LAS VEGAS--BelAir Networks today announced a new version of its Wi-Fi mesh technology specifically designed to enable cable TV companies to add wireless capabilities to their service bundles, and also revealed a new round of funding, led by Comcast Interactive Capital.

The new strand-mounted versions of BelAir’s wireless broadband radios support Cable Labs’ DOCSIS 2.0 standard and are designed for easy deployment on existing cable plant, without requiring additional permits or fees. The current versions operate in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, but later versions will support licensed spectrum.

“We have seven deployments with cable companies,” said Bernard Hersocvich, CEO and co-founder of BelAir. “The U.S. is definitely leading the way--cable companies want to have the wireless solutions and mobile voice solutions and they view wireless mesh as a very good entry point.”

Comcast Interactive Capital (CIC) and McLean Watson Capital led the Series C round of financing for Ontario-based BelAir, and CIC Principal Deepak Sindwani also joined the BelAir Board of Directors.

Incorporating wireless technology into their existing systems positions cable companies to deliver Quad Play services in competition with telephone companies who have their own cellular operations, and to do fixed-mobile convergence, using wireless and voice over IP technology. They are also looking at delivering other kinds of content over the mobile system, Hersocvich said. BelAir is also selling the new radios to municipalities who want to offer WiFi.

“One application is create lateral zones where they can offer mobile voice services and they are also very keen on mobile video to handsets,” he said. “Also, there are enterprise applications for hotels, resorts and conference centers using wireless mesh to provide wireless data and voice over WiFi through a specific area.”

The BelAir50s is a single-radio 802.11g wireless mesh node, operating in the 2.4 GHz band and designed to be strand-mounted and hardened for the outside plant environment. It supports a copper, fiber or DOCSIS 2.0 interface. The Belair100s is a two-radio wireless mesh switch that adds a 5 GHz backhaul radio module to the BelAir 50s to support a shored mesh or a dedicated point-to-point link.

“This is a very powerful tool used by cable companies and other service providers to offer voice services, there is no doubt about it,” Hersocvich said. “The driver is economics. It is extremely cost effective to do voice over wirelss mesh--compared to a cellular system it is 5 cents on the dollar.”