DragonWave deploys Ontario muni network

Broadband wireless equipment vendor DragonWave announced that the City of Barrie, Ontario, a community of 127,000 people north of Toronto, has deployed DragonWave’s AirPair wireless Ethernet products into a self-healing municipal mesh network.

DragonWave's AirPair solution, which operates in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum in the 18 GHz to 20 GHz range, provides the city with a 200 Mb/s full duplex self-healing mesh backbone, allowing for 99.999% service availability. At each node, point-to-multipoint technology is installed to connect low-capacity city locations to the network. These nodes will also provide access points for the city-wide wireless umbrella for future mobile and remote access projects.

Previously, all of the city's wireless services were centered on around its city hall, so that in the event of a disaster, all service would be brought down. By deploying a self healing wireless mesh, the network can route around any disabled site without impacting communications to other city facilities. "The advantages of a single IP network combined with the advantages of wireless mesh backhaul meet exactly the requirements for the municipal networks," said Peter Allen, president and CEO of DragonWave.