Providence gets Motorola mesh network

Providence, R.I., this week unveiled its new public-safety network, using Motorola-built wireless mesh technology to create a citywide police, emergency services and municipal worker data net.

Like the other government mesh networks Motorola has built for the city of Garland, Texas, and others, the network uses quad division multiple access technology instead of the standard Wi-Fi used in public muni-mesh deployments. The network dynamically switches between four bands in the 2.4 GHz frequencies and can dynamically route signals from receiver to receiver. It also allows the network to use each individual CPE radio as a repeater effectively creating a system of thousands of mobile mesh nodes that can extend the range and capacity of the network far beyond the half-mile range of the 500 or so light-pole-mounted access points in the city, said Rick Rotondo, director of marketing for Motorola’s mesh networking product groups.

The technology is also used by the U.S. Department of Defense, Rotondo said, though he could not say where it is specifically being deployed for security reasons. “Let’s just say, it’s being used where people are shooting at you,” he said.

Apart from the different frequency bands, added security and the multiplexing technology, the system is identical to the systems it deploys for public networks. In fact, the Mesh Connex software intelligent routing software is identical to that used in its mesh Wi-Fi product line. That means future public mesh networks could eventually support client router/repeaters, greatly extending the range of a muni Wi-Fi system. So far, there hasn’t been a demand for such a deployment, Rotondo said, but if governments or enterprises want to eventually use that capability in a future network, it can easily be enabled.

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