LOS GATOS, Calif. and LOS ANGELES — Firetide, Inc., a leader in wireless mesh networking and Wireless Hotspot, Inc. a wireless network systems integrator, announce a free citywide wireless Internet access network for Culver City, California. Visitors to the Culver City downtown business district can now access the Internet anywhere outdoors at no charge with any Wi-Fi enabled device such as a laptop or PDA.
On September 9, 2004, Culver City will host a ceremony to officially launch the free public HotZone. Guests are invited to bring their Wi-Fi enabled gadgets, and connect to the Internet. The event will take place at the Culver City Town Plaza, located between the historic Culver Hotel and Pacific Theater.
The Culver City downtown HotZone is approximately one square mile, covering a perimeter that includes Trader Joe’s located at Culver Boulevard and Ince Street, and the border of the Sony Pictures campus at Washington Boulevard and Hughes Avenue located five blocks west.
Shoppers, workers and guests have wireless coverage in the outdoor areas of the downtown business district, including the Town Plaza for outdoor performances and gatherings, the Ivy Substation & Media Park, Culver Hotel, outdoor dining areas along Culver and Washington Boulevards.
“As a hub of the entertainment industry and home to many creative personnel, we want to offer downtown guests wireless access to the Internet for free while enjoying our retail stores, restaurants and outdoor areas,” said John Richo, Culver City’s Director of Information Technology. “Wireless Hotspot installed the HotZone quickly and easily, allowing us to provide instant service to our community.”
Wireless Hotspot installed a Firetide Wireless Mesh Network, using three HotPoint 1000R outdoor mesh routers mounted atop city and privately owned buildings.
“Culver City now offers its guests a new way to enjoy its downtown area, as many other towns and cities are quickly ‘unwiring’ areas of their city,” said Joseph Hsieh, President of Wireless Hotspot, Inc. “The actual time to install the Culver City downtown HotZone was less than one day and did not cause any disruption to downtown business operations. Installing Firetide equipment is a quick, easy and cost-effective solution.”
“Culver City is a good example of a leading edge city that continues to enhance its community,” said Bo Larsson, CEO of Firetide. “We look forward to helping them expand Wi-Fi and other services, such as wireless video surveillance, throughout Culver City.”
HotPoint Mesh Routers
Firetide’s HotPoint wireless mesh routers use advanced routing technologies and IEEE 802.11-compliant radios to “unwire” the Ethernet infrastructure. HotPoint mesh routers replace Ethernet cabling and form a Wireless Instant Network, which eliminates costly and time-consuming provisioning and creates a self-configuring, self-healing mesh network. Firetide networks form instantly by simply plugging HotPoint routers into standard AC power outlets, providing a simple and reliable alternative to standard Ethernet cable. The company offers both indoor and outdoor mesh routers, enabling anywhere, anytime access in all environments.
Firetide’s Instant Networking solution is ideal for building out Wi-Fi networks, video surveillance, and temporary networks in a variety of environments, such as public access HotZones, airports, hotels, campus environments or other locations where wiring is difficult, disruptive, or expensive.