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Westell Deal Helps Rural Broadband

Posted: 21st Aug, 2003 By: MarkJ

The Broadband CPE specialist, Westell Limited, has agreed a new broadband equipment (routers) distribution deal with Datatend. It's hoped that the deal will help to increase ADSL access in rural Britain:

WESTELL TO HELP DELIVER RURAL BROADBAND THROUGH NEW DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP

Broadband CPE specialist Westell Limited is to supply equipment through broadband distributor, Datatend in order to increase ADSL access in rural Britain. The partnership will bring together Datatend's expertise in the rural market and the flexibility and security of Westell's products in order to meet the growing demands for broadband in rural areas throughout the UK.

Datatend specialises in bringing best of breed networking and communication technologies to the UK marketplace and aims to show small resellers new markets and solutions. Datatend has secured funding to improve broadband access in the Midlands area, where they are based. The Government's initiative in establishing broadband access to rural areas has created high demand for supplying broadband to the Midlands and Wales. The funding from Advantage West Midlands has sparked interest from other development agencies.

The Government believes that rapid rollout and adoption of broadband across the UK is important to both its social and economic objectives. Areas such as the Midlands and Wales have been targeted by the Government in an attempt to 'bridge the digital divide' that is apparent between city and country regions. This initiative reveals an obvious business opportunity to deliver the best broadband technology in rural Britain.

Lee Crowe, director of Datatend explains why Westell products are so important to their approach: "The resellers we distribute to tend to be small due to their focused approach. We supply a consultancy approach, advising the reseller in the best technologies available. As a brand, Westell is the Rolls Royce of the broadband market and the products offer new technology and security as well as enhancing the value of the solutions we offer our customers."

"Westell is delighted to be part of Datatend's focused approach as we are obvious advocates of getting the UK online through broadband technology. The increase in uptake of broadband offers residents in these areas an essential platform for business and economic growth as well as ease and flexibility for home users." Added Toni Fabbricini, marketing manager at Westell Limited.

Datatend offers all three of Westell's ADSL products as ideal solutions for its customers. The Wirespeed(tm) 2100 ADSL Dual Connect Router enables multiple business or home-users to simultaneously share a secure single high-speed ADSL Internet connection without having to purchase multiple routers. Westell's Wirespeed(tm) 2400 ADSL Data Gateway is designed for small businesses and multi-user residential users looking for a simple yet secure connection to broadband.

The third product, 2410 ADSL Wireless Gateway provides users with wi-fi LAN connectivity, a 4-port Ethernet switch and USB connection in a single router. Furthermore, the gateway can support up to 253 simultaneous users accessing the Internet, protected behind a NAT enabled packet filtering firewall with the addition of Service Set Identifier masking with up to 128 bit WEP encryption over a choice of 13 radio channels for enhanced wireless security.