[April 16, 2013] Atlanta Deploys Firetide Wireless Mesh Network Tweet Apr 16, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Firetide, Inc., a provider of wireless infrastructure mesh networks, announced that the city of Atlanta deployed a Firetide wireless mesh video surveillance network to help the City of Atlanta Police Department during the 2013 NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments. "The City of Atlanta Police Department planned for this five-day event for more than a year and urged visitors to expect, and prepare for, large crowds in excess of 100,000 per day," said George Turner, Atlanta Police Department's Chief of Police, in a release. "Video cameras were able to act as a force multiplier and provide our officers with additional eyes on the street to effectively monitor legions of 'March Madness' fans and the added traffic they brought to the city." The Firetide wireless video network provides the Atlanta Police Department with real-time video feeds around these sports venues, as well as hospitality areas in downtown Atlanta. Cameras monitor vehicle and foot traffic, multiple parking lots, city parks, and areas surrounding the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, the Georgia World Congress Center, and Centennial Olympic Park. The wireless network was designed and deployed by systems integrator Avrio RMS Group. The network uses Firetide's wireless infrastructure mesh nodes and Sony video cameras which are monitored in real-time, 24x7 by police officials. The network includes 72 Firetide HotPort wireless mesh nodes that were initially deployed in 2012 to support Atlanta Police Department's video traffic control program, and was recently expanded to provide public safety video surveillance for the 2013 NCAA basketball tournaments. The expansion includes an additional 68 HotPort wireless mesh nodes and a combination of 65 fixed and pan-tilt-zoom Sony EX series IPELA video cameras. "Firetide was chosen over competitive wireless mesh offerings because it was the only solution that could deliver the high-performance, reliability and flexibility required to quickly and easily support large numbers of cameras deployed in remote outdoor locations," said Grant Hawkins, Vice President of Programs and Strategic Projects for the Atlanta Police Foundation which spearheads this project. "Firetide proved beyond a doubt that their wireless mesh technology could overcome any challenges a major metropolitan area could throw at them." "Firetide wireless mesh allows the Atlanta Police Department to cover more areas and to quickly provide an increased level of security that would not have been possible with the limited reach of the existing wired infrastructure," said Duane Zitzner, chief executive officer of Firetide. "This demonstrates once again the flexibility and reliability of our wireless infrastructure mesh technology, whether deployed for video surveillance or any other mission-critical application." ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]