Psion Teklogix Announces Partnership With Fidelity Comtech to Bring Wireless Access to Outdoor Environments

Logistics Insight Asia - Industry News, 19/6/2008

Psion Teklogix has announced an agreement with Fidelity Comtech, in which it will resell Fidelity Comtech's Phocus Array System, an outdoor extended reach 802.11b/g phased array wireless access point, as part of Psion Teklogix' industrial solution suite. Outdoor environments, particularly over large areas, can be challenging for wireless coverage due to long distances and multipath interference from reflective metal surfaces and other large obstructions. As a result of this distribution agreement, Psion Teklogix will offer its customers reliable, secure wireless access for a range of large area outdoor yard management applications such as ports, railroads and automotive manufacturing. FAPS, Inc. of Newark, NJ, one the largest automotive port processing companies in the U.S., is one of the first installations of the companies' joint wireless solution, which was deployed by Millennium Technologies, a Psion Teklogix partner.

Fidelity Comtech's Phocus Array System incorporates the company's patented dynamic beam steering technology, which allows the shape and size of the antenna to be varied on a packet-by-packet basis. This flexibility allows the beam to be pointed instantly for increased signal range and improved network reliability, and directed to reach a specific geographic area. The Phocus Array System can support links of up to nearly 15 miles with a significant reduction in infrastructure for large area wireless coverage. In an extended outdoor network, The Phocus Array System extends the wireless reach of typical Wi-Fi devices by four times and can replace as many as thirteen commercial wireless access points, significantly reducing the number of supporting poles and network infrastructure requirements. Fidelity Comtech's system also incorporates WPA and WPA2 wireless security with 3DES and AES encryption respectively, and features a new faster core computing platform based on Intel's XScale processor.

Psion Teklogix, Inc., www.psionteklogix.com.