Pivotel among recipients of $1.5m grant for Large Area WiFi Project

Regional Australia telecommunications firm Pivotel, the Connectivity Innovation Network (CIN) and industrial equipment manufacturer Roobuck have received a $1.5 million grant from the federal government to support the next phase of the Large Area WiFi project.

The funding was awarded under the Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation (TDRI) program. The project aims to enable rapidly deployable voice and data services using WiFi over a very large area.

The Large Area WiFi solution can cater to up to 100 simultaneous users at speeds of up to 10Mbps per user and is designed to connect operational sites or entire communities when traditional communication services are unavailable.

Pivotel said its backhaul services leverage LEO satellite constellations OneWeb and Starlink, as well as NBN Co's Sky Muster, with the possibility of LTE network integration. The solution uses an SD-WAN solution that supports network bonding and Multi-Path Transport Protocol for essential data transmission.

Additionally, a WiFi protocol designed by the University of Sydney addresses the hidden node problem and enhances long-range high data rates, while antennas designed by the University of Technology Sydney enable high performance over a large area.

Pivotel chief executive Peter Bolger said, "This grant is recognition of Pivotel’s long-held ambition to deliver solutions that address the connectivity challenges faced by regional and remote Australians and make a difference to their lives.

"For more than 20 years, we have worked tirelessly with our partners to develop innovative communication solutions and the TDRI program allows us to continue delivering critical services that benefit Australian communities."

"We are proud that this project will allow people and organisations to stay safe and connected during the most challenging moments."

UTS Distinguished Professor Jay Guo, the CIN Technical Director, said, "The Large Area WiFi project leverages CIN’s world-leading capabilities in the connectivity space, wireless communications and antennas in particular."

"The earlier success of the previous CIN-funded pilot project serves as a great exemplar of how Australian universities, industry and governments can work together to tackle our national challenges and meet the needs of our communities."

"We are confident that the TDRI grant will propel the technology to the next level, to deliver meaningful societal impact."