Blasted by sub-zero winds, Sebastien Lemieux of LSS V-Sat installs a repeated link on a hill located about five miles between the airport and the Arctic Bay Communications Center.

Trailblazer is built for rugged conditions like those at the Arctic Bay Airport, located in the Qikiqtaaluk Region on Nunavut, Canada, the northernmost inhabited area of the world.

Thanks to the Carlson Wireless Trailblazer Phone Line Extender, the Arctic Bay Airport now enjoys perfect wireline-quality telephone service.

Our customer, Quebec City-based LSS V-Sat, needed a communications solution that would not involve digging trenches and laying cable in the hard Arctic ground, which stays frozen solid from October to mid-July.

The Trailblazer carries two phone lines (POTS) from a communications center to the airport. The two links are connected with a repeater to provide line-of-sight over a hill that is located five miles between the sites.

For protection against the harsh elements, the two-foot Radiowave antennas have radomes, dome-shaped weatherproof enclosures.

Arctic Bay, called Ikpiarjuk ("the pocket") by the locals, is a tiny Inuit village tucked into the hills on Borden Peninsula. Classified as polar desert, the region is completely dark between November and January, when daylight gradually begins to increase.

The Trailblazer was installed in sub-zero (-50 degrees Fahrenheit) weather with only two hours of sunlight a day.

"For impossible last-mile applications, Trailblazer is the perfect solution to deliver phone lines and Ethernet to even the most remote and hostile environments," said Carlson Sales Engineer Jerry Moore.

Trailblazer Phone Line Extender is a point-to-point digital radio that delivers POTS and Ethernet data, using TrueTDM™ technology to provide ultra-low fixed latency. It is configurable for up to eight voice channels, with ranges up to 32 mi/50 km, or more with repeaters.

Trailblazer uses the license-exempt 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz or license 4.9 GHz frequency bands, providing fully encrypted, spread spectrum CDMA modulations for your privacy. Leased-line (4-wire/E&M) configurations and multipoint systems are also available.

Rugged Trailblazer radios are deployed on every continent on the planet--from the frigid North Slope of Alaska to the humid jungles of Laos.

The other antenna is located at the Arctic Bay Communications Center.