Wireless Industry’s First Public Safety Tri-Band Mesh and Access Infrastructure
From ISC, Firetide Inc., a leading developer of wireless mesh and access networks, today announced tri-band (2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz) capability on its HotPoint® access points and HotClient™ client premises equipment (CPE) to augment the tri-band functionality of its HotPort® mesh nodes. The combination of user-controlled spectra, indoor and outdoor configurations, unparalleled backhaul performance of up to 70 Mbps, and end-to-end management provides Firetide customers with unprecedented flexibility for public safety, commercial security, municipal and industrial deployments.
“The option of using licensed or unlicensed bands in mesh and access networks allows public safety agencies to choose the band that best fits a particular area to maximize coverage or reduce interference,” said Detective Chris Jensen, Drug Enforcement Bureau, Phoenix Police Department. “The ability to shut down public Wi-Fi® access or other non-essential communications in case of a major incident or other emergency, and redirect all bandwidth to mission critical communications, gives us peace of mind if we are asked to share our wireless infrastructure.”
Wireless video surveillance over the licensed 4.9 GHz public safety band is growing exponentially in the
“The tri-band capabilities added to Firetide’s already extensive portfolio of wireless networking equipment will greatly enhance the functionality and expand the market for its wireless mesh and access networks,” said Berge Ayvazian, chief strategy officer, Yankee Group. “This announcement will also significantly increase the synergy between among public safety, video surveillance and open public access networks being implemented in the
Wireless access deployments in a public safety setting enable high-bandwidth communications, such as 20 Mbps wireless offload of recorded in-car video over a secure connection, alleviating the need to manually plug and unplug digital video recorders during patrol shift changes. In contrast, a cellular data adapter delivers a maximum of 1 Mbps throughput.
The benefits of the new tri-band functionality extend to industrial and commercial security customers as well, as they now have the flexibility to select between 2.4 and 5 GHz access for optimal network performance. Firetide’s end-to-end management and control allow network managers to provide varied levels of service by type of traffic – video, VoIP or data – and by type of client device – video camera, laptop or access control system. Firetide also delivers enterprise-class access functionality, bringing network security, management and scalability – previously only available in indoor deployments – to outdoor public safety settings. These advanced features include client authentication and accounting, multiple virtual access points, load balancing, VLAN tagging, and rogue device detection.
“Firetide continues to respond quickly and effectively to the increasing demands of public safety agencies, and our lead in this market validates that we are delivering the right solutions to these customers,” said Bo Larsson, chief executive officer, Firetide. “The new tri-band capability across our entire product line now enables law enforcement to redirect all available bandwidth to public safety communications, a critical need in emergency situations. It is also key to successful metro-wide deployments, enabling municipalities to expand the capabilities of public safety video surveillance networks by adding access for the mobile workforce.”
The Firetide product portfolio now includes:
· Tri-band HotPort mesh infrastructure that operates as a distributed virtual switch with full routing within the wireless mesh network
· Tri-band HotPoint access points and HotClient CPE with service provider features for extended reach Wi-Fi access over a wireless or wired backhaul network
· HotView Pro™ end-to-end network management
· HotView Controller™ mobility platform providing seamless client and infrastructure mobility across networks
