Motorola boosts wireless city ambitions

 

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By Maggie Holland, IT PRO

Posted on 1 Dec 2006 at 10:56

Motorola has announced that its technology will play a large role in the creation of wirelessly-connected cities around the UK.

As part of BT's Wireless Cities initiative, the communications giant will provide mesh Wi-Fi infrastructure and services, enabling businesses and consumers to take advantage of wireless broadband connectivity, for six locations, including Birmingham and Newcastle.

BT's wireless city grand plan was announced in May this year and aims to transform 12 UK cities into connected environments that benefit local residents and businesses.

Earlier this week, Westminster City Council announced it plans to move its wireless city activity out of pilot stage by the end of the year.

Birmingham city council also unveiled its own wireless city ambitions earlier this month.

And a number of other UK cities, including Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool are working towards similar aims as part of BT's umbrella initiative.

Using offerings from its MOTOwi4 wireless broadband range, Motorola claims its technology is capable of automatic self-correction and re-routing traffic in the event of a problem.

The company also claims the new network infrastructure, which it will design, deploy and manage, will help reduce costs and minimise disruption to each city during roll out.

Once the target wireless cities are mesh-enabled, people will be able to make use of extended BT Openzone hotspots and enterprise-capable virtual private network (VPN) services.

Wireless CCTV will also enhance community safety and peace of mind, as is already the case in Birmingham and Westminster.

'Motorola is pioneering wireless broadband development and we are excited to join BT in its drive to wirelessly enable BT Wireless Cities with Mesh Wi-Fi networks,' said Jose Figueroa, corporate vice president and general manager of Motorola Networks and Enterprise, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

'The Wireless City initiative will deliver what consumers, business and city authorities really want: a broadband service that's consistent in the home, the office and now outside in open spaces around the city.'

Dave Hughes, director of BT Wireless Broadband added: 'The Wireless City initiatives offer wide area wireless broadband access across metropolitan areas, enabling people to use the network on a range of devices for entertainment, education and communication, such as email, video and voice calls, even when they're on the move.'