Alvarion is on a needle kick. Last week, the broadband wireless vendor announced it deployed its BreezeAccess gear for two separate service providers on Seattle's Space Needle and on one of Las Vegas' most distinctive landmarks, the Stratosphere. Both are the tallest structures in their respective cities.

The deals, however, are significant to Alvarion for far more than their kitschy value. While most of Alvarion's impressive success has come from rural and Third World deployments — with the occasional deal to the dedicated wireless ISP tossed in — last week's contracts with Speakeasy and Mpower Communications represent a new breed of service provider. Both companies are established wireline ISPs and communications providers, and instead of using wireless as a way to extend broadband where none currently exists, both companies are using it to complement their existing portfolio of wireline assets in major metropolitan markets.

“It's a loop alternative for us,” said Russ Shipley, chief technology officer for Mpower. “We can offer up 6 Mb/s over 10 miles, and we don't have to mess with things like bonding T-1s. It's a question of economics and reach for us, and it provides built-in redundancy for our wireline networks.”

For Alvarion, the deals demonstrate that its technology has applications far beyond the niches in which it has established itself, said Patrick Leary, Alvarion's assistant vice president of marketing. While both Speakeasy and Mpower may be smaller providers, the major carriers are starting to take notice. Sprint and Intel announced last week they were partnering to explore options for 802.16e technology over Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum, bands that have frustrated the carrier for years.

“We're drawing in the fence sitters and the later-term adopters,” Leary said.