Colubris Selected for Switzerland’s First Ubiquitous Municipal Wi-Fi Network

Colubris Networks, the leading global provider of intelligent wireless LANs (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers, has been selected by the public network (tpn) of Switzerland to create the country’s first ubiquitous public Wi-Fi network in the City of Luzern. Based on Colubris MultiService Access Points, the wireless network currently covers the Hirschmattquartier station, Seebrücke and Quai locations, as well as popular tourist streets Zürichstrasse and Löwengraben. When fully deployed, the network will comprise 800 – 1,000 access points and provide free Internet access, Voice over Wireless LAN (VoWLAN) and municipal services to more than 100,000 residents and visitors. For example, the new WLAN will power traffic-monitoring cameras and parking-guide systems to improve the city’s traffic flow. City officials will also be able to read water, gas and electrical meters using PDAs. These and other new services will ultimately reduce administration costs and increase productivity of city staff, while providing tourists, residents and business travellers with convenient wireless access. “Compared to other communications vendors, the products from Colubris offer us the required technological lead, while helping us maintain low operating costs. The range of functionality is complemented by a comprehensive support team from Colubris,” says Jörg Furrer, CEO of the provider company tpn. To meet stringent aesthetic requirements set by Luzern for its historic districts, value-added distributor Elcoma AG integrated Colubris MultiService Access Points (MAP-330s) into street lamps. The dual-radio access points provide the required flexibility to operate two parallel channels in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency ranges. Elcoma AG has deployed 65 public access points to date. The access points are installed in street lamps at 100-meter intervals and are connected to the Internet via the Energie Wasser Luzern (EWL) fiber-optic network. “The historical environment and aesthetic requirements make the Luzern network one of the most interesting municipal projects in which Colubris has been involved,” said Patrick Deroy, Colubris director of EMEA sales. “The unique solution being deployed by Elcoma showcases the tremendous strength of our partnership and the flexibility built into our products.” The network uses the Colubris Local Mesh Protocol (LMP) to provide highly available wireless services. LMP gives each access point at least one redundant connection to the fiber-optic network, ensuring service availability even if an access point failure occurs. Because the 5 GHz frequency band is used by other radio applications, the WLAN solution must comply with the Europe-wide ETSI Standard 301893 and must not disrupt radar systems. The MAP-330 access points release the frequency immediately upon discovering a radar signal and automatically changes the channel. Automatic configuration features simplify management for the entire network, adjusting transmission channels and transmit power to avoid interference. About Colubris Networks Colubris Networks is the leading global provider of intelligent wireless networks (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers. Its optimized WLAN switching systems deliver unmatched bandwidth efficiency, seamless mobility and secure, easy access for more than 1,500 organizations and 40 million users worldwide. With its “future proof” architecture, Colubris provides organizations with the most cost-effective migration from legacy standards to 802.11n. Its systems unify and integrate with existing network infrastructures, as well as security and management systems. Colubris’ numerous recognitions include Red Herring’s top 100 private companies in North America, Fierce Wireless Fierce 15, CRN’s Emerging Tech Vendors and Mobile Trax Mobility Award. For more information, visit Colubris on the Web at www.colubris.com. About the public network AG (tpn) tpn designs, creates and operates wireless Internet access solutions for notebooks, PDAs and mobile phones of the newest generation. tpn specializes in creating and operating Municipality Networks which are the WLAN networks of large and medium sized cities. Customers and partners include renowned hotels, Starbucks, as well as national mobile operators such as Swisscom Mobile, sunrise and Orange.