Nexaira Wireless on Tuesday expanded its line of 3G/4G routers, which can be connected to a wide variety of carrier networks in North America, aiming a new US$99 model at small and home offices.
Nexaira's routers can speak Wi-Fi to multiple devices while linking to the Internet via wired or wireless broadband. They can be fitted with carrier modems for EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized), HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) or WiMax, and can also be connected to a DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable-modem broadband service. It's up to the user to supply the 3G or 4G modem, using a USB or ExpressCard slot, but as a result, the Nexaira router offers the flexibility to change mobile operators at any time, said Rusty Wright, vice president of marketing and business development.
With the combination of wired and wireless connectivity, Nexaira routers can fail over automatically, helping to ensure that connection stays up even if one service -- wired or wireless -- should fail. Buyers can use that feature themselves, or service providers can take advantage of it to deliver on service-level agreements, Wright said.
The NexConnect SOHO router announced Tuesday is geared toward small businesses and home offices, with the NexWare Setup Wizard for easy installation and Nexaira's i3 Graphical User Interface to manage the device. The NexWare Desktop Gadget software delivers real-time information about the network. The SOHO product follows the Nexaira Business Class II, which is designed for enterprise use with features such as IPSec VPN (virtual private network) capability. Both products are equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi, with wireless LAN speeds as high as 300M bps (bits per second).
The NexConnect SOHO router is due to go on sale next month through retail channels, value-added resellers and service providers. Nexaira already sells some devices to major North American carriers for sale under their own names. Its Business Class II router is already going through an approval process to be resold by Sprint Nextel's channel, according to Wright, and Nexaira will put the SOHO device through that process as well.
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