LiveAir Networks: Regional Service Provider Innovating High-Quality, High-Speed Network Services to Rural Texas

• Networks & Connectivity - Ethernet

• Telecommunications

• Logistics & Transportation

• Public Transportation Management

• System Integration

LiveAir Networks, a local wireless ISP launched in 2004 in Smithville, Texas, faced the challenge of providing high-quality internet connectivity to a sparsely populated area where it was too costly for major carriers to offer services. The company needed to scale its operations to deliver Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) access and bandwidth-intensive services, such as video and voice over IP. In 2012, LiveAir began building its 660-mile, monofiber, Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) network—dubbed the TexasBone—that would allow the company to extend high-speed fiber optic services to rural homes. Since the TexasBone went live, LiveAir has experienced 300 to 400 megabits of new bandwidth demand every quarter. The company needed a cost-effective, easily manageable, and highly scalable network to deliver high-quality services at competitive prices.

LiveAir Networks is a local wireless Internet Service Provider (ISP) that was launched in 2004 in Smithville, Texas. The company was established to provide high-quality internet connectivity to rural areas in Texas where it was too costly for major carriers to offer services. LiveAir Networks started with a single Point of Presence (POP) located next to a wireless tower with access to carrier fiber. As the company developed its wireless internet business, it realized the need to scale its operations to deliver Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) access and bandwidth-intensive services, such as video and voice over IP. In 2012, LiveAir began building its 660-mile, monofiber, Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) network—dubbed the TexasBone—that would allow the company to extend high-speed fiber optic services to rural homes. Since the TexasBone went live, LiveAir has experienced 300 to 400 megabits of new bandwidth demand every quarter.

LiveAir built its own infrastructure using deployment techniques that suited their business. They deployed small Point of Presence (POP) that can use commodity computing devices to move data. Each time they added a new POP to the network, they bought the lumber and supplies at the local hardware store, built it in their warehouse, and trucked it to the site. This approach allowed them to grow the network at a fraction of the typical construction costs and redirect more resources into the network. LiveAir's TexasBone network includes 10 POPs on a 660-mile ring around the state of Texas and serves 45,000 users. The microwave portion of the network includes 60 microwave POPs with high-capacity microwave rings between those, which all connect back to the Brocade fiber network. Inside of each TexasBone POP is a Brocade® MLXe-4 Series Core Router with a multiport 10 GbE interface module. The Brocade MLX Series Router helps LiveAir meet massive bandwidth demands, achieve greater network virtualization, and deliver small business cloud services using a smaller infrastructure than traditional carrier networks.

• LiveAir offers a full complement of services. The residential fiber network offers 50 Mbps to 1 Gbps services at prices ranging between $35 to $75 per month. Businesses have access to the same services as well as IP voice services.
• Large business services provide dedicated fiber connections and bandwidth for hospitals, school districts, and governments. LiveAir also sells access to other carriers and ISPs, enabling them to reach customers that they would not otherwise be able to serve.
• LiveAir is growing rapidly, gaining 30 to 50 customers per month. The company is expanding its fiber network to more rural communities with fiber and hybrid fiber wireless technologies. It also is expanding its wireless footprint and capacity to deliver 50- to 100-megabit solutions over wireless to rural areas.

• Delivered 50 Mbps to 1 Gbps services at highly competitive prices to rural consumers and businesses, gaining 30 to 50 customers per month
• Future-proofed the network to enable easy scalability up to 100 GbE when needed
• Simplified manageability for cost-effective delivery of business private cloud services