Ottawa-based DragonWave Inc. and Richardson, TX-based Covaro Networks have announced an agreement to provide complete carrier-class Ethernet solutions for broadband wireless access.

Under the agreement Covaro will expand the reach of their Etherjack portfolio, using DragonWave’s AirPair to offer native Ethernet services remotely at capacities up to 200 Mbps full duplex. DragonWave’s AirPair product is designed for carrier-class customers, using a mesh configuration to deliver 99.999% availability and 50ms switching time. 

The Covaro Etherjack demarcation device will enable traditional carrier management methods to reduce turn-up, test and maintenance costs over the AirPair solution. The combined offering will allow Covaro and DragonWave to offer carrier-class Ethernet services without the bounds of traditional wirelines.

Service providers globally are expected to invest $25 billion in metro Ethernet equipment between 2003 and 2007, according to Infonetics Research.

“Our relationship with DragonWave provides an important extension to enable carrier-class Ethernet solutions everywhere.” said Fred Ellefson, VP of Marketing of Covaro. “Our customers require the ability to deliver ubiquitous Ethernet access, and the industry leading wireless capabilities of AirPair compliment our other access technologies.”

"DragonWave is excited to add Covaro, as a strong partner to address our carrier customer base.” said Alan Solheim, Vice President of Product Management at DragonWave. ”This new agreement enables us to enhance our wireless Ethernet solution using Etherjack."

DragonWave's AirPair product operates within both licensed and unlicensed radio frequencies of 18-to-26-GHz range, ensuring interference-free performance for customer traffic. The DragonWave solution provides high performance, scalable, ultra low latency, QoS-enabled native Ethernet connectivity up to 200 Mbps full duplex.