Bristol City Council has chosen Cityspace, the UK-based leading provider of urban digital networks, as its preferred partner to deliver a major extension to the Bristol broadband wi-fi network.
The current network - also delivered by Cityspace - cover 3kms of the city centre and already provides one of the largest, fastest 'free at the point of access' networks in the UK. It was launched in 2004 and already attracts over 15,000 users a month.
The extension will expand the existing network to cover around 6kms covering key business areas, transport routes and several disadvantaged communities and will once again make Bristol's the largest of its kind in the UK - offering not only greater coverage than similar schemes in most cities but also a faster service and, unusually, free access to the general public.
The new extended network will support plans by the council and its partners in Connecting Bristol to deliver social and economic change across the city and boost Bristol's bid to win the national Digital Challenge for which it is one of ten finalists (www.digitalchallenge.gov.uk)
The new network extension will enable the council and other public bodies to develop state-of-the-art mobile working and wireless applications to improve services to the customer and boost cost effectiveness and efficiency.
Some key areas where it is expected to help include:
- Mobile communications and reporting for council service teams including parking attendants, food hygiene and trading standards inspectors, surveyors and engineers;
- 'Nomadic' CCTV to address crime hotspots in the city
- New community information, engagement and skills and training initiatives to provide new opportunities to people living in disadvantaged areas
- Further improvements to the city's growing network of real time passenger transport information services across the city
"A high quality, citywide wi-fi network is critical to the economic success of the city and its wider city region," says Councillor Barbara Janke, Leader of Bristol City Council. "It can help us improve council services, enable local businesses to become even more competitive and remove some of the obstacles that stop people in disadvantaged communities accessing the information and services they need.
"This new extension to our existing city centre network will be built on a solid and proven framework and can help us develop real, valuable applications that will make a difference to the people of Bristol."
Marc Meyohas, Chief Executive Officer of Cityspace, said: "It's a real vote of confidence to be chosen as preferred partner by Bristol to deliver this showcase network, based on the success of our pilot."
"This is an exciting opportunity for Cityspace; we are proven at achieving robust, fast municipal networks which deliver public information and internet access, but we've turned the corner now and the challenge is to deliver real, valuable applications, and as part of a wider initiative with Bristol City Council and its partners in Connecting Bristol we believe we're well placed to set the standards."
Work and planning is underway on this second phase of the network, which is expected to take 12 weeks. This will allow for testing of the first council applications to begin in March 2007, once details of the agreement between the city council and Cityspace have been finalised.
More about the Technology
The specification for the network will be based on the very latest BelAir Networks suite, which is fully compatible with the existing network and interoperable with future WIMAX frequencies.
The network is made up of 4 radio nodes mounted on streetlights and/or buildings. The 4-radio architecture allows Cityspace to create a blanket of 802.11 b/g 56Mbps access across the city with relatively few fixed egress points. Fixed Pre-WiMax backhaul costs are considerably reduced as Cityspace can touchdown at existing internet concentration points. Each node in the network has up to 75Mbps of backhaul capacity to its peers, offering unsurpassed levels of capacity and expandability. Connection to the internet is via conventional 100Mbps Ethernet or Ethernet over fibre. Licenced WiMax backhaul is an option for the future, as it WiMax mobile access.
Trade media, local authorities or other public bodies requiring more technical information can call:
Peter Sewell, Senior Consultant, Wireless - 07974 387403 email: peter.sewell@cityspace.com
Who are Cityspace?
Cityspace is a UK-based technology company, which has been providing urban digital networks in partnership with local authorities since 1996. It is the market leader in outdoor communication and information networks through its pioneering product and service portfolio of intelligent transport systems, iPlus Points and wireless broadband city networks.
Cityspace delivers wireless outdoor broadband 'hotzones' through its wireless operation and this year implemented London's largest Wi-Fi network in the London Borough of Islington, stretching along 4km of the borough's main thoroughfare, from Upper Street to Holloway Road.
