City Services for Muni Mesh

EarthLink Inc., MetroFi Inc. and other service providers now are requiring city partners to become anchor tenant customers for municipal wireless networks, paying to use the network for public safety applications, video surveillance, meter reading and the like, achieving an ROI through opex reduction and productivity enhancement. It’s a model that many see saving the mesh market from the business model challenges it’s been facing of late. (Read “A Bumpy Road for Muni Wi-Fi” in the September issue of xchange.)

Bo Larsson, CEO at mesh vendor Firetide Inc., says, “We don’t believe the muni market has matured at all as of yet. In fact, while more and more RFPs are being issued worldwide, the market is still embryonic in terms of actual deployments. One of the reasons for the delay has been the sorting out of viable business models.”

As a result, municipal broadband models that are subsidized entirely by the service provider and advertising-supported models are on the decline. “We are beginning to see real progress and deployments, not just pilots or limited rollouts, where the primary goals are to improve government productivity, reduce costs, and enhance public safety,” Larsson says. “Successful deployments include wireless video surveillance, unified emergency communications, meter reading, building permit automation, leased lines replacement, etc.”

Firetide works closely with many public safety agencies in the United States, including Dallas and Phoenix police departments, and Larsson says that in the public safety market, wireless IP video surveillance has emerged as the leading application. According to IDC, network video camera shipments will double from 2006 to 2007, and again from 2007 to 2008, as support for high-speed mobility enables new applications for law enforcement, emergency communications, and transportation. Wireless video surveillance is driven by growing homeland security initiatives, widespread social acceptance of surveillance in public areas, and the cost benefits of using mesh networks for video installations. More than 50 percent of Firetide’s total deployments include video.

“With up to 80 percent lower network infrastructure cost compared to cable, wireless mesh networks make citywide IP video surveillance practical,” Larsson explains. “Video surveillance offers immediate payback in the form of crime deterrence and reduced personnel needs. Municipalities are wise to start with public safety as they embark on broadband wireless projects, to avoid the snags many public access deployments are facing.”

Firetide isn’t the only one following the anchor-tenant city service trend. BelAir Networks, the mobile broadband wireless networking manufacturer, has added the three-radio BelAir100T to its portfolio, dedicated to bridging the gap between city and public safety wireless networks.

“It’s a compact form factor for public access, public works and 4.9GHz public safety applications,” says Jim Freeze, senior vice president of marketing and alliances for BelAir. “One important market trend we are seeing is implementing public safety in the 4.9GHz spectrum, which is why we designed the BelAir100T, to support access over the licensed 4.9GHz, while also offering Wi-Fi access and fixed WiMAX in the backhaul. Along those lines, we are also clearly seeing a trend to multiservice, multipurpose networks. Regardless of which applications may be driving a network deployment, service providers and cities generally want a future-proof solution that securely supports separate networks both public and private on one mesh.”

With city applications tending to be mission-critical, BelAir has responded to the market shift with SLAs and QoS thresholds. “With BelAir’s SLA, we will work with service providers to certify a design to deliver the coverage, capacity and end-user experience required to meet the business objectives,” explains Freeze. BelAir also delivers system-level QoS to enable the prioritization of network traffic critical to the delivery of carrier-grade voice and video services.

The shift to focus on city services is a rising tide. “I frequently see too much emphasis focusing on the radio manufacturer or how many residential subscribers are going to drop their DSL and cable services,” says Bob Zemke, IT architect for managed services at SIEMENS Communications Inc. “While these are important, there are other items that are just as critical to a successful muni wireless network — a realistic business case that will support the networks deployment and operations.”

To read more on muni Wi-Fi, check out “A Bumpy Road for Muni Wi-Fi” in the September issue of xchange.

BelAir Networks www.belairnetworks.com
Firetide Inc. www.firetide.com
SIEMENS Communications Inc. http://communications.usa.siemens.com

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