Broadband Wireless

Launched in 2004, Xanadoo Wireless High-Speed Internet is an energetic and innovative broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP) that emerged from its founders' experiences as the largest independent distributor and servicer of satellite television services in the United States. Today, Xanadoo Company is one of the fastest-growing wireless broadband operators in the United States, with the ability to offer services to almost 10 million people in 11 states, including Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company has also participated in the U.S. government's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) program, which focuses on delivering broadband services to underserved rural areas.

Xanadoo initially chose to deliver its services over an unlicensed wireless solution from an established mobile equipment company, but within only a couple of years, that decision proved untenable. The solution was proprietary to the equipment manufacturer and did not comply with important industry standards, such as IEEE 802.16e. The result was significantly higher equipment costs, and, more importantly, a costly and cumbersome path to network expansion, a critical concern for a business with ambitious expansion plans.

"We could see that soon enough we'd be hitting a speed bump that could dramatically slow our planned service deployments," says Xanadoo CEO Mark Pagon. "We had to look at better options."

At about the same time, Xanadoo began investigating the advantages of the Cisco^® Broadband Wireless solution, a unique and proven portable wireless broadband network solution that offers a number of distinct advantages: self-install plug-and-play activation and provisioning, a smooth software-only upgrade path, and non-line of sight (NLOS) coverage provided by advanced radio technology using adaptive beamforming.

Adaptive beamforming offers Xanadoo at least two key qualities: the signal's ability to penetrate buildings enables subscriber self-provisioning, a key component of Xanadoo's "zero-touch" provisioning strategy; and its ability to allow Xanadoo to offer such advanced, and higher margin, services as voice over IP (VoIP) and video, which rely heavily on quality of service (QoS).

"We greatly appreciate the exceptional link budget offered by these systems," says Pagon, "which are designed for path loss of up to 165 dB." With fewer cell sites required for coverage, Xanadoo was able to reduce the capital expense (CapEx) required to build out the network and reduce operating expense (OpEx) by reducing the number of backhauls purchased or leased and supporting fewer total nodes. "That all means less maintenance, fewer upgrades, and less building space," says Pagon.

"We were pleased that with Cisco would provide a better customer experience with our service," said Pagon. "But the prospect of zero-touch modem installations and a virtually limitless upgrade path through software only created a financial model that could support our plans for growth, including VoIP (voice-over IP)."

Xanadoo initiated six test markets over the next two and a half years in such dynamic college town markets as Lubbock, Wichita Falls, and Abilene in Texas; Decatur, Illinois; and Lawton, Oklahoma. The fully licensed network infrastructure consisted of one million covered PoPs (points of presence), 58 sites, and 158 deployed sectors. At its core was a Cisco IP NGN Radio Access Network (RAN) of switches and routers, Cisco BWX 110 desktop and BWX 120 PCMCIA modems, Cisco BWX 8305 Base Stations with accompanying antenna systems, and the Cisco BWX Element Management System (EMS).

Customers simply purchase an "off-the-shelf" customer premises equipment (CPE) at conveniently located retail outlets and initiate their service using a captive portal, part of the Cisco BWX EMS. "This self-provisioning feature means we're able to eliminate expensive service calls, provide a hassle-free sales process for our local retail partners, and get customers online faster and easier," says Xanadoo Marketing VP Phil Keith. "Plus we're able to keep subscription rates very competitive." In fact, subscription rates begin as low as US$14.95 per month, which has helped Xanadoo establish itself as a serious competitor in the markets they serve.

In April 2008, Xanadoo announced its first all-Cisco mobile WiMAX deployment, in Springfield Illinois, site of the University of Illinois Springfield campus and the Southern Illinois School of Medicine. The network was built from the start as a pure Mobile WiMAX network, and is providing Xanadoo with valuable experience for the day when all its earlier networks are converted to standards-compliant WiMAX.

Xanadoo has already reported significant success from their Cisco Mobile WiMAX deployment, including reduced CapEx and OpEx, a newly strengthened competitive advantage, and overall deep satisfaction with the performance and promise of their new Cisco IP NGN-based Mobile WiMAX network.

"We require a fraction of the hardware we were using with our previous equipment provider," says Pagon, "and doing more with the network we have." With the reduced number of nodes required, Xanadoo reports substantial reductions in maintenance costs, as well as infrastructure requirements such as buildings and antennas. Cost-effective and rapid software-only upgrades are also now possible, offering the option of deploying other new and revenue generating subscriber products, such as VoIP and WiMAX-enabled netbooks, which integrate smoothly over the all-IP Cisco NGN.

"Combine our declining cost structure with near-term technology advancements, and you can see that Xanadoo is much better positioned to excel not only in our current Tier 3 markets, but also in smaller, underserved markets where the need for broadband is most significant," said Keith. The new WiMAX service is also much easier for customers to use and less costly. In addition, it provides Xanadoo with a powerful advantage over such common Internet access methods as DSL and cable. "We're now able to offer mobile broadband at low cost, as well as with a simple and intuitive customer experience," says Keith, "and our customers are loving it."

Xanadoo was the first Cisco Mobile WiMAX operator based in North America to earn acceptance into the Cisco Powered Partner (CPP) Program, which assists members to develop, build, market, and sell Cisco technology-based services and designates them as recommended by Cisco. The Xanadoo network is built entirely on a Cisco IP NGN foundation, and so delivers a high-quality, customizable service experience. "So much of what we're trying to achieve is differentiation in the market," says Pagon, "so we're not relegated to the status of a mere commodity. Our CPP membership differentiates our services with branding that indicates the service has undergone a third-party validation of its capability to deliver a personalized, high-quality user experience." The result is that Xanadoo is currently the largest Cisco Mobile WiMAX operator in the United States.

Xanadoo continues its Cisco Mobile WiMAX upgrade path to the 802.16e IEEE standard, as well as higher spectral efficiency and wider bandwidth, permitting the deployment of extra capacity and speed. Plans are also under way for deploying a wide array of new subscriber products, including VoIP, enabled by the new network's quality of service (QoS) capabilities. Technicians are also investigating interoperability with multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) devices, equipment supporting 10 MHz, and more, all interoperable with the Cisco network.

"We're all about what we call `full mobility,' regardless of location or access device," says Keith. "But we're still committed to an optimal customer experience at lower cost. The Cisco Mobile WiMAX solution provides everything we're looking for."

For more information about the Cisco Mobile WiMAX solution, contact your Cisco representative or visit cisco.com/web/go/wimax. To learn more about Xanadoo Company, go to xanadoo.com.