Residents now have a new broadband alternative available anywhere in and around Aberdeen. Northern Wireless has launched a new high-speed WiMAX network to provide Internet service to customers in the Aberdeen area.

WiMAX Residential Packages

WiMAX Business Packages

* WiMAX not available in all areas.

Understanding WiMAX

Mark Fischer, Manager of Wireless Services, explained the new product. "Northern Wireless WiMAX essentially allows customers to use the Internet throughout the Aberdeen area, at any time, without plugging into a connection, signing into a specific access point or needing a "Wi-Fi" hot spot." With coverage for miles, customers can go anywhere in town--the mall, Wylie park, Swisher field, even the local coffee shop--and securely use the Internet at speeds from 2 Mbps to over 12 Mbps. "That's more than enough to stream video or live content without any noticeable delays or dropouts," added Fischer.

WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technology based on the IEEE 802.16 standard that enables the delivery of high-speed personal broadband services to subscribers. WiMAX uses advanced radio technology with OFDM/OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and smart antennas to deliver multi-play services, i.e. voice, video and data over wireless and mobile networks.

An alternative for customers who don't want to use cable or DSL to get online, WiMAX is different from Wi-Fi which uses low-powered, unlicensed frequencies that are subject to interference, low speeds and limited range. WiMAX uses licensed frequencies, free from interference and the high power provides a more reliable signal at greater distances.

Northern Wireless originally operated a wireless cable TV service and secured the rights to the licensed spectrum for the Aberdeen region through this former service. In addition to the new WiMAX, Northern Wireless also operates a fixed wireless Internet service for customers in rural areas of Brown and Spink Counties.

"This new service supplants our coverage area," said Fischer. "We've had requests for our service from city residents for years, but that fixed system uses line-of-sight to provide coverage. Interference from trees and other objects limited our abilities. The new system goes through walls, trees, anything. If we couldn't serve you before, we can now."

And cheaper. The base or "Value-Max" package for Northern Wireless WiMAX is $24.95 with no long-term contract, no expensive installation fees, no need for a phone line, and, currently, no extra equipment costs.
"Customers might be surprised how much Internet service through a bundled package is really costing them," noted Derek Gorecki, Northern Wireless Manager of Information Technology. "Our Value-Max package will let Aberdeen customer break free of all the restrictions and save them money with no loss in connection speed."
Northern Wireless WiMAX even has a Mega-Max package for $34.95 that promises download speeds of up to 10 mbps. Other packages are available for businesses and commercial accounts.

Today, WiMAX operates similar to a cell phone and customers are limited to the range of the Northern Wireless coverage area. In the future, Gorecki says customers will be able to use the Internet anywhere outside the Aberdeen area, roaming across other WiMAX networks in South Dakota and across the nation. As these systems go online and agreements are secured, WiMAX technology can be expanded to snowbirds or frequent travelers. "Typically high-speed Internet services are fixed," said Fischer. "The difference here is that we now a have a mobile option. You can take it with you and at speeds faster than Internet services provided by mobile phones or spotty Wi-Fi hubs."

Major wireless providers, including Sprint/Clearwire, are currently building WiMAX hubs across the country. Billions of dollars have already been invested in major metropolitan centers such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland and Dallas.

"It is the wave of the future and we own the rights to offer it in Aberdeen," said Fischer.
Additionally, the network Northern Wireless has deployed will lead to a smooth migration towards WiMAX 2--the next iteration of WiMAX. WiMAX 2 will provide significantly increased peak data rates, with the potential for 100 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream, reduced latency, scalable bandwidth capacity, and backwards compatibility with today's WiMAX.

Northern Wireless, headquartered in Bath, is a subsidiary of Northern Electric Cooperative, Inc. After creating the nation's first rural cable TV system in the '90s, Northern Wireless evolved to become one of the leading providers of Internet service in Brown and Spink Counties.

For information on Northern Wireless WiMAX please call 605-225-0310.