Tempe's wireless mesh network, in place for over a year, today provides the critical wireless broadband infrastructure for the city's municipal operations and public safety organizations, including the fire department, police department, and emergency services, as well as other government agencies.

"One can be connected across the entire city. As trucks are en route to a fire they can pull up directly all the information about the location from our GIS system, for example," said Mayor Hugh Hallman. "The network has been performing well, and we continue to leverage the network for new applications that will help us optimize government processes and emergency response."

A critical advantage of the Tempe network, which is the first and largest mesh network of its type deployed in the U.S., is its ability to support high-speed roaming. This roaming expedites the city's ability to respond to crucial events and enables a growing number of applications.

Speakers at the W2i event include Mayor Hugh Hallman; Dave Heck, deputy CIO; and Galen Updike, telecommunications development manager of the State of Arizona's Government Information Technology Agency (GITA). The speakers will discuss the applications of the network as well as the benefits and challenges of large-scale wireless mesh networks.

"Our city-wide network is a critical resource for our emergency services and other government agencies, and gives us complete mobile broadband connectivity throughout the city," said Dave Heck, deputy CIO, City of Tempe.

"The City of Tempe is the best example in America of how a municipal wireless network can provide much needed educational, technological, and emergency services," said U.S. Senator John McCain. "Tempe is a leader in this field and represents the future of the Internet in America."

The Strix Access/One OWS and IWS modular mesh products deliver the largest capacity (up to six radios and 768 users per node, three to six times the norm), highest throughput (five times the norm at 35 Mbps), and best scalability (users can add more radio boards, 4.9GHz, WiMAX modules, or new technologies).

An independent wireless mesh test completed in June 2006 found Strix's OWS 2400-30 delivers the best throughput and capacity, the greatest scalability for voice applications, and the best mobility/roaming. Strix networks scale to 10 or more wireless hops with near-zero throughput loss and latency. Customers can deliver real-time applications with a minimum of wired connections for a given area, which reduces CapEx and OpEx.

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