The partnership will help make broadband more affordable and accessible for underserved and unserved customers in the rural U.S. and around the world.

On Monday, RADWIN and Microsoft Corp. announced a new strategic partnership to address the rural broadband gap. RADWIN, a world leader in delivering high-performance broadband wireless access solutions, will be developing and introducing to the market TV White Space solutions to deliver broadband internet to unserved communities. Focused on introducing innovative technologies into the TV White Space market, the partnership will expand the TV White Space ecosystem, making broadband more affordable and accessible for customers in the rural U.S. and around the world. This partnership is part of Microsoft’s Airband Initiative, which aims to expand broadband coverage using a mixture of technologies including TV White Space.

Broadband is a vital part of 21st century infrastructure. Yet, only about half of the world’s population is connected to the internet. New cloud services and other technologies make broadband connectivity a necessity to starting and growing small businesses and taking advantage of advances in agriculture, telemedicine and education. According to findings by the Boston Consulting Group, a connectivity model that uses a combination of technologies, including TV White Space, can reduce the cost of extending broadband coverage in rural communities.

TV White Space is an important part of the solution, creating broadband connections in UHF bands and enabling communication in challenging rural terrains and highly vegetated areas, all while protecting broadcasters and other licensees from harmful interference.

“The TV White Space radio ecosystem is rapidly growing, and we are excited to work with RADWIN to bring innovative technologies to market at a global scale,” said Paul Garnett, senior director of the Microsoft Airband Initiative. “Our partnership with RADWIN, a recognized global leader in fixed wireless broadband access, will help address the rural broadband gap for residents and businesses, enabling farmers, healthcare professionals, educators, business leaders and others to fully participate in the digital economy.”

“RADWIN is a leading provider of broadband access solutions, enabling service providers globally to connect unserved and underserved homes and businesses,” said Sharon Sher, RADWIN’s president and CEO. “We are therefore very excited to be Microsoft’s partner in leading a global effort to connect rural communities and grow the TVWS ecosystem in the U.S. and around the world. The addition of innovative TV White Space solutions to RADWIN’s portfolio, which complements our sub-6GHz and mmWave fixed wireless offering, would enable our service provider customers and partners to extend their footprint by connecting more remote subscribers in challenging deployment use cases, penetrating through terrain obstructions and vegetation, and therefore helping to close the digital divide.”

In addition to the partnerships with companies like RADWIN, Microsoft’s Airband Initiative invests in partnerships with internet service providers (ISPs) and other telecommunications companies, introduces innovative solutions for rural connectivity, and provides digital skills training for people in newly connected communities. RADWIN and Microsoft will be introducing the innovative TV White Space solutions to these Airband Initiative partners, as well as to the global telecommunications industry, during the second half of 2019.