In fall of 2006, BGM deployed the first phase of the network. Due to the topology of the region, Strix OWS 2400 Series and OWS 3600 Series are particularly well suited to provide coverage over long distances and around buildings, hills, valleys, and forested areas. Galatsi is densely populated with 50,000 people, adding to the difficulty of providing wireless coverage in the city center and outlying areas. However, the company says that the combination of Strix's high power output, directional and sectorization techniques, and Strix Dynamic Mesh Architecture (DMA), which optimizes mesh networks, maximizes coverage areas to a radius of 300 to 400 meters.
The network's primary high-speed connection in the city center enables high throughput in all nodes in the network; Strix Access/One nodes can achieve throughput of over 100 Mbps. The OWS 3600 Series nodes act as the central nodes for the network while the OWS 2400 nodes are mounted on buildings around the municipality.
BGM implemented the first phase as a test network, providing free Internet access to all citizens in the coverage area. The company is now in its second phase of deployment and will continue to expand coverage as needed for Galatsi's public places, including the Olympic athletic center (home of the 2004 Olympics' gymnastic events), parks, schools, the four main routes in the city, city hall, and the business district.
"We are extremely satisfied with the performance, flexibility, and cost of Strix products. They simply work -- and work well," said Theofanis Roussas, general manager of BGM Ltd. "Strix's system has enabled us to not only offer public and secured access with QoS for the municipality, but also gives us the performance to offer VoIP over the wireless network. We are testing VoIP SIP servers and various dual mode phones, and we are also beginning tests on IP-based video surveillance cameras and surveillance servers, which will be connected to the Strix network for several security applications."
Municipal employees will be able to easily access data from their laptops wherever they are, which will save time and free them from wirelines in their offices. Municipal police can use VoIP and video over the network to connect to the central office. The Strix network will also provide Galatsi with an independent network for emergency communications.
"This deployment shows that Strix's OWS can provide wireless coverage even in dense urban areas where it can be difficult to establish good line-of-sight," said Jim Mooreland, vice president of worldwide sales at Strix. "The municipality of Galatsi has a real understanding of the value a wireless mesh network can bring to all constituents of a community -- businesses, residents, and the municipality itself."
