Delivering High-Quality Ethernet Service in the Middle of the Ocean

Incorporated in Bermuda, Digicel is an international phone operator primarily serving the Caribbean and neighboring mainland countries in Central and South America. But its experience in bringing cellular connectivity to island nations has also brought it to the South Pacific, including the Republic of Fiji.

In planning its service roll out for Fijian Business Ethernet customers, Digicel had to overcome one major obstacle: there are no fiber connections between Suva, the country’s capital on the island of Viti Levu, and outlying islands. And that’s no minor problem: Of Fiji’s more than 300 islands, over 100 are permanently inhabited.

The only possible solution would have to be wireless. But in Fiji’s case that is not a simple trick. The country’s islands are spread out over an area that stretches a thousand kilometers from one end to the other, and wireless systems all have a limited range and finite capabilities. To provide a solution that would indeed be able to meet all its requirements, Digicel turned to RAD’s regional office for Oceania.

The National Business Ethernet Standard.
RAD’s proposal was based on its Airmux family of broadband wireless radios. Airmux-5000 point-to-multipoint Ethernet radios would serve as hubs in Suva. Each supports up to 32 remote subscriber units (SUs) with multi-band operation. Smaller Airmux point-to-point broadband wireless radios function as SUs at each customer site on the remote islands.Today there are over 200 such links employing over 400 radios, and RAD’s wireless solution has become the country’s de facto standard for business Ethernet connectivity.