Alvarion today announced it has won two major deployment deals in major U.S. markets for its BreezeAccess point-to-multipoint gear. Speakeasy has deployed Alvarion equipment in Seattle for its first commercial pilot of wireless access for business customers. Mpower Communications will run a similar program in Las Vegas and is scheduling its launch for the third quarter.

Mpower chief technology officer Russ Shipley said the facilities-based provider is weighing broadband wireless as a potential alternative to T-1 and fiber solutions and also a way to add redundancy to its network. "Right now we're planning on offering ISP services, but our expectation is to run our complete product set on it," Shipley said.

Though both ISPs said they were weighing potential WiMax deployments in the future, both of them choose to use Alvarion's BreezeAccess legacy gear, and not BreezeMax, the infrastructure Alvarion is putting up for 802.16-2004 WiMax certification. Mpower, however, is planning to deploy a mix of Alvarion equipment as the gear completes certification trials, Shipley said. While Mpower will use 802.16-2004 gear for last mile access, it also wants to introduce mobility into the network when 802.16e equipment emerges.