Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 213 Wed. December 31, 2003  
   
StarTech


Tech Focus
Net behind the screen
Touring Sirius Broadband's NLOS base station


LAST month Sirius Broadband introduced the region's first non-line-of-sight (NLOS) wireless internet access through portable customer premises equipment (CPE).

With this newly introduced portable CPE, the country is expected to go through altogether a new experience in the technological improvisation.

A few days ago, 'Star Tech' visited the NLOS base station to sneak a quick look into the advanced technical features, such as the true plug-and-play option and smart antenna technology which eliminates the use of external antennas.

The 'Smart Antenna' is a SCDMA-based technology, which synchronises the data transfer from both ways preventing any signal loss due to collisions.

The NLOS station includes a tower that carries the transmission activities to and from the CPE. The tower contains a back-hole to receive bandwidth broadcast from the VSATs of Sirius Broadband located at Grameen IT Park andÊat its office at Banani.

The tower carries radio frequency (RF) elements that create an electromagnetic field and propagates through space. It also carries a Global Positioning System (GPS) that is used to synchronise the transmission of signals.

The server room of the NLOS base station contains RF Rack, IP Rack, DNS and DHCPs that contributes to the NLOS wireless internet technology to function.

The RF rack carries the RF elements and IP Rack does the signal processing, interconnecting the IP networks and controlling the CPEs. Provisioning systems is the software used to configure the CPE and base station for the quality of service.

Sirius has been allocated 19 Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) IP addresses that carry 8,190 public IP addresses from the APNIC.

It receives bandwidth from PAS-10, Agila, Apaster-IIR and NSS-703. Combining the bandwidth from all these satellites Sirius capacitates up to 16 Mbps to their clients. The NLOS technology also features configurable bandwidth based on user requirements. Sirius currently provides NLOS wireless internet reach up to 21 km.

For security, the ISP uses Cisco 5XX series PIX that controls the ICMP and protects from SYN, flood attacks and unauthorised activities.

Sirius Broadband has entered an agreement with California Amplifier, one of the leaders in NLOS market, to be their exclusive partner in Bangladesh.

The local ICT sector is developing at a brisk pace with new ideas, new technologies and human potentials and their creativity. The joint effort from the government and private sector can build the nation up to a competitive height in the world market.

Picture
NLOS base station tower of Sirius Broadband