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Ground-breaking work leads to broader Wi-fi coverage

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Altai Technologies has been voted the grand-award winner in the Technological Achievement category for its pioneering work in wireless technology.

Altai, which was established in 2002 and spun off from Applied Science and Technology Research Institute in 2006, focuses on the development of outdoor wireless broadband technologies. It seeks to use smart antenna technologies and advanced signal processing algorithm to provide city-wide Wi-fi coverage for users of mobile phones, notebooks and pocket PCs.

Lin Chi-hung, chief executive and president of Altai, said: 'We are delighted to win a grand award in the Hong Kong Awards for Industries and gain recognition from the judges. This is a significant encouragement for us, as a home-grown company, to compete with world-leading companies in the global market of wireless technologies.'

The A8 Wi-fi cellular base station (Altai A8), the prize-winning product, was developed by Hong Kong engineers.

The pioneering technology optimises the micro-cellular networks to offer end-users rich and real-time broadband services, that can enhance the outdoor Wi-fi signal coverage area 10 times more than typical hot-spots.

The antennas of the base station can be configured to cover an area of up to 2km. It is designed using simple networking facilities and without any need for a high density of wireless service users. The upgraded wireless network system, which used up to 70 per cent less access points than most Wi-fi systems, could therefore reduce the cost of deploying network equipment, broadband access, planning, site acquisition and installation, Mr Lin said. 'It's been a dream of IT professionals to break through the distant barrier of the wireless networking technology that can evolve from an indoor technology to one that can be deployed outdoors,' Mr Lin said.

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