Ohio cable player picks SkyPilot for rural broadband

Trilliant, owner of broadband wireless networking vendor SkyPilot, announced that Ohio service provider Hometown Cable has picked the SkyPilot system for a rural broadband deployment.

The deal comes after Hometown Cable earned a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Services program for improving broadband coverage in under-served areas. Hometown Cable also recently acquired g-Wireless, a broadband Internet service provider which uses SkyPilot's mesh equipment in its network. The cable operator is now looking to expand that network.

As in other SkyPilot deployments, WAV Distribution, in partnership with Moonblink Communications, will be providing the equipment and logistic services for the project. The first phase of the project will involve installation of network gateways, extenders and connectors to deliver wireless Internet access to residential and business customers as well as rural schools. The SkyPilot Element Management System (EMS) software will be utilized for provisioning, configuration and overall network management.

Wi-Fi mesh architectures are not lighting up municipalities the way they did during the last decade, but they have become appropriate for use cases like providing affordable rural broadband coverage. Mesh also has become an important element in the broader approach of smart grid companies like Trilliant.

For more:
- read the release

Related articles:
Trilliant acquired SkyPilot in 2009
Hometown Cable applied for stimulus funds in 2009