Dallas, TX (February 3, 2012) – NetAmerica Alliance, LLC today announced that members of the NetAmerica Alliance are the first service providers to deploy Ericsson’s powerful 4G LTE Mobile Broadband Router in the U.S.

Marketed by the NetAmerica Alliance as the UniPort Home Gateway, it serves as a multi-function gateway between the home or small business and the power of the NetAmerica 4G LTE network and is declared ready for commercial service.

The UniPort is a mobile broadband router which presents a 4G LTE wireless broadband connection to the network and offers wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and RJ-11 telephone interfaces toward the customer premise. It was developed by Ericsson and is provided to Alliance Members through the technology partnership announced between Ericsson and NetAmerica in 2011.

While flexibility and simplicity are its hallmarks, the UniPort is an extremely dynamic device. It has a DHCP server, supports DHCP relay, a DNS server, built in firewall, security, encryption, web-based management, centralized monitoring, IP routing and supports VoIP for voice services. In conjunction with NetAmerica’s IMS SuperCenter, a flexible suite of voice services will be offered, both to conventional telephones (connected to its RJ-11 port) and to IP phones (up to 4) connected via Wi-Fi or via an RJ-45 port. The UniPort is also available with various external antennas to enable it to provide robust service in heretofore hard to reach rural locations. Through this single device, residential and small business customers can have full on-premise networking while being connected to the wide area network over a 4G LTE wireless broadband connection.

“Alliance Members have been putting the UniPort through its paces since last fall when we announced the launch of our pilot network,” said Scott Donlea, EVP and Chief Operating Officer of NetAmerica. “We are confident to say it is ready for commercial service and both customers and Alliance Members have been pleased with its ease of use and powerful features.”

“Ericsson and NetAmerica continue to work closely together to bring advanced mobile broadband solutions to rural America,” said Craig Stein, EVP & GM, US Regions, Broadband & Media at Ericsson. “Since announcing our technology partnership last year, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that rural citizens have access to advanced applications and solutions.”

NetAmerica has joined forces with rural independent license holders, that are deploying converged 4G wireless/wireline networks, to provide business and network services including advanced multi-media IP services, 24/7 network monitoring, 4G network elements, and other key services needed to build the converged network of the future.