"When we first made the decision to evaluate wireless backhaul technologies for connecting our municipal buildings, our primary concern was the ability to increase our bandwidth to enable future services," said Richard Reynolds, CTO for the city of Bee Cave. "Proxim exceeded our expectations by providing over 400x the bandwidth of our previous wired system -- and all for a fraction of the cost."

With the large increase in bandwidth that the Proxim system provides, the city designed and implemented a Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) system for all municipal buildings. The city of Bee Cave was the first organization, public or private, to successfully integrate an open source VoIP solution with Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Unified Messaging in the Austin Metropolitan area. Utilizing open source solutions helped Bee Cave reduce costs in hardware, software, and licensing while expanding available services. Not only does the VoIP system reduce costs, but the system's services were extended to field personnel via hand-held mobile devices, allowing employees to respond to citizen requests from anywhere, providing better service for citizens.

In addition, the system still has plenty of capacity to enable Bee Cave to offer additional services over time. The city is currently considering the future expansion of the network to offer outdoor Wi-Fi® connectivity to both the city's 50 acre park as well as "The Backyard," the city's popular outdoor music venue which attracts many musicians from the thriving music scene of nearby Austin, Texas.

"With our end-to-end wireless portfolio, we can provide everything from wireless backhaul to WiMAX and point-to-multipoint solutions, as well as Wi-Fi/WLAN and wireless network management," said Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing for Proxim Wireless. "So as customers expand their networks to offer new services, we can provide the wireless components every step of the way."

The city of Bee Cave worked with CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a leading provider of technology solutions for federal, state and local government agencies, to identify the best wireless solution for their needs and assist in the integration and deployment.

"The city of Bee Cave is a leader by example -- showing how cities, regardless of size, can deploy technology to improve citizen service -- and achieve a greater bang for their taxpayer dollars," said Jim Grass, CDW-G vice president of state and local government sales. "Working with CDW-G, the city was able to identify and implement the right solution for its needs. Not only does the state-of-the-art Proxim Wireless solution support and connect this growing city, but more importantly, it also will allow the city to realize a significant and tangible ROI for years to come."

By Robert Hoskins

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