O N L I N E   E X C L U S I V E

 

To Mesh or Not to Mesh?

 

Large cities aren’t the only entities deploying wireless mesh networks at 4.9 GHz. Two cities and a transit authority are finding the technology’s capabilities far surpass their expectations.

 

By Lindsay A.Gross

Mesh technology is nothing new. However, in case the term isn’t in your vocabulary of buzzwords, here’s a brief crash course. Wireless mesh networking is a wireless cooperative communication infrastructure between massive amounts of individual wireless transceivers that have Ethernet-type capabilities. Nodes act as repeaters to transmit the data from nearby nodes to peer nodes, resulting in a network that can span large distances, especially over rough or difficult terrain, according to officials with several companies providing mesh services. Mesh nodes are connected to several others, so if one node drops out of the network, because of hardware failure or any other reason, its neighboring node finds an alternate route.

What does all that mean? Wireless mesh solutions enable cities and governments to rapidly deploy flexible networks that use the licensed 4.9 GHz band for public-safety applications such as mobile fire, emergency medical, and mobile law enforcement, as well as other mission-critical uses.

Who is using mesh technology? Before Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans began using Tropos MetroMesh routers to link the city’s IP network and Ethernet backbone so that public-safety officers had quick and easy access to digital IP cameras located throughout the city. After the hurricane, the city started the nation’s first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city with equipment donated by Intel, Tropos Networks, and Pronto Networks, according to a CBS News report, which also said that the system has helped speed up recovery efforts and enables building inspectors to quickly process paperwork for reconstruction permits without having to travel back and forth to city offices. Los Angeles also recently deployed a mesh network.

However, large cities aren’t the only ones benefiting from mesh technology; Beaverton, Ore., and Plano, Texas — both of varying geographies — have also successfully deployed the solution. Another organization on the mesh-networking train is the North County (Calif.) Transit District (NCTD).

Beaverton, Ore.

Oregon’s fifth-largest city and home to 83,000 residents, the city of Beaverton recently launched a mobile broadband wireless network to support the public-safety data requirements of its police force. After receiving a grant for the project in the winter of 2005, the first phase of the network, designed and deployed by Invictus Networks and BelAir Networks, was up and running by November 2006. “Real-time information enables the officer on the beat to be better prepared to make the right decision about the situations they face every day,” says David G. Bishop, chief of the Beaverton Police Department. “This will take us to the future — this will be our future. The wireless network has provided us with a much more effective tool in being proactive in fighting crime.”

The Beaverton network consists of BelAir200 and BelAir100 multiservice nodes, which wirelessly cover the city hall and commercial districts. Under the leadership of Lt. Andrea Moore of the Beaverton Police Department, the city fitted its fleet of 40 police cars with wireless-enabled laptops, enabling real-time access to critical information; this allows officers to access their computer desktops, the city network, and the Portland (Ore.) Police Department data system through a remote application while in their patrol cars. “Mobile wireless networks are quickly becoming a critical part of today’s policing efforts. With advances like Amber Alerts and wireless networks, technology is transforming law enforcement,” Moore says. “We absolutely required the highest level of security, QoS (quality of service), and performance to support the activities that we conduct as part of our daily work.”

With the network in place, police officers can wirelessly access the electronic in-field reporting system in real time for information including mug shots and digitized fingerprints, Moore says. Prior to the availability of the network, officers had to call in for histories and written reports, a more time-consuming process. With the wireless network, officers can issue electronic citations on PDAs from the field for greater efficiency. “Having the network in place means that our officers have more information and can be more responsive. The ability to keep our officers out in the field, and not spending time inside our headquarters means better efficiency and better responsive calls,” Moore says.

The only problem the Beaverton department has encountered so far is that as the network is still being installed, the officers want more coverage. “Right now most of the city is covered, but the officers would like complete coverage,” Moore says. “In Beaverton, the wireless broadband infrastructure is highly scaleable and designed to support multiple wireless services running on a single network. The network currently supports public-safety services, and the city plans to expand its use to include public-works services and support for its water department. The Beaverton team has easily incorporated additional nodes as the network continues to expand.”

Plano, Texas

In July 2006, the city of Plano put out a request for proposals (RFP) for a network of 19 hot spots so police would be able to download field reports. City officials went a step further when they deployed Motorola’s MotoMesh, which is a multiradio broadband, and Canopy backhaul solutions to create a mobility corridor for seamless wireless broadband access across the city that is being deployed in multiple phases. Plano, a community of 250,000 residents located 30 miles north of Dallas, initially deployed access points for hot spots located around public-safety and municipal buildings, such as police and fire stations, libraries, city hall, and court buildings, along with network connections provided by Canopy. Phase 2 expanded the network into a seamless wireless broadband “cloud,” creating a wireless mobility corridor.

“Technology allows officers to gather more information en route to the scene,” says David Stephens, director of technology services for the city. “For example, cameras installed in schools can transmit images to officers responding to emergencies, so they don’t walk into a situation blind. It allows them to reduce coordination time prior to responding. And, when considering ROI (return on investment), it also allows them to stay in the field longer because they can download their field reports while on patrol instead of returning to the station.”

Stephens says he and city officials are extremely pleased with the deployment of the mesh network, which was funded through bonds. “The only problem we’ve had so far is that the network is still being installed. Right now, most of the city is covered, but the officers would like more coverage,” he says. By the end of 2007, 55 percent of the city will have coverage, and by the end of next year, 95 percent of the city will be covered.

North County Transit District

The North County Transit District (NCTD) was created in 1976 to provide an integrated public transit service within San Diego’s North County region, and the district encompasses more than 1,000 square miles. All of the pieces leading up to a mesh solution coalesced at just the right time. The need was ripe, funding became available, and the community rallied behind the cause; in essence, everything meshed. “We had funding become available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the same time a consultant was talking to us about how mesh networks are currently coming of age,” says Kirk Talbott, chief information officer (CIO) for the NCTD. “We had a tight time frame in which we could use the funding, and everything we were hearing about the technology led us to believe it wouldn’t be a high-risk project and that the technology would accommodate our needs along the railway.”

The network, which cost $170,000, is designed to help the district install video cameras to monitor the railway and detect intruders, especially near bridges that carry trains over the region’s series of coastal lagoons. The network uses 11 solar-powered wireless network nodes from Strix Systems, which are mounted on poles 1 mile apart along the edge of the railroad tracks. Additional outdoor wireless nodes are located and mounted on the train stations. Together, the nodes blanket the rail with a wireless signal. Real-time video and critical railway communications are handed off wirelessly from node to node, preserving the throughput and low-latency requirements of these timing-sensitive applications, Talbott says. “Prior to investing in the network, mesh hadn’t been deployed by a railroad before, but it had been successful in municipalities and with the military. We had no idea, however, how it would work with a locomotive moving at 90 miles an hour.”

Talbott says there have been other ancillary benefits to installing the network. “Every day we’re finding new ways to increase the scope of the technology, and we’re exploring new capabilities such as being able to send video from an incident to responding public-safety agencies,” he says. “However, nobody understands the technology’s full capabilities yet. It’s a constant improvement process, and we’re constantly learning what additional things the mesh network can do for us.”

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Lindsay A. Gross is managing editor of MissionCritical Communications and RadioResource International. Contact her at lgross@RRMediaGroup.com. This article was written in conjunction with Capital Media Group’s “Wireless Communications and Public Safety” broadcast piece. For more information, visit www.missioncriticaltv.com.