Today, SkyPilot announced a new broadband wireless CPE called the SkyConnector Mini. Like SkyPilot's existing SkyConnector, the SkyConnector Mini provides fixed 'last-mile' wireless connectivity in the 5 GHz frequency band. The SkyConnector Mini shares the same features and functions as the SkyConnector but costs 50% less.

A summary of the SkyConnector Mini is as follows:

• Low Cost – a per-unit MSRP as low as US$199 (see below for details)
• Long Range – wireless connectivity up to 7.5 miles/12 km from the base station
• High Capacity – up to 13 Mbps of throughput
• Non-Line of Sight – industrial-strength OFDM for connectivity in NLOS environments
• Synchronous QoS – deterministic latency and jitter guarantees for applications like VoIP
• Encrypted Security – hardware-based AES encryption
• Frequency Flexibility – access to entire spectrum from 5.250-6.075 GHz
• “Zero-Touch” Configuration – auto-discovery and auto-provisioning for easy deployment
• Traffic Management – Layer 2 networking with per-subscriber rate limiting and virtual LANs

The SkyConnector Mini is available from SkyPilot’s community of distributors and resellers. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is US$299 per unit for individual units, US$249 per unit when purchased in a bundle of 20 units, and US$199 per unit when purchased in a bundle of 100 units.

For more information on the SkyConnector Mini, please visit SkyPilot’s website at http://www.skypilot.com/products/skyconnectormini.php. This site includes the datasheet for the SkyConnector Pro as well as a detailed link-budget analysis.

For those familiar with Motorola Canopy subscriber modules, SkyPilot has released a side-by-side comparison between the SkyConnector Mini and the Motorola Canopy subscriber modules. This comparison is available at http://www.skypilot.com/comparison.php.

SkyPilot also announced the SkyConnector Pro. The SkyConnector Pro is high-end customer premise equipment designed with substantial link budget to ensure resiliant connectivity to demanding business subscribers. The SkyConnector Pro shares the same features and capabilities as the SkyConnector Mini, but has a higher-gain antenna (22 dBi) and higher-power radio (26 dBm) to improve wireless resiliency.

The SkyConnector Pro is available from SkyPilot’s community of distributors and resellers. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is US$599 per unit for individual units, US$499 per unit when purchased in a bundle of 5 units, and US$399 per unit when purchased in a bundle of 20 units.

For more information on the SkyConnector Pro, please visit SkyPilot’s website at http://www.skypilot.com/products/skyconnectorpro.php. This site includes the datasheet for the SkyConnector Pro as well as a detailed link-budget analysis.