According to mmWave wireless solutions provider, Siklu, Smart City deployments based on its broad E-band and V-band product portfolio have been installed in over 100 cities now. Smart Cities, which were initially defined as municipalities connecting low data rate sensors for water, gas and more, have been evolving to demand high-capacity connectivity at gigabit-per-second speed. This high-bandwidth network infrastructure is needed to support new applications such as video security, public Wi-Fi backhaul, and private city network deployments. As municipalities move to support an increase in public safety cameras and improved connectivity between public buildings such as police, fire, schools, and libraries, the networks are being upgraded. All of this serves to help fuel economic development for residents, cost savings for the cities, and improved security for all.
A key challenge with so many services to be supported is to implement a single, city-wide network that can provide enough capacity for all these services today, as well as to scale up as more connected devices and locations are added in the future. While fiber is a core portion of these citywide networks, fiber does not have nearly the ubiquitous coverage that can be achieved with mmWave wireless. Extending the fiber network can be costly and time consuming. Using fiber where it is available, but adding the capacity and latency of fiber networks with Siklu solutions to virtually any location, gives city planners the ability to have 100% coverage.
Examples of Smart City projects deployed by Siklu include the Burnley Town Centre project in England, which installed 18 high capacity point-to-point mmWave EtherHaul 500TX and 600TX links from Siklu to deliver interference-free connectivity for 40 newly installed HD IP CCTV cameras. In the City of Wichita, Siklu's mmWave MultiHaul point-to-multipoint radios are used to connect 72 fixed bullet, dome, and PTZ cameras and protect its Old Town district. The multi-gigabit capacity network can run multiple applications on the same wireless network simultaneously. The city is currently looking at using Siklu mmWave wireless radios for other applications, such as local area network connectivity to city buildings and free public WiFi. Interference in the 5 GHz band was a significant concern for the City of Wichita, and mmWave addressed this potential problem.
Dover Castle, an 11th century English historic location popular with tourists, sought improvements in its network connectivity throughout the site. Having to support POS data, public access Wi-Fi, CCTV, and corporate LAN extensions, a number of Siklu EH-600TX links were dotted around the castle grounds, most with a camouflage vinyl wrap to ensure the radios blend in with their surroundings.
Siklu's End-to-End solution was showcased at Smart City Connect in Kansas City from March 26-29, and will also be on display at the upcoming ISC West in Las Vegas from April 11-13.
