"Citi WiFi partnered with Strix because its multi-radio, multi-RF approach to mesh networking is extremely scalable and affordable, it gives us many deployment options, and it will allow us to add more services in the future," said Frank McCarthy, president of Citi WiFi Networks, in a release. "We believe that the advantages of Strix's approach boil down to containing the cost per square mile, which allows for cost-effective deployment of services and enables us to capture the maximum possible service revenue per square mile. If you want to deploy broadband service now and add IP, multimedia, and VoIP applications in the future, you have to build a network today that can deliver the throughput and low-latency to support such applications tomorrow."
Hundreds of subscribers signed up for the new service, at no obligation, via a pre-subscription link on Citi WiFi's Web site. This helped the company to determine the best locations for installing nodes and test for signal strength outside each residence as the nodes went up. Citi WiFi anticipates a healthy takeup rate from residences, mobile professionals such as real estate agents, and owners of boats at the local marina, as well as from tourists, since the price for access is less than the price of access at hotels.
The City of Dunedin will use Strix OWS to connect the city's dozen or so buildings for less than the cost of a wired network. The network will also make city inspectors and other mobile employees more productive by enabling them to access the fixed network via VPNs. The Water Department, the biggest component of the city infrastructure, is considering replacing the city's aging water meters with wireless meters. The Strix OWS will allow Dunedin to backhaul the meters' output to the water department, eliminating the need to read water meters on site.
Citi WiFi Networks performed extensive testing on mesh networks from five different vendors before selecting Strix's solution. The company was particularly impressed with the ability of Strix OWS to maintain a high node-to-node throughput and low latency across multiple hops. Other vendor products tested in the same multi-hop configuration could only provide 1 Mbps service and several could provide no bandwidth at all after only three hops, while the Strix OWS maintained high performance levels all the way through, according to a release from Strix.
One Mbps capacity is sufficient for e-mail but not for high-bandwidth services such as IPTV and other multimedia applications. Nor is 1 Mbps sufficient to support seamless hand-off for roaming. Strix also offers Citi WiFi a great deal of flexibility with regard to antennas, configuration, and network design, all very important considerations in Dunedin, which has many large mature trees that can obstruct radio signals.
The Dunedin network is unique in that the Strix nodes are installed on utility poles owned by a private power company, Progress Energy. Citi WiFi broke new ground by entering into an agreement with Progress Energy to place nodes on its poles. To date, wireless mesh nodes have been installed on light poles owned by municipalities, which thus have the freedom to place nodes wherever they wish.
