Case Studies

AOL|7 ONLINE SERVICES

Challenge:

AOL/7 Online Services — a joint venture between American Online Inc., AAPT Limited, and Seven Network Limited — needed a way to link its communication network between two buildings at its Sydney headquarters. Wanting to overcome the financial and physical barriers of laying cable across busy metropolitan streets, this interactive media company began exploring an optical wireless solution from LightPointe supplied by Australian wireless expert Integrity Data Systems.

LightPointe Solution:

AOL/7 Online Services connected its corporate office with premises 250 metres away, using a "fiber-optic speed" optical wireless solution from LightPointe, Using breakthrough free-space optics (FSO) technology, the LightPointe optical wireless link delivers 1.25 Gigabits per second of bandwidth at a fraction of the cost of a cabled connection, resulting in a less than 12-month return on investment.

AOL/7 Online installed the wireless link due to frustration with the limited performance of its wide area network, which inhibited introducing new technologies. The company operates the AOL Internet online service and manages the AAPT smartInternet service in Australia, as well as a range of web properties including www.aol.com.au and the Seven Network's flagship website, www.i7.com.au — so high-speed connectivity is crucial.

The FlightSpectrum solution is an average of one-fifth the cost of deploying fiber optic cables. While fiber-optic connectivity is superior to copper-based infrastructure or fixed radio frequency technologies, fewer than 10 percent of buildings globally are connected by fiber cables. LightPointe's optical wireless solution provides the affordability and flexibility to deliver the long-awaited "last mile" solution.

LightPointe optical wireless products also easily integrate with other Internet Protocol (IP)-based services — thereby enabling AOL|7 Online Services to implement a Voice over IP solution between the two buildings, and a constant real time backup of their network by linking their two NAS boxes.

Best of all, the IT team at AOL|7 Online Services installed the FlightSpectrum laser heads in less than half a day.

A leader in Optical Wireless solutions based on free-space optics (FSO) technology, LightPointe's optical wireless products are now at work in thousands of installations in more than 60 countries.

Sound Byte:

"Laying fiber was financially prohibitive. We needed to dramatically improve the network speed between the two buildings . [the LightPointe] solution is the same as having the luxury of a piece of fiber between our buildings only it's more flexible. This means we can use it for other purposes with no additional costs."
— Chris Dunstan, AOL/7 Online Services Internal Telecommunication Manager