Local firm's hotspot approved

SARASOTA — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has given Sarasota-based xG Technology Inc. certification to distribute and sell the xMod mobile hotspot in the United States.

The xMod is a mobile hotspot device that connects both WiFi, USB or Ethernet-enabled devices (such as smartphones, tablets, computers) to the Internet as well as voice networks through xG's xMax cognitive radio network. The xMod is a device that can be self-installed by users, and acts as a bridge between user devices and the wide-area xMax radio network.

The xMod allows operators to deploy long-range xMax networks — which xG Technology says has better range and reliability than WiFi-based wide-area data systems — that can smoothly integrate with the larger installed base of WiFi and Ethernet-capable wireless devices.

Production-ready xMod devices were tested and certified under the FCC's rules governing allowed power output, harmonics and occupied bandwidth.

Scott Garlington, vice president of engineering for xG Technology, says the certification is the final step the company had needed to bring the xMod mobile hotspot to market.

The xMax network has been designed to work in a wide range of applications including rural broadband, machine to machine connections and enterprise networks.