Flat panel antennas viewed from atop the water tower

Having consulted with the city for many years, BTI was asked what viable alternatives were available to help get costs under control. After researching and evaluating the topographical layout of the city, BTI recommended the city interconnect all its remote facilities via wireless bridges. Every city location had line-of-site accessibility to other locations via city owned water towers and other structures. Today, the resultant network now allows the city to reach all remote facilities via IP at bandwidths of over 12 times the speed of a single T1 or approximately 18 Mbps full-duplex. The wireless network proved so reliable, the city opted to purchase their own Avaya IP Office PBX system providing enhanced features while saving an enormous amount on recurring monthly costs over the old Centrex system. All remote facility voice services are connected via prioritized VLANs via the wireless bridges.

As of this writing, BTI and the city are in the planning stages of upgrading their network infrastructure to accommodate additional IP services such as video surveillance systems, red-light camera systems, automated city-wide sprinkler control systems, HVAC monitoring and control and multitudes of other IP based services as they arise. The new network core will consist of Gigabit Ethernet switches and the remote connectivity bandwidth will be upgraded to 50 Mbps full-duplex to all locations.

The city was able to realize a return on investment of the wireless network in less than one year and since that time have had no recurring expenses associated with remote facility connectivity. It is estimated the city saves over $72,000 per year based on comparable bandwidth they would otherwise be purchasing from the telco. Savings to date are estimated at $216,000 and soon, the ROI on the the voice services will also be realized further resulting in substantial monthly cost savings.