CLEVELAND — Sckipio Technologies, a provider of Gfast chipsets, teamed up with millimeter wave developer Siklu to address the urban digital divide crisis gripping the U.S. The Siklu-Sckipio gigabit solution, installed in the Cleveland Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), uses Gfast and wireless millimeter technology to connect fiber from the street to a low-income, multi-dwelling unit (MDU). This breakthrough wireless millimeter-Gfast combined solution is delivering real-world aggregate broadband speeds topping 800 Mbps — up to 40 times faster than the national U.S. average.

Delivering Ultra-High-Speed Broadband to the Masses
“Our Gfast technology was built to deliver ultra-high-speed broadband to the masses,” said David Baum, CEO of Sckipio. “This installation proves that Gfast is helping to solve the urban digital divide by bringing the Internet to those who had no access or very slow speeds. Partnering with DigitalC and Siklu has enabled CMHA residents to access ultrafast, affordable internet that will allow them to connect to their families, search for jobs, improve their education and health, and participate in the global digital economy.”

In this installation, Siklu’s millimeter wave solution was used to bring ultrafast speeds to the building – avoiding the disruption and pollution from digging up streets and installing fiber. Then, within the building, the solution used Sckipio’s Gfast technology to deliver high speed to each resident over existing copper phone wires.

“The ability of our EtherHaul mmWave wireless to deliver up to 10 Gbps to the building and Sckipio’s Gfast technology to deliver the broadband access to the individual apartments is the best-in-class and affordable solution for urban communities,” said Izik Kirshenbaum, Siklu’s co-founder and chairman.

With Gfast, urban communities such as Cleveland’s CMHA, are receiving the fastest residential connectivity in the Northeast Ohio region. Initial speed tests run after the installation clocked individual unit connectivity at up to 650 Mbps down and 160 Mbps up, providing fiber-like, aggregate speeds for residents who previously had no internet connectivity. The average U.S. broadband speed hovers around 18 Mbps and achieving higher speeds usually requires expensive, time-consuming and disruptive fiber installations or anti-competitive cable agreements.

“Gfast has the potential to compete with fiber and cable installations and serve the underserved urban markets,” said Teresa Mastrangelo, founder, Broadbandtrends LLC. “And with net neutrality expired in the U.S., there’s an even greater need for competitive ultra-fast broadband speed to keep broadband pricing affordable for consumers.”

Gfast provides access over traditional copper wires or coax cables that are already in most apartment buildings. Ultrafast broadband speeds are delivered by connecting to the existing infrastructure with a Gfast unit inside or next to the building. Gfast solutions are more reasonably priced than fiber because Gfast solutions use existing infrastructure, which eliminates the expense from installing fiber all the way.