The recently introduced AirNow solution from Bitcentral proved to be of great help to reporters of KHON-2 who were able to stream video from inaccessible locations right after the elections to their stations for live broadcasts. Bitcentral’s AirNow! portable news production solution is an easy-to-use remote unit that can be connected to a broadcast camera and switched on to stream video content directly to the stations via cellular data networks.

"AirNow! is the answer for broadcasters who need reliable, cost-efficient remote production solutions," said Bitcentral's chief executive officer, Fred Fourcher. "We've seen a tremendous need to get video to the audience from remote locations where a truck can't readily access without costly investments in portable satellite gear. AirNow! embodies our commitment to give local news organizations the ability to produce quality news with no barriers," Fourcher added.

Honolulu's local FOX television station, KHON-2 used the AirNow! unit to broadcast live video from Ala Moana Center. The broadcast covered Election Day opinions of shoppers at the busy mall and was the first such broadcast made by any station in the city. The reason for this being the first broadcast ever to be shot live from the Ala Moana Center is because of the large sized new gathering trucks of KHON which couldn’t fit into the mall’s parking structure. With Bitcentral’s AirNow! solution, journalists are freed from the problems of accessibility which acted as a barrier to efficient reporting earlier.

"Joe McNamara, the station's general manager, was excited to be the first station to use AirNow!," said Ken Lee (News - Alert), Bitcentral's Senior Engagement Manager. "He was impressed with the audio and video quality of AirNow!, and that it integrates seamlessly into the station's production workflow," Lee added.

AirNow!’s multi channel cellular data technology (EVDO) enables the reliable delivery of broadcast quality live video to viewers of a particular station. Its portable wireless hotspot helps journalists access the internet through their authorized notebook computers and facilitates uploading of stories to the station from any location, anytime.

“With its ease of use and good quality video, AirNow! will give us the ability to get more stories to air our viewers care about," said Joe McNamara. "We were impressed with what we saw," McNamara added.