Jan 22, 2004 12:00 PM

The city of Garland, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, will upgrade its first responder mobile data communications network by replacing the current cellular-based infrastructure with a mobile mesh network developed by Richardson, Texas-based NexGen City that will have a coverage range of 57 square miles. The project, which is being managed by Lockheed Martin, will be the first use of a mobile mesh network by a public-safety organization, according to the NextGen City, which is the system integrator on the project.

The network, dubbed NexNet, embeds a wireless router in every device to extend the network, determine optimum paths for data transmission and provide additional paths for connectivity, according to NextGen City. All NexNet components use ASIC chip sets developed by Maitland, Fla.-based MeshNetworks.

In field tests that covered a five-square-mile area, units deployed in two vehicles traveling more than 60 mph in opposite directions were able to provide real-time streaming video, voice-over-IP calls and data throughput rates up to 1.5 Mb/s, according to NextGen City.

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