Motorola introduces four-in-one mesh solution
Motorola this week announced Motomesh, a wireless solution designed to create four broadband wireless mesh networks in the 2.4 GHz and 4.9 GHz bands.
Unveiled at CTIA in New Orleans, the Motomesh architecture calls for each node in the network to support four wireless networks, two in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band and two in the 4.9 GHz band dedicated to public safety. Currently in trials in Maitland, Fla.—the former home of MeshNetworks, which Motorola acquired last year—the solution is scheduled to be available during the second half of this year, said Rick Rotondo, director of marketing at Motorola.
With Motomesh, government entities deploying the solution have significant flexibility to address the data needs for a number of groups by deploying a single network, Rotondo said.
“You’re really getting up to four broadband networks, but it’s all in just one box with one network-management system,” Rotondo said.
On the 4.9 GHz side, one network could be dedicated to supporting Motorola’s proprietary MEA radios—supporting ad hoc mesh networking outside of the coverage area—while the other 4.9 GHz network could support the 802.11-based standard that many public-safety entities favor, Rotondo said. On the 2.4 GHz side, one network could be used for public access while another could be dedicated for public works, which often plays a significant first-responder role in many large incidents.
“A lot of times, public works is needed to get power or water back on, and they need to coordinate that with the public-safety entity,” Rotondo said. “Legally, they use the 4.9 GHz band. But, since this is all bridged together, they can communicate with public safety, even though they’re using the 2.4 GHz band.”
The fact that all the networks are controlled with a single network-management system provides additional flexibility, because the networks can be configured to dedicate bandwidth to mission-critical traffic when large events are in progress, Rotondo said.