GEC PLessey Telecommunications Ltd’s Luton, Bedfordshire-based GPT Communication Systems Ltd is aiming to take a slice of the lucrative leased line market, with a new radio-based alternative for companies needing to connect offices up to 10 miles apart. Called Blacklite, the new offering is the first to take advantage of the 37GHz-39.5GHz section of the radio spectrum recently released from military use by the Department of Trade and Industry. The system consists of two pieces of equipment at each end of the link, the Internal Radio Module, and the External Radio Module. The latter is about the size of a closed circuit television camera, and is wall-mounted, generally at the top of the building, to ensure line-of-sight contact with the remote site. Both data and speech can be transmitted over the link, at rates of either 2Mbps or 8Mbps. Pricing is claimed to be much lower than for equivalent leased line services. Indeed, the greatest price advantage is claimed after the first year: while installation of the system costs UKP20,000, in subsequent years users pay a UKP1,750 annual fee. This breaks down as a UKP675 licence charge payable to the UK Department of Trade & Industry for use of the radio frequencies, with the rest as maintenance insurance against equipment breakdowns with a two-hour call-out time. While users are able to opt out of the last, the company strongly advises take-up, claiming that reliability is key.
Solid state
Yet, considering that the equipment is solid state, and should require little in the way of maintenance, it remains to be seen whether GPT has over-estimated the value that users will put on maintenance. Another potential problem with Blacklite is the distance over which GPT claims it can be used. The high frequency band employed can suffer from meteorological problems, specifically, interference caused by rain, a problem exacerbated by the relatively long distances involved. GPT says that it has been testing the system over a period that has seen heavy rain, and Blacklite did not suffer from interference. Again, if interference were to occur, it would detract from the system’s appeal. In addition to attempting to take the business of existing leased line users, GPT also sees a market in the interconnection of PABXs to small branch offices where this was previously unviable. The company says its research indicates a large potential market, although the fact that Blacklite relies on a line-of-sight connection between sites means that only time will tell whether the market is really as large as it is hoping.
