The Howland Company has designed numerous microwave point-to-point systems for both private and public applications. After the expansion of telephone service providers in the 1980s, we worked with all of the major long distance network operators to design and implement microwave point-to-point transmission systems. Much of the nation's long distance telephone traffic travelled over microwave networks engineered by The Howland Company.

This interactive map illustrates The Howland Company's extensive experience in the design, evaluation, and deployment of communication networks for telecomm, government, and institutions:

The advent of satellite communications and fiber optic networks has dramatically reduced the need for long-haul point-to-point microwave networks. However, there are still many instances where a microwave link is the appropriate choice for a reliable, cost-effective communication system.

• Digital Voice/Data Microwave Network--system upgrade design & implementation
• Digital Microwave Data Network--system evaluation & upgrade
• Digital Microwave Point-to-Point Network for High Speed Data Traffic
• Microwave/VHF Terrestrial Telecomm Network--system design & implementation
• Private Microwave Network--system design & installation

The Howland Company designed, installed, and tested a small microwave network for DeKalb Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The network links the central hospital campus to administrative and support offices which are 1773 and 539 meters away, respectively. The network links local area networks at each facility, establishing a single network for all the Center's computers.

We have designed a number of similar private networks for hospitals, colleges and universities, and financial institutions, including a private microwave network connecting a bank's 35 metro-Atlanta branches to two adminsitrative offices.

The Howland Company designed microwave and VHF mobile radio networks for the US National Forest Service--Boise National Forest in Idaho and Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah. Each network connects district offices and numerous fire lookouts with forest and higher headquarters carrying telephone, data and two-way radio traffic.

We worked with communications system users to evaluate the existing system and to determine present and future requirements, then developed a new microwave system configuration to satisfy these needs. We prepared detailed VHF coverage plots and worked with two-way radio users to insure that coverage would be adequate. We provided microwave and VHF system engineering design, including drawings and specifications to support equipment acquisition and installation, as well as a detailed cost estimate. When the installation of the microwave and land-mobile systems were completed, we conducted a complete system evaluation to verify that all user requirements were satisfied.

These photos are from sites on the Boise National Forest network.

In 1970, the Bartlett Earth Station near Talkeetna, Alaska, established the first long distance telephone link to Alaska from the lower 48 states. A terrestrial microwave point-to-point network connected the earth station's 30-meter antenna to telephone switch facilities in Anchorage, 80 miles away. We conducted a series of measurements to locate faults in the microwave transmission lines at each microwave site, improving the network's reliability.