"Our goal is to provide a city-owned and operated wireless network that will allow the city to provide a higher level of service to our customers and citizens," said Doug Echols, mayor of the City of Rock Hill. "The network will enable us to extend the knowledge, informational resources and databases available in city offices to the public safety, utility and other municipal workers in the field."
Tropos MetroMesh routers will be deployed for the municipal Wi-Fi network which will initially cover 32 square miles with backhaul connections to the city's fiber ring. Tropos 4210 mobile routers will be installed in police and fire vehicles, permitting immediate access to critical state and federal databases, along with remote viewing of security surveillance videos from the field via laptops. Additionally utility vehicles, building inspectors and other municipal workers will utilize PDAs in the field to access the municipal network for remote processing of paperwork.
Ultimately, the municipal network will also provide automatic meter reading for water and electricity services, eliminating manual and false readings, providing remote turn off and turn on services due to vacation or delinquencies, and aid in, among other services, water theft and leak detection.
After reviewing the credentials of various wireless technology and service providers, the city of Rock Hill awarded the contract to CSGData and Tropos Networks following a successful live, almost year-long trial in downtown Rock Hill.
"We chose CSGData and the Tropos MetroMesh system because it best met our requirements for performance and coverage, mobile access, and the ability to manage and get statistics from one central location," said James G. Bagley Jr., utilities director of the City of Rock Hill. "For the past five years, we have been exploring options for a wireless broadband solution. These two companies met our needs for a solution that is practical, economical, and reliable."
"CSGData is excited to be selected to provide Rock Hill, South Carolina, the largest municipal wireless network in the Southeast," said Richard Marko, vice president of CSGData. "Together with our equipment partner, Tropos Networks, we will provide Rock Hill with the most advanced broadband wireless system available in the world today."
"We have been at the forefront of making metro-scale Wi-Fi the most practical and reliable mobile broadband technology for cities around the world," said Ron Sege, president and CEO of Tropos Networks. "We've incorporated our broad market experience to provide advances in mobility, reliability and network management to give cities all the tools they need to provide anywhere, anytime, any device connectivity to their workers and to efficiently optimize and operate their networks. We are gratified that our approach is helping Rock Hill to meet its goals and provide the ultimate payback to its citizens in improved services and safety."
