Pioneering council lays foundations for mobilising workers in the near future
Brighton has become the first city in the UK to launch a fully developed and operational wireless broadband service using the next-generation WiMAX technology.
The Brighton Metranet is one of the first Europe's wireless Metropolitan Area Networks based on the emerging WiMAX standard, which far outperforms conventional wi-fi in both range and bandwidth.
The Metranet is a massive wireless broadband infrastructure that covers around 90 per cent of the city, providing high-speed internet access to students and schools in the area.
The venture is the result of a technical collaboration between Brighton & Hove City Council, the University of Sussex and local company Metranet Communications.
Working closely with the Council, the company looked at ways that wireless technologies could connect up council properties, in particular primary schools, in areas where it is difficult to access broadband via a landline.
As conventional wi-fi technologies could not offer the coverage or security required, WiMAX offered Brighton a radical solution, mainly due to its ability to provide wireless broadband connectivity to users not in the direct line-of-sight of a base station.
Seven schools and three university sites were involved in the initial pilot of the WiMAX network last year.
Bill Parslow, Head of ICT & eGovernment at Brighton & Hove City Council believes the Brighton Metranet provides a solid working case study for all local authorities to reference.
"Implementing the Brighton Metranet has not only saved the people of Brighton & Hove a considerable amount of money but also offered the potential to connect mobile work to the Council's infrastructure in the future.
"We have laid the foundations for using WiMAX to distribute data to field workers within the city and at a much lower cost than 3G."
Mr Parslow continued: "Local authorities are presented with an exciting and unique opportunity to build their own wireless broadband infrastructures making massive savings through use of, for example, internet connectivity between council offices, VoIP or wireless CCTV."
Over this coming year Metranet Communications will be developing the network to deliver complete coverage of the City and have already planned their next base station sites.
Related Links
Read Bill Parlslow's exclusive article for eGov monitor on the Brighton Metranet here.
