Wifi Revolution

Toronto Hydro Telecom recently announced the results of independent third-party performance testing of its broadband wireless network, known as One Zone, a large ubiquitous WiFi zone in Canada.

At 5 Mbps, One Zone consistently delivered Internet upload and download rates, which far surpassed the performance of all other tested networks including Wireless Philadelphia, a citywide WiFi (News - Alert) initiative currently still under construction, and Google’s WiFi network in Mountain View, California.

One Zone is powered by Siemens (News - Alert) Mesh@vantage MR product family, which includes broadband wireless mesh technology from BelAir Networks.

David Dobbin, president, Toronto Hydro Telecom, said the results of this independent testing validates their network design and business model.

“We set out to deliver the highest performance, with coverage both outside and extending indoors to support business and residential customers. We’ve achieved the speed, coverage and scalability that really puts Toronto on the cutting edge of wireless technology and will set a whole new standard for urban Wi-Fi performance,” explained Dobbin in a press release.

Novarum Inc., an independent consulting firm offering comprehensive broadband wireless advisory, analysis and testing services conducted the testing in mid-December. The firm is developing the first standardized benchmarks for overall wireless network performance. In Q3 and Q4 of 2006, all of the North American wireless mesh networks were tested from a user perspective with industry-standard tools and methodology.

Ken Biba, one of Novarum’s analysts said that they tested 41 wireless networks in 14 cities, and were impressed by the performance of Toronto Hydro Telecom’s One Zone.

“Most impressive was the fact that this exceptional performance is being delivered in the challenging environment of a dense urban canyon,” he said.

One Zone deployment was completed on schedule, on December 31, 2006 and covers six square kilometers. The commercial launch is scheduled for March 7, 2007.

Through readily available WiFi enabled devices, One Zone provides users with seamless, un-tethered Internet access.

“We believe a new generation of true broadband wireless networks are now available and the Toronto Hydro Telecom One Zone reflects that new standard of performance,” said Mark VanderHeyden, CEO, Siemens Networks Inc. in a statement to the press.

He continued: “Toronto Hydro Telecom did extensive research into wireless mesh technologies before choosing Siemens Canada and our partner, BelAir Networks, and they followed that up with extensive network planning. The result was the fast and smooth deployment of what is now North America’s top performing metro Wi-Fi network.”

Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto.

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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

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