TMCnet News
Toronto Hydro Telecom Selects Siemens for Deployment of Canada's Largest Wi-Fi ZoneTORONTO --(Business Wire)-- May 8, 2006 -- TORONTO HYDRO TELECOM INC. today announced that SIEMENS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, a division of Siemens Canada Limited, has been selected vendor of record for equipment supply, implementation and services in support of Toronto Hydro Telecom's plans to make Toronto the largest ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone in Canada. Negotiations relating to the terms and conditions of equipment supply, implementation and services are ongoing and have not yet been finalized. "We conducted an RFP process, and the winner both in terms of depth of experience and quality of technology was Siemens," said David Dobbin, President, Toronto Hydro Telecom. "Siemens has global expertise in wireless technology, and their proposal was based on leading-edge third-generation wireless technology that more than meets our criteria for reliability, speed and scalability. That's exactly what a world-class city such as Toronto needs in order to steer a course to greater competitiveness and productivity." The agreement with Toronto Hydro Telecom, which marks Siemens' entry into the Canadian wireless technology market, includes the use of a mesh Wi-Fi network that will provide coverage for an area of up to ten square kilometres and it is anticipated that it will be fully deployed in downtown Toronto by year-end 2006. End-users will be able to access the Internet from wireless-enabled laptop computers, mobile headsets and other mobile devices, or simply place VoIP phone calls. High transfer rates (up to 54 megabits per second) will mean shorter download times and faster surfing than what is currently available today. "We are extremely pleased to part of such an historic initiative in Canada's largest city," said Prof. Dr. Albert Maringer, President and CEO, Siemens Canada Limited. "Siemens has been intimately involved in building Canadian infrastructure for over 80 years. With the completion of this project with Toronto Hydro Telecom, the city of Toronto's wireless connectivity will be a benchmark for cities not only in Canada but across the world." As part of its deployment strategy, Toronto Hydro Telecom will use Siemens' "Wireless Integration@vantage" wireless integration platform which provides features such as access control, authentication and accounting. The software for this platform was developed by Garderos Software Innovations, a wholly-owned Siemens subsidiary. The network nodes are from the "Siemens Mesh@vantage MR" product family, based on industry-leading wireless mesh technology from BelAir Networks. "BelAir Networks is proud that our industry-leading wireless mesh technology has been chosen by Siemens and Toronto Hydro Telecom for North America's largest municipal wireless network," said Bernard Herscovich, President and CEO, BelAir Networks. About Toronto Hydro Telecom Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto. A highly specialized and innovative provider of telecom services to businesses in Toronto, Toronto Hydro Telecom owns and operates a fibre optic network that spans 450 kilometres and connects more than 400 commercial office buildings in Toronto with interconnections to utility-affiliated telecom networks bordering the Greater Toronto Area. Siemens in Canada Siemens is one of the largest and most diversified companies in the world, providing innovations in areas such as health care, information and communications, energy and power, industry and automation, transportation and lighting. In Canada, Siemens is a multi-billion dollar company headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, with more than 7,200 employees located in 76 offices and 7 major manufacturing facilities. Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), headquartered in Munich, Germany, is a leading global electronics and engineering company. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ 461,000 people in over 190 countries and reported worldwide sales of $106 billion CDN (EUR $75 billion) in fiscal 2005 (10/1/04 - 9/30/05). BelAir Networks BelAir Networks is the first company to offer scalable, wide-area wireless broadband solutions with the highest quality for data, voice and video. BelAir's wireless networking solutions are built on the only multi-service architecture for wide-area wireless broadband deployments of Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and 3G Cellular networks. Built specifically for outdoor deployments, BelAir Networks' patented solution delivers the lowest cost per user and deploys in days, blending into the physical infrastructure of downtown business districts, hotels and resorts, and campuses. Founded in 2001, BelAir Networks is a privately held company. For more info, visit www.belairnetworks.com. This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on the beliefs of Siemens Canada Limited management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project," are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rate and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results many vary materially from those projected here. Siemens Canada Limited does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. |
