Virginia Cities Slated For Mobile Wireless Broadband

A regional wireless ISP said Thursday that it will roll out a mobile wireless broadband network in three Virginia cities this fall.

Citizens Wireless said it will use FLASH-OFDM technology from Flarion Technologies, the second major win for that technology in recent days. FLASH-OFDM also will be used for Finland's nationwide wireless network, officials in that country announced.

The Virginia network will cover the Blacksburg, Christianburg and Radford areas, Citizens Wireless said in a statement. It chose the Flarion technology over other technologies, most notably WiMAX.

"We have chosen Flarion's technology based on network coverage, mobility, and spectral efficiency," Gerald Gallimore, Citizens' general manager, said in a statement. "With FLASH-OFDM, our customers will be equipped with the world's fastest mobile broadband network."

The company said it expected typical download speeds of between 1 Mbps and 1.5 Mbps. The system will use the 700 MHz portion of licensed spectrum.