The TRE network deployment is scheduled to be the first under a new joint marketing and sales agreement between Nortel and Colubris Networks. The two companies have also made a mutual commitment to product interoperability testing.
TRE is a cooperative public railway linking Fort Worth, Dallas and DFW International Airport. Beginning in early summer 2007, TRE plans to provide approximately 5,000 daily passengers with high-speed wireless Internet access and a range of information and entertainment services. This will include breaking news and sports, local advertising and other video content presented on 27-inch LCD screens.
"We expect TRE to set a critical technology bar for other providers across the country," said Don Lanham, chief marketing officer of 4G Metro, a privately owned wireless services company that will own and operate the network under a public/private partnership agreement with TRE.
"Our decision to select Nortel and Colubris was simple," Lanham said. "Both have superior wireless broadband solutions proven in large-scale deployments. This is crucial to providing leading-edge wireless services for TRE passengers with optimal performance, reliability and security."
4G Metro intends to use Nortel's Municipal Wireless Solution -- including wireless mesh, WiMAX and optical technologies -- to deliver integrated voice, data and multimedia along the entire 36-mile TRE route. They will deploy Colubris Networks' Intelligent WLAN Mobility System for passenger access to the Internet and other services on the train and in the stations. Colubris Wireless Client Bridges will provide seamless connectivity to Nortel Wireless Access Points at speeds up to 63 miles-per-hour. Colubris MultiService Access Points and MultiService Controllers will support Internet 'hotspot' service for passengers with scalable user access control and QoS services.
"TRE's service will be a major step in the growth of broadband wireless in non-traditional venues," said Angela Singhal, director, Municipal Wireless Solutions, Nortel. "We expect the flexibility and security of Colubris' intelligent wireless LAN solution, combined with Nortel's technology and global experience in designing, installing and launching hundreds of public and private wireless networks, to help TRE make affordable broadband wireless services available to its passengers."
"With Nortel, we are offering transportation and other service providers an industry-leading municipal wireless broadband solution," said Roger Sands, co-president and vice president, engineering, Colubris Networks. "We look forward to working together to provide cutting-edge companies like TRE with comprehensive wireless solutions that combine Colubris' highly reliable and secure Wi-Fi solutions with the market breadth of Nortel's Municipal Wireless Solution."
