Wisconsin county officials wrap up VIDA installation
Ozaukee County, Wis., expanded its 4.9 GHz Voice, Interoperability, Data and Access (VIDA) broadband wireless network from Tyco Electronics M/A-COM Wireless Systems. The expansion completes the county’s last network deployment phase, which included video-surveillance capabilities and network backhaul support for county facilities.
Ozaukee public safety officials wanted to provide network connectivity to city buildings and other assets that previously lacked security firewalls. Officials also needed to install video-surveillance assets and reduce costs associated with leasing T1 lines, said Greg Henderson, director of broadband products and technology for Tyco Electronics Wireless.
“Agencies have problems to solve, and they don’t always understand what technologies can be used,” he said. “So it becomes a balance between determining applications, video streams, camera location and connectivity, then we design the network. In addition, WiMAX has extra bandwidth for future applications.”
The VIDA network uses standards-based, IEEE 802.16 WiMAX technology in the licensed 4.9 GHz band for data and voice communications. The protocol works in a 5-MHz band to support over-the-air throughput from 4 to 19 Mbps. The use of 5 MHz channels provides 10 non-overlapping channels to maximize capacity within the 50 MHz of spectrum allocated for public safety at 4.9 GHz, Henderson said. As a result, it is used for applications such as wireless video surveillance, remote connectivity and vehicle broadband access.
“It offers guaranteed quality of service and priority for applications, in a scalable, mission-critical network,” Henderson said.
The deployed network now provides county officials with alert and video monitoring capabilities, such as alarm and video coverage at the County Justice Center, Henderson said.
In other news, the company was awarded a contract for an undisclosed dollar amount by the Salt River Project, located in Phoenix, Ariz.. The contract calls for an upgrade the utility’s existing 900 MHz EDACS communication system to an IP-based 900 MHz OpenSky communication system. The network will be a seven-site, interoperable private digital radio communication network that will use two voice signals on each of the company’s narrowband (12.5 KHz) 900 MHz channels, the company said.
