Wifi Revolution

Meru Networks (News - Alert) announced today that it’s deployed its wireless network at Belmont Park, enabling journalists and photographers covering the 140th running of the prestigious Belmont Stakes horse race on June 7 to file their stories and pictures wirelessly.

 

Meru officials said that their company’s wireless LAN will provide simultaneous wireless access for hundreds of working writers in Belmont Park’s 3,000-square-foot press box near the racetrack roof, and for photographers in a 1,200-square-foot area at the track level.

 

Belmont Park, operated by the New York Racing Association, is a 430-acre racetrack in Elmont, N.Y, and is the home of the Belmont Stakes.

 

The park was seeking for a product that could handle wide variations in wireless traffic demand, with particularly heavy traffic on days such as the Belmont Stakes race, according to Belmont officials.

 

“After a careful evaluation of wireless LAN vendors, Meru was chosen as the only solution that met the park’s requirements for high-density use and seamless roaming,” said Rodney James, network manager for the New York Racing Association.

 

The Meru products to be used in the Belmont Park deployment include the AP208 access point, which has two radios both capable of operating at IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b/g modes; and the MC3000 series controller, which provides centralized RF management and security for the wireless LAN.

 

James said that Meru’s technology was the “most effective” at addressing interference in very dense environments, adding that it was the only technology that lets highly mobile users move freely between access points in the coverage area without losing their connections – “it seems like you’re connected to a single access point the whole time.”

 

Meru officials said that the company’s WLANs use a single-channel approach to wireless coverage, which minimizes co-channel interference by automatically selecting one channel for use enterprise-wide and layering additional channels when more capacity is required.

 

James saod future plans call for extending the Meru wireless LAN to Belmont Park guests and staff. He said, “Until that time, Meru’s WLAN security capabilities – wireless intrusion detection and rogue mitigation features – allow wireless bandwidth to be reserved exclusively for access by reporters and photographers.” 

 

James also said that Meru wireless solutions may also be deployed at Saratoga Racecourse in Saratoga Springs, another track operated by the New York Racing Association.

 

 

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