Rural carriers turn to Ruckus Wireless

Ruckus Wireless, a Silicon Valley start-up that has developed Wi-Fi technology for distributing video throughout the home, will announce Monday that several rural broadband providers in the U.S. plan to use its technology.

Ayersville Telephone in Ohio, Monroe Telephone in Oregon, Wilkes Telecommunications in North Carolina, Panhandle Telephone Cooperative (PTCI) in Oklahoma, and CC Communications in Nevada will use Ruckus gear so they can wirelessly distribute video and other digital multimedia content throughout the home.

This should help the broadband service providers save big bucks on installation since most houses aren't wired with the Category V cabling needed to carry IPTV signals from the broadband gateway to the TV.

Ruckus has a product called MediaFlex, essentially a souped-up Wi-Fi router, that selects the best path through the air to send traffic. It directs Wi-Fi signals over that path to a given receiver instead of broadcasting it in all directions. And if there is interference, the Wi-Fi radio steers traffic over another path, so that a reliable, fast connection is made between the gateway and TV. The technology is compatible with all Wi-Fi standards including 802.11g.

Ruckus isn't the only company touting technology to distribute IPTV and other multimedia throughout the home. Several industry groups are pushing their own flavor. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance advocates using electrical wiring to carry Ethernet signals, turning every electrical outlet into a network jack. The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) promotes using coaxial cable installed for cable TV to transmit broadband around the home. Verizon Communications, which is rolling out TV service to its new fiber-to-the-home, Fios, customers said it plans to use MoCA technololgy.