Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) is utilizing BridgeWave Communication’s 80 GHz millimeter wave systems to connect several disparate campus buildings across the Portage shipping canal. BridgeWave’s gigabit wireless Ethernet bridges eliminate the network disruptions the campus had struggled with previously, while providing an affordable alternative to fiber.Michigan Tech deployed combinations of AR80-AES, AR80X and FE80U systems, each taking less than two days to implement. Despite inclement weather during Michigan’s notoriously snowy winters, the links continued to provide high availability and maintained connectivity to the campus network. The 80 GHz links also eliminated the need to trench under the nearby shipping canal, which saved the campus time and money as the deployment would have taken 24 months with initial cost estimates just under a million dollars. It was also more economical than what commercial providers could have offered.An added benefit to the use of full-rate gigabit connections across facilities was the consolidation of servers on campus. Previously, distributed servers were needed to provide instant access to data due to the bandwidth constraints and interference levels of the unlicensed solutions. With gigabit connectivity on the network, these bottlenecks have been removed and remote users have the same network experience as local users.Learn more from Bridgewave.
University Uses Ethernet Radio to Bridge Campus Network
