted rate. The contract is designed to reduce costs and streamlines the procurement process by providing DIR customers with pre-negotiated discount rates that do not require a standard open-bid process.

"There's a tremendous need for the wireless broadband services we provide all across Texas," commented Mark Gianinni, CEO of Accel Networks. "We're very pleased that it will now be easier and more cost effective for state and local agencies to work with us."

Accel provides broadband connectivity for data networks with fixed wireless broadband services that employ multi-carrier reach. Many of the locations across Texas—particularly those in rural areas—are limited in their access to traditional terrestrial network broadband service such as DSL or frame relay. "This new contract will open new, cost-effective broadband options to government agencies who might otherwise have had limited or no broadband service options," said Mark Gianinni.

A local telecom agency RealCom Solutions (Dallas, TX) is named as the exclusive agent/reseller on the contract. RealCom Solutions will provide all pre and post sales support for DIR customers. "Through our relationship both with Accel Networks and Texas DIR, we can bring local, hands-on support for the government agencies in need of such a service," commented Charlie Bogart, CEO of RealCom Solutions. "Our Master Agency has had momentous expansion this past year, contracts like those that DIR provide, continue to fuel our overall growth strategy."

Texas DIR customers can find contract information and instructions on how to order at the DIR Store.

Learn more about Accel's fixed wireless broadband solutions. Contract ID: DIR-SDD-1044

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.

About RealCom Solutions
Founded in 2001, RealCom Solutions is a value-added telecom agency based in Dallas, Texas. With over 200 years of combined industry experience, RealCom Solutions’ telecom consultants serve as a single point of contact for all your telecommunication needs; local, long distance, internet, data, wireless and hardware. For more information, visit www.realcomsolutions.com.

Labels: Fixed Wireless Broadband, Press Release, Rural Broadband, Texas DIR

posted by Unknown at 5:26 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I pulled up to the fuel pump and immediately pulled out a credit card. Who goes inside anymore, anyway? After swiping the card a few times and ignoring the incessant beeps, I finally looked at the screen readout. "Please see attendee inside."

Oh great, there's something wrong with my card. I walked inside and found a line of customers waiting to pay. Not knowing the problem, I waited patiently to ask the cashier what seemed to be the matter with my card. After a few minutes, I learned the problem wasn't with my card at all. Their broadband was down and the store was operating on a backup network.

With broadband out and the entire store reliant on a dial-up connection, anything but business-critical applications were triaged, so-to-speak, on the all-but debilitated network. So, credit cards could be processed (and without an imprint, no less) but only at the counter, not the pump, and each transaction was accompanied by the screeching sounds of modem dial-up that I hadn't heard in years. The lottery sales were disabled. The in-store ATM was out of service. And tragedy of tragedies, even the application that tracked my reward points as a frequent customer of this particular c-store was out of order, so that day's $50 in gas didn't tabulate.

If you find yourself nodding as you read this description, realizing it's all-to-familiar for you, then I have an observation: you're just pretending to have backup. When backup doesn't actually back up the standard business functions, it's really a plan C, or D, but not a plan B. Fixed Wireless Broadband backup service from Accel Networks is full broadband throughput when you need it. In fact, it's so hard to notice when it's kicked in that we have enacted a service that alerts you when your backup service has been engaged. That's backup!

Labels: backup network, Convenience Stores, Fixed Wireless Broadband

posted by Unknown at 10:00 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wireless... hmm, ok, maybe if I need a good back-up solution. But it's far too slow to run all my business-critical apps. It's unreliable. It's unsecured. Are you crazy?

Not exactly. Fixed Wireless Broadband networks have evolved through multiple generations of both antenna technology and network infrastructure. What may have characterized wireless broadband when you piloted it back in the 90's no longer has any bearing. What was once little more than a cell phone antenna stuck to your laptop, or possibly a router, is now a new generation of wireless technology that more and more large enterprise retail, hospitality, c-store, and more are looking to for the future of their broadband network.

What's changed? For starters, the GSM network coverage is getting more and more saturated every day. Beyond that, Accel Networks' proprietary antenna technology means better signal and reliable connectivity. Simply put, signal strength is the least of your concerns. What's more, with Accel Networks' you can even maintain an completely private and secure Layer 2 network with fixed wireless broadband technology.

If you're ready to think anew about wireless broadband, put it to the test. Talk with one of our agents or partners about a no-risk certification process to validate the viability of wireless for your primary or back-up network needs.

Labels: backup network, Coverage, Fixed Wireless Broadband

posted by Unknown at 7:28 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana. I can tell you, as soon as I was old enough to understand business and profit, I started wondering how much it cost for one telephone pole to be erected. A digging crew, some heavy machinery, and a chemically-treated piece of lumber cut from a single tree at least 60-feet tall. Add to that the fact that there were hundreds from the nearest sub-station to our farm, and few other homes in between. Then an ice storm came and crews worked round-the-clock to restore power. How can they make any money?

That's just it. "They" didn't make money. We owned the utility together. It was called an Electric Cooperative, and it's the means by which most of the rural U.S. has gotten their electricity in the past century. So, what's the next vital utility for the development of rural communities? Without a doubt: broadband. Broadband is as vital to rural America as the electricity that powers it.

So, can we re-invent a generation-old concept to meet today's infrastructure needs? The Pacific Northwest Internet Service Everywhere (PNWISE) broadband cooperative thinks so. PNWISE is a utility cooperative--much like the electric co-op my parents belonged to--that has endeavored to bring broadband to a 4-state region in the rural Northwest.

And how are they doing it? With Fixed Wireless Broadband, of course. No need to send crews out to erect poles every 200 feet. No need to bury thousands of miles of copper cable and fiber optics in a massive terrestrial network. Fixed Wireless Broadband is the method of choice for today's broadband cooperatives like the PNWISE. It's internet for everyone at a price the member/owners can afford.

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

posted by Unknown at 7:55 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments