Wireless Technologies

SSI Micro has a long history of working with wireless products. Since 1996 we have been utilizing wireless technology in one form or another. Initially, when the technology was in its infancy our focus was on simple point to point links for our larger clients. As our wireless experience evolved and product lines improved, we began using this technology as a primary means to connect with our clients.

In March of 2004, SSI Micro began offering High Speed Wireless Internet to customers in Yellowknife. The deployment of this technology was the first of its kind in Canada, and has proven to be a huge success. Utilizing the Expedience NLOS line of products, SSI Micro provides reliable, high quality Internet throughout Yellowknife. Our success with this product ultimately resulted in its selection for use in our other Northern markets via the QINIQ and AirWare networks. All told, we service approximately 60 communities using this technology.

The system is comprised of Base Stations that deliver a wireless signal throughout the community, and of Residential Subscriber Units (or RSUs) that are provided to customers and which receive the signal from the Base Stations. There are numerous benefits to this type of infrastructure, some of which include:

Scalability: Base Stations can be added to a given network to increase capacity. This provides for essentially unlimited growth potential within any given community. As a prime example SSI Micro began with just two Base Stations in Yellowknife when the service was launched in March of 2004. Currently, SSI Micro has nine Base Stations in operation, and expects to add even more.

Roaming: Throughout Yellowknife are a number of cell sites that house Base Stations. They provide coverage throughout the entire city of Yellowknife. For those clients who travel or move within Yellowknife, an RSU will seamlessly move from one Base Station to another during operation. As a result, a client’s RSU will work at their home, their place of work, and even at friend’s houses across town. Additionally, RSU’s will continue to work while roaming from one Base Station to another, making the possibilities all but endless (taxis, delivery trucks, couriers). These modems can also be taken to any of the Qiniq or Airware sites, allowing for ubiquitous Internet access throughout Canada's North.

Redundancy: When a client’s RSU first powers on, it chooses the best Base Station that it can see to lock onto. Given Yellowknife’s ample number of Base Stations, this means that any given RSU chooses one, from as many as three or four, Base Stations to connect to. As a result, should any given Base Station fail, the RSU can simply move to another Base Station and continue operating. In such a manner, clients have no single point of failure.

Reduced Maintenance: Compared to Cable or DSL systems, this platform provides for lower cost facilities maintenance. Base stations are fully self-contained and environmentally hardened. They offer maximum flexibility for installation indoors or out. They do not require the use of telco cabling or copper loops, which can add significant ongoing maintenance costs.

Installation: As the RSU uses a particular type of wireless communication called NLOS (Non Line of Sight), this makes installation extremely simple. An RSU can simply be plugged into a computer, and in most cases, will immediately begin to work. No technician is required to visit your home, and the typical installation time can be measured in minutes.

Monitoring: SSI Micro’s wireless network is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by a team of dedicated technicians. Due to our diligence in monitoring the network (coupled with the redundant nature of the architecture), our wireless service has a high level of reliability.

SSI Micro is committed to wireless technology. We have worked with it for many years, well before the term "802.11" was even conceived of. We have worked with a wide variety of vendors, products, and configurations. We rely heavily on the benefits of wireless technology and have come to depend upon them to deliver cost effective connectivity to end users, residential and corporate alike.

For further information regarding SSI Micro’s projects and the technologies it employs, visit our technologies page.