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WiFi Mesh Networks for Municipal Deployments
The complexities of municipal government management and operations requires the rock-solid stability of and mobility of the industry's carrier-class metro wireless mesh network solution.
Brookline Massachusetts, Rochelle Illinois, Thorold Ontario, Milton Keyens UK, Oulu Finland, Galatsi Greece, and many others are examples of municipalities with the need to provide WiFi access for the cities internal operations, public safety, meter reading and more.
Economic, social development and revenue generation are a few of the motivations behind city and municipal government broadband access deployments for city employees, residents, employers, and visitors. Municipal wireless networks have grown 134 percent and will double as municipalities are expected to invest nearly $700 million over the next two years to build wireless networks while current industry statistics indicate that the growth in wireless networks is accelerating. At the top of the list is the ability to improve a cities competitiveness enabling new social and business opportunities, worker productivity, IT and related communications cost savings, as well as public safety including police, fire and emergency services.
Rotterdam, netherlands deployed Strix Systems Wireless Mesh Network in a joint commercial and municipal effort. To the left see the Youtube mobile video testing which took place prior to deployment. Click here for larger view
Municipalities worldwide are finding that it makes sense to be the service provider for their residents and businesses, unable to attract a service provider to a given area or due to disagreements in pricing, franchise fees or other concern, the city builds, owns and manages the infrastructure, determines who will have free and paid access. The city may offer services themselves as the service provider, or wholesale parts of the network to another entity, however, this depends on the personnel and financial resources of the city. A recommended business model is where the city owns and manages the infrastructure, charging fees to any broadband service provider that wants to offer service in a particular area. Interestingly enough, some municipalities, even when they have highly desirable markets to offer the local carrier, are taking control of their own communications services to ensure that all parties have equal access to vital information services.
The focus on municipal networks stems from goals and mandates to provide:
* New communications and services including competitive, low-cost, dedicated and opportunistic Internet access
* Provide response-critical data access to first responders, reduce crime and secure critical infrastructure
* Improve communication efficiency and responsiveness of public workers
* Instant ad-hoc network setup for emergencies and events, monitor automobile traffic flow, location based dispatch, vehicle video security
* New economic opportunities and make the city a destination of choice for businesses, residents and visitors
WiFi Mesh networks enable greater productivity, improving the efficiency of municipal workers and enabling seamless communications for first responders and emergency services during crisis situations. Low cost, widely available broadband Internet access creates new opportunities for municipalities by improving communications, responsiveness and the quality of services delivered by local government to their constituents. Police, fire, emergency response, e-government, and public works are some of the areas where improved communications and efficiencies are needed. Widely available network access and services provided by local government enables greater opportunity for economic development and helps close the gap on the digital divide.
Milton Keyes experiences dramatic growth in Wi-Fi usage
Milton Keyens, UK is experiencing 133% in Wi-Fi usage growth in 2008 for their municipal network, compared to the January to April period the previous year.
Wireless “Mesh” takes the capabilities of enterprise-class WiFi with security and QoS (Quality of Service) and makes the network accessible throughout large-scale areas, extending business, residential, public safety, government and other applications well beyond traditional boundaries. Instead of utilizing point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless devices for limited connectivity to specific locations, wireless mesh networks are sophisticated self-configuring, self-optimizing and self-healing making it possible to deploy extremely large-scale, intelligent, high speed networks with predictable performance. Such capabilities enable high densities of users and sophisticated applications such as fully automated aircraft taxiing control and baggage handling as well as the transport of high-bandwidth video surveillance and alarm controls, which, due to wireless mesh networks, all become a reality. More importantly, predictable performance and scalability also means that services such as mobile roaming can be supported. Today, trains capable of reaching speeds over 150 miles per hour deliver high-speed internet access to business travelers while in transit. Mobile roaming also enables police, fire and emergency medical personnel with the ability to access critical information transmit medical monitoring data, gain access to video surveillance from any location, and share investigation details at the scene of a crime. WiFi is no longer restricted to any boundaries and enables fast, secure, communications and is capable of covering vast distances and all sorts of terrain.
In contrast to wireless mesh networks, traditional technology choices impose serious limitations impeding their effectiveness. Cable modems and DSL can provide high speed broadband services to specific communities, but there are no provisions for mobility or the less fortunate who can not afford these services. Additionally, municipalities need city-wide network access for their own purposes which would be cost prohibitive if acquired through a carrier. Cellular data offerings remain bandwidth limited although carriers have promised higher speed services in the future. Existing issues remain with quality; coverage and capacity which have lead some to examine alternative forms of communications for emergency and catastrophic situations. It’s therefore questionable whether or not the future for carrier wireless services, given their existing strategic technologies, are capable of supporting the required emerging and critical applications.
Galatsi Greece is yet another good example of a municipality that looks at the practical uses of WiFi Mesh. Galatsi is densely populated with 50,000 people.
Galatsi Greece Municipal Network
Galatsi Greece live!
Today, wireless mesh networks enable citizens and businesses the low-cost mobile broadband solution access they desire. It enables greater productivity, improving the efficiency of municipal workers and enabling seamless communications for first responders and emergency services during crisis situations. Low cost, widely available broadband Internet access creates new opportunities for municipalities by improving communications, responsiveness and the quality of services delivered by local government to their constituents. Police, fire, emergency response, e-government, and public works are some of the areas where improved communications and efficiencies are needed. Widely available network access and services provided by local government enables greater opportunity for economic development and helps close the gap on the digital divide.
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