VGI Technology, an experienced internet service provider (ISP) based in Texas, and Tarana, manufacturer of the Gigabit 1 (G1) next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) platform, announced the exceptional progress of their active G1 deployments in Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
VGI provides high-quality internet access as well as video surveillance, security, access control, and home automation. The company is locally owned and has served Texas communities since 2002.
Tarana is the category creator of ngFWA, a new broadband technology crafted through more than a decade of R&D that boasts two major industry breakthroughs: true interference cancellation in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, and remarkable non-line-of-sight (NLoS) performance. As a result, service providers can finally offer market-leading broadband speeds where fiber is impractical or impossible.
With years of traditional FWA experience, the VGI team was initially skeptical of the unprecedented claims around G1 performance.
However, after piloting the product in late 2021 and witnessing download speeds of up to 600 Mbps in a noisy, urban environment, they became avid Tarana believers. Now VGI has hundreds of customers on active G1 networks, with many more installs to come in 2023.
VGI had even more reason to be excited about G1’s capabilities than other ISPs. While Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay are beautiful vacation destinations and the retirement dream of many Texans, the ground in that area is solid granite. This makes trenching impractical, and since aerial fiber is not an option for aesthetic reasons in these communities, wireless is their only viable broadband option. Before G1, that meant largely unreliable service and inadequate internet speeds.
Now with Tarana ngFWA, wireless doesn’t have to come with compromise. Previously settling for only 5-50 Mbps service plans, the community members of Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay can now get up to 400 Mbps on VGI’s G1 network. An end user reported that this is “the best service Horseshoe Bay has ever had.”
ngFWA is not only game changing for VGI’s customers, but also for their business. On a single Tarana Base Node (BN) installed on a water tower overlooking Horseshoe Bay, they have over 130 active customers connected. Previous technologies limited them to 30 customers on a single sector. This dramatic increase in capacity has reduced their number of tower climbs and makes large-scale deployment significantly faster.
With their long-battled broadband problem solved in Horseshoe Bay, the local government and broadband committee are building 3 new towers specifically to support VGI’s expansion of Tarana-backed ngFWA networks. After accomplishing their mission to bring better internet service to the community, the Horseshoe Bay Broadband Committee is now being disbanded.
Scott Gibbs, CEO of VGI Technology
Tarana has allowed us to provide true high-speed internet to a place where it simply didn’t exist. This is never-before-seen performance from a wireless technology, and we are really excited to continue expanding our G1 networks to provide more remote customers with quality connectivity.
Mike Calabrese, VP of Worldwide Sales at Tarana
VGI’s service areas are a prime example of why the Tarana team set out to flip the script on fixed wireless. The residents of Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay no longer have to sacrifice quality internet to live there. We are very proud to be a part of this achievement and look forward to more success stories with the team at VGI.
