Following last month’s announcement to co-develop a fixed broadband wireless service, DISH and nTelos have deployed trial service in rural Virginia using spectrum in the 2.5 GHz range. Service speeds at customer test sites range from 20 Mbps to more than 50 Mbps. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

[Satellite TODAY 06-14-13] Following last month’s announcement to co-develop a fixed wireless broadband service, DISH and nTelos Holding Corp. have now deployed broadband service near Waynesboro and Afton, Va. using wireless spectrum in the 2.5 GHz range. Broadband service speeds at the initial test sites range from 20 Mbps to more than 50 Mbps.

    The trial differentiates itself from prior fixed broadband services by relying on professionally installed rooftop devices at customers’ homes that are intended to deliver significant gain and throughput advantages over inside-the-home antenna solutions. DISH has deployed BandRich ruggedized outdoor routers with built-in high-gain antennas to receive the 2.5 GHz LTE signal.