Siklu Delivers Wireless Public Safety Video Network for City of Cambridge, Ontario

Siklu, the global market enabler in 5G mmWave wireless network solutions, has announced that its radios have been deployed in the City of Cambridge, located roughly 100km West of Toronto in Ontario, to provide outdoor video security and support potential public WiFi network services.

The city has fiber connections connecting several municipal buildings and continues to deploy more where it makes economic sense. Fiber is used to connect fire stations to City Hall for example. However, this particular application, outdoor video security, was one that needed more flexibility to accommodate the necessary camera locations. Most parking lots, Intersections and pedestrian walkways do not have a fiber POP (“point of presence”) nearby. This meant the answer would almost certainly have to be a wireless solution.

The solution to be chosen had several additional requirements. It needed to be flexible when it came to expanding the video security coverage, it had to be secure and it also had to have enough capacity that it could support additional high bandwidth applications, such as the deployment of Public Wi-Fi. The wireless network would then need to be able to backhaul gigabit per second public Wi-Fi APs (“access points”) with no additional truck rolls.

The successful bidder on the project was Alliance Security Systems. Alliance investigated 5 GHz solutions as well as 60 GHz and determined that only 60 GHz products could meet current and future requirements. The “EtherHaul™ 600” point-to-point 60 GHz solution from Siklu features plenty of capacity (from 100Mbps up to 1Gbps, software upgradeable), flexible deployment options (up to 1km “link” range), small size (mountable on street light poles) and immunity to radio interference (e.g., 5 GHz systems are subject to the ever increasing Wi-Fi noise floor).

Phase 1 of the program supported ten multi-lens camera deployments, and the network design had six 1-Gbps Siklu V-Band radios collocated at the city Clock Tower. This dense colocation was a result of the very narrow 60GHz radio beams and the abundant spectrum (14GHz) available. Deployment of the Siklu radios was accomplished within a week and incorporated an Axis Communications P3717 multi-lens cameras managed by a Genetec Security Center unified security platform.

Tom Hackett, Alliance Security Systems stated: “By utilizing the point to point technology in such a way where we co-locate the head end, we end up approaching a cumulative speed of over 10Gbps per second once Phase 2 is commissioned. That’s just an astounding wireless speed in today’s world. The network has been such a success that beyond expansion plans with Cambridge, we are in discussions with other municipalities.”

The City also operates the Phase 1 network to provide access to police as requested for specific incidents or investigations. Since the installation of the video security network, a car theft ring was apprehended and there has been a noticeable reduction in crime.

Beginning in June 2019 or as soon as light poles become available, Phase 2 will add seven new cameras and will be supported by Siklu’s V-Band “EtherHaul™ 600” radios. The EtherHaul 600 units feature 1 Gbits of capacity and can accommodate future expansions of the system.

“The network was installed and is delivering in all aspects – high up time and excellent video quality,” said Trevor McWilliams, Manager of Business Development for the City of Cambridge Ontario Economic Development. “We are confident that the network deployed will operate for many years and be able to support new applications as needed.“

Siklu delivers multi-gigabit wireless fiber connectivity in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Operating in the mmWave bands, Siklu’s wireless solutions are used by leading service providers and system integrators to provide 5G Gigabit Wireless Access services. In addition, Siklu solutions are ideal for Smart City projects requiring extra capacity such as video security, WiFi backhaul, and municipal network connectivity all over one network. Siklu is showcasing its innovative products and solutions at the ongoing CommunicAsia 2019 in Singapore.