Lima, Ohio and Milpitas, California — July 25, 2023 — Watch Communications and Tarana announced today the deployment of Gigabit 1 (G1), Tarana’s next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) platform, to deliver fiber-class internet service to an estimated 1.4 million households and businesses across Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.
Watch Communications is an innovative internet service provider (ISP) that has served midwestern residents with various communications services for more than 30 years. Watch is also one of the 250+ ISPs across 19 countries that have adopted G1 since its commercial launch in late 2021 — now leveraging ngFWA’s superior performance and a rapid “months-not-years” deployment model to reach underserved communities efficiently and cost-effectively.
Before deploying G1 to their service areas, the Watch team had to resort to fiber for ultra-high speeds, as they often encountered the well-known challenges of connecting wireless customers without direct line-of-sight to a communications tower. However, their new ngFWA network has been a “game-changer,” allowing for up to 400 Mbps service plans at scale, even in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) paths utilizing unlicensed spectrum. G1, a truly fiber-class wireless broadband solution, has enabled significant upgrades for many of Watch’s legacy customers previously limited to typical plans between 5 and 25 Mbps.
Click here to view real-world link examples from Watch’s ngFWA network.
In March, Chris Daniels, CEO of Watch Communications, joined Tarana representatives on stage at the WISPAmerica conference to share his team’s experience with G1. He outlined his “10 Primary Considerations for Wireless Solutions”, which he has gathered through three decades of experience on both the vendor and operator sides of the industry. His top-10 list included a variety of performance must-haves and technical requirements, and he concluded the segment by stating, “Only Tarana checks all of these boxes.”
Daniels then summarized the main benefits Watch is realizing with Tarana G1, which include 4-6x faster link speeds, expanded coverage range, and much lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than other wireless solutions. He shared, “I ignored Tarana’s calls for a year, but I really wish I’d called them back sooner!”
Tarana Chairman and CEO, Basil Alwan, noted, “For championing the Tarana story, we can’t thank Chris and the Watch team enough. We are very proud to be a part of all they are accomplishing with ngFWA. Together we can bring high-speed internet to communities still stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
About Watch Communications
Founded in 1992, Watch Communications is a wireless communications company specializing in wireless broadband internet, fiber internet, TV, hosting, and VoIP phone services to both residential and business customers in the rural Midwest. Watch has an experienced management team with extensive wireless broadband and ISP expertise to bring customers the best possible product. Their network utilizes the most recent technologies, always-on connections, and high-speed connectivity. Watch is equipped to provide service to almost any home in their service area, and pledge to do whatever it takes to provide clients with quality services. Visit https://watchcomm.net/ to inquire about service in your area.
About Tarana
Tarana’s mission is to accelerate the deployment of fast, affordable internet access around the world. Through a decade of R&D and more than $400M of investment, the Tarana team has created a unique next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) technology instantiated in its first commercial platform, Gigabit 1 (G1). It delivers a game-changing advance in broadband economics in both mainstream and underserved markets, using either licensed or unlicensed spectrum. G1 started production in mid-2021 and has since been embraced by more than 250 service providers in 19 countries. Tarana is headquartered in Milpitas, California, with additional research and development in Pune, India. Visit www.taranawireless.com for more on G1.