BRYAN, Texas -- Dominion Lasercom, Inc., (DLI) a privately heldcompany and a global supplier of patented Free Space Optic(FSO) broadband systems announced the successful deploymentof a 29-link FSO Metropolitan Ethernet Network with theWeslaco Independent School District in South Texas.

Jeff Harris, the IT director for Weslaco ISD, knew his districtneeded more bandwidth to all of its nineteen campuses but alsoneeded to decrease monthly recurring telecommunication costs.After evaluating proposals for a private fiber ring, a microwavenetwork and an 802.11x radio network, Weslaco ISD choseDominion’s 200Mbps FSO solution to connect all of theircampuses to the District’s Central Office.

“The Dominion FSO solutions are impressively cost effective.We were able to build our new network for a fraction of the costof a fiber ring and cheaper per megabit than any other broadbandtechnology. This network supports today’s Internet traffic andFTP demands but it will also support our future plans for voiceand video over IP including district wide closed circuit videosurveillance,” said Harris.

Kurt Liese, President of Strategic Datacom, the Dominion Partner that introduced the DLI solution toWeslaco ISD, said, “The most challenging obstacle to overcome when building or expanding any networkis the time and cost of installation. The DLI patented fiber-coupled FSO solution does not require anoutdoor utility connection to the antenna making it rapidly deployable and the most economical FSOsolution to install. This time and cost advantage is multiplied when you have 20 units or more on a singletower as in the Weslaco install.”

Also, high on Jeff Harris’ list of DLI advantages was the elimination ofelectromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference(RFI). “Unlike the RF based wireless solutions we evaluated the laserbased DLI system is unaffected by any interference issues.” Thisadvantage ensures that the district’s bandwidth will not decrease in thefuture due to someone else deploying other RF or laser based devices inthe area.

Dominion Lasercom Inc.