TOWN OF BROOKLINE TO ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF NATION’S FIRST TOWN-WIDE COMBINED WI-FI/PUBLIC SAFETY NETWORK
“Wire Cutting” Event with Galaxy Internet Services to be held on July 18th at Devotion House on Harvard Street at 6pm.
Brookline, Massachusetts, July 18, 2006
CORE NEWS FACTS
BROOKLINE, Massachusetts, July 18, 2007 The Town of Brookline will announce the launch of the region’s first border-to-border municipal Wi-Fi network, which includes the nation’s first implementation of newly licensed spectrum for public safety. The event is to be held in front of the Devotion House at 345 Harvard Street in Brookline. The “Wire Cutting” event will feature prominent speakers, raffles and giveaways.
The network was deployed in a public-private partnership between Brookline and Galaxy Internet Services. The goal of the project was to satisfy Brookline’s need for improved public safety and municipal communications, while providing consumers and businesses with new options for Internet access. Brookline is the first municipality in the United States to have a border-to-border multi-use first responder Wi-Fi network utilizing licensed frequencies for police and fire, and standard Wi-Fi for consumers. The multi-use network is owned and operated by Galaxy and is based on technology provided by Strix Systems.
In addition to paid wireless Internet access for consumers and businesses, limited free access will be available in certain commercial areas and public parks. Also, the Brookline Housing Authority (BHA) will have access to free internet service in their community rooms. The packages made available by Galaxy to residents and businesses will be less costly for similar plan types offered by other companies.
Brookline will be utilizing the newly licensed 4.9 GHz spectrum on a town-wide basis, dedicated to emergency services. First responders such as police and fire will be able to exchange information with local, state and federal agencies for improved security via a licensed frequency reserved for emergency services. With broadband wireless internet access, they will also be able to utilize new applications to distribute information to personnel both in the field and in command centers.
Brookline’s Chief Information Officer, Kevin Stokes, said “This is the beginning of a robust alternative to some of the other broadband services available in Brookline. The Town will be utilizing it to enhance and lower the cost of communications, and increase the efficiency of Town services”. Sean Cronin, Deputy Town Administrator, added “This is truly one of those rare opportunities in local government where everyone wins: residents, businesses, the Town and its employees, and, ultimately, the taxpayers.”
According to Bob Carp, Galaxy’s president, “The Brookline Wi-Fi mesh network, built on Strix Systems high performance multi-radio mesh technology, is an excellent example how a single wireless infrastructure can support both public safety and general public access in an area with both high population density and an extremely dense tree canopy. Our goal is to provide a network service with excellent performance and excellent customer satisfaction, Accordingly, as we test and fine tune the WiFi network, we encourage all users with any Wi-Fi device to connect to ‘BrooklineWireless’ at no cost and go!”
During the free trial period, all town residents and visitors are encouraged to access the wireless network to explore the robustness of the Internet access, and the border to border mobility that will allow them to use their notebook computers, PDA’s, and even the newest IPhone’s Wi-Fi access abilities. The Wi-Fi network’s SSID is ‘BrooklineWireless’.
MEDIA LINKS
* Strix Access/One Network Outdoor Wireless System (OWS)
* Strix Wireless Mesh Network Solutions
* Strix Long-Range 4.9 GHz
* Galaxy Internet
* Brookline Massachusetts
About Brookline, Massachusetts, Inc.
Brookline, Massachusetts, is a 6.6 sq mi jewel of a suburb of 57,000 residents. Cheek to jowl with Boston, it has its own identity - a unique mixture of busy streets and rolling countryside, upscale shops and village pubs, gracious apartment buildings and large estates, and home for legions of academic and scientific professionals, who work at the nearby medical centers in Boston. Among its many unusual resources, Brookline has its own working farm (with farm stand), the oldest country club in the nation, a town golf course, the home in which John F. Kennedy was born, a magnificent park on a hillside overlooking Boston with a wonderful open air skating rink and marvelous transportation museum, and numerous neighborhood parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the Town. Its major retail centers, like Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village, are bustling pedestrian-oriented shopping areas with a variety of shops - antique stores, coffee shops, bookstores, fresh fruit and vegetable markets, delicatessens and restaurants. Along with offering both a city atmosphere and a feeling of being in the country, there is a wonderful mix of people in Brookline: elderly, minorities, immigrants from many lands, young families, and college students. With its good schools (both public and private), good transportation (several branches of the MBTA Green Line traverse the Town), and good government, Brookline is a choice spot in which to reside or establish a business.
About Galaxy Internet Services, Inc.
Galaxy Internet Services Inc. is a Massachusetts based Internet service provider which has been providing Internet and IT Solutions to the public, private enterprise and government municipalities since 1995. Galaxy’s mission is to enable wireless broadband access coupled with intelligent internet services everywhere through innovative joint partnerships with government municipalities and the private-sector. Galaxy’s services include a wide range of Internet connectivity, hosting, wide area networking and professional services. Galaxy operates the border-to-border wireless service in Brookline, Massachusetts, servicing public safety, municipal, commercial, and residential users . Galaxy has also taken a prominent role in the Wi-Fi pilot projects undertaken by the City of Boston. and the recently formed non-profit, tasked with building a wireless network for the City. For more information please visit www.gis.net , call 617-219-1313, or write to pr@gis.net
About Strix OWS
Strix's Access/One OWS modular mesh products deliver the largest capacity (up to six radios and 768 users per node, three to six times the norm), highest throughput (five times the norm at 35 Mbps), and best scalability (users can add more radio boards, 4.9GHz, WiMAX modules, or new technologies). An independent wireless mesh test sponsored by Light Reading and completed in June 2006 found Strix’s OWS 2400-30 delivers the best throughput and capacity, the greatest scalability for voice applications, and the best mobility/roaming. Strix networks scale to 10 or more wireless hops with near-zero throughput loss and latency. Customers can deliver real-time applications with a minimum of wired connections for a given area, which reduces CapEx and OpEx.
About Strix Systems
Strix Systems is the proven worldwide leader in wireless mesh networking. Strix’s Access/One products are the industry’s only modular (chassis-based) mesh systems, delivering the highest throughput, lowest latency, greatest capacity and unparalleled scalability. This new generation of products provides the broadband mobility and reach to support voice, video, and data applications. Sold globally by a network of first-class distributors and integrators, Access/One solutions have been deployed in hundreds of networks worldwide, outdoor and indoor, for the service providers, metro, public safety, government, energy, transportation, hospitality, education, enterprise, and residential markets. For more information about Strix Systems, please visit www.strixsystems.com.
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