Kyushu Univ. and PicoCELA Unveil Ultra Wide-Range Wireless LAN System Enabled by World's Largest-Scale Indoor Wireless Backhaul

FUKUOKA, Japan, March 1, 2010 - Kyushu University and PicoCELA Inc., both based in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
Prefecture, have successfully developed and put into use technology to build
a wide-area wireless LAN at a drastically reduced cost.

The newly developed wireless multihop backhaul connects multiple wireless
LAN access points to make them work with one another as a single radio
network, cutting back on installation costs by reducing wiring for Internet
connection. Hundreds of wireless LAN access points incorporating the
technology were installed in the commercial complex Canal City Hakata (*Note
1), resulting in the successful operation of one of the world's largest
indoor wireless multihop backhauls. This type of wide-area wireless LAN is
expected to serve as a platform for the next generation of Internet-based
content or services.

Small wireless access points supplied by PicoCELA connect with one
another by radio multihop relay, eliminating the need for troublesome
Internet wiring and making it possible to add wireless LAN spots to the
network with ease. Any wireless LAN-ready device, such as smart phones,
laptop PCs and portable game machines, can be hooked up with the network. If
capable of roaming, any wireless devices can be used while the user walks
around (*Note 2). The wireless network built inside Canal City Hakata
realized a wireless multihop relay of up to 11 access points, making it one
of the largest indoor wireless multihop backhauls in the world.

PicoCELA was set up for the purpose of commercializing the fruits of the
MIMO-MESH Project led by Professor Hiroshi Furukawa of the Faculty of
Information Science and Electrical Engineering, the Graduate School, Kyushu
University. The project is part of the "Silicon Sea Belt Fukuoka Project"
promoted by the Fukuoka prefectural government to build an East Asian belt of
advanced semiconductor R&D sites. It is funded by the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (under the Knowledge Cluster Creation
Project Phase 2 program) and the Fukuoka Industry, Science and Technology
Foundation (Fukuoka IST). The new wide-area wireless LAN was built as one of
government-commissioned undertakings to do demonstration experiments in three
aspects: technology for building a wireless broadband area with ease and at
low cost, technology for a high-precision position-tracking system, and
services using the position-tracking system. The experiment contract was
given to Fukuoka IST by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
under the ministry's ICT advanced demonstration experiment program. PicoCELA
will seek to promote further technological development of the next generation
of mobile networks through the wide-area wireless LAN operation and to help
revitalize the content market, which is expected to play a major role in the
future mobile communications market, through the test use of various future
applications software.

Outline of wide-area wireless LAN

Venue: 1st basement level through 4th floor, Canal City Hakata (some
areas excluded), 2, Sumiyoshi 1-chome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
Prefecture

Duration: February 1 through March 14, 2010

*Notes

1: Canal City Hakata is a major commercial complex located in Hakata-ku,
Fukuoka City, with a total floor space of 234,500 square meters and about 13
million visitors a year.

2: Instantaneous interruptions may occur during communication.

    Related websites
    -- Open4G:
       open4g.jp/Top
    -- MIMO-MESH Project:
       mimo-mesh.com/en/index.html
    -- Kyushu University:
       https://portal.isee.kyushu-u.ac.jp/front-page-en
    -- Fukuoka Knowledge Cluster Initiative II:
       www2.lab-ist.jp/english/
    -- Fukuoka IST:
       www.ist.or.jp/english/index.html
    -- Canal City Hakata:
       www.canalcity.co.jp/eg/index.html

    Contact:
    Hiroshi Furukawa, Prof.
    Kyushu University
    Tel: +81-92-802-3583
    E-mail: furuhiro@ait.kyushu-u.ac.jp
    URL: mobcom.is.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~furuhiro/index.html

    Satoshi Inoue, CEO
    PicoCELA Inc.
    Tel: +81-92-474-3800
    E-mail: info@picocela.com
    URL: www.picocela.com/en/index.html

Hiroshi Furukawa, Prof., Kyushu University, +81-92-802-3583, or furuhiro at ait.kyushu-u.ac.jp; Satoshi Inoue, CEO, PicoCELA Inc., +81-92-474-3800, or info at picocela.com