Toronto Hydro Telecom Siemens for Deployment
of Canada's Largest Wi-Fi Zone
Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc.
May 8, 2006
Toronto, -- Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. today announced that Siemens
Communications Group, a division of Siemens Canada Limited, has been
selected vendor of record for equipment supply, implementation and
services in support of Toronto Hydro Telecom’s plans to make Toronto
the largest ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone in Canada. Negotiations relating to
the terms and conditions of equipment supply, implementation and
services are ongoing and have not yet been finalized.
“We conducted an RFP process, and the winner both in terms of depth of
experience and quality of technology was Siemens,” said David Dobbin,
President, Toronto Hydro Telecom. “Siemens has global expertise in
wireless technology, and their proposal was based on leading-edge
third-generation wireless technology that more than meets our criteria
for reliability, speed and scalability. That’s exactly what a
world-class city such as Toronto needs in order to steer a course to
greater competitiveness and productivity.”
The agreement with Toronto Hydro Telecom, which marks Siemens’ entry
into the Canadian wireless technology market, includes the use of a
mesh Wi-Fi network that will provide coverage for an area of up to ten
square kilometres and it is anticipated that it will be fully deployed
in downtown Toronto by year-end 2006. End-users will be able to access
the Internet from wireless-enabled laptop computers, mobile headsets
and other mobile devices, or simply place VoIP phone calls. High
transfer rates (up to 54 megabits per second) will mean shorter
download times and faster surfing than what is currently available
today.
“We are extremely pleased to part of such an historic initiative in
Canada’s largest city,” said Prof. Dr. Albert Maringer, President and
CEO, Siemens Canada Limited. "Siemens has been intimately involved in
building Canadian infrastructure for over 80 years. With the
completion of this project with Toronto Hydro Telecom, the city of
Toronto's wireless connectivity will be a benchmark for cities not
only in Canada but across the world."
As part of its deployment strategy, Toronto Hydro Telecom will use
Siemens’ “Wireless Integration@vantage” wireless integration platform
which provides features such as access control, authentication and
accounting. The software for this platform was developed by Garderos
Software Innovations, a wholly-owned Siemens subsidiary. The network
nodes are from the “Siemens Mesh@vantage MR” product family, based on
industry-leading wireless mesh technology from BelAir Networks.
“BelAir Networks is proud that our industry-leading wireless mesh
technology has been chosen by Siemens and Toronto Hydro Telecom for
North America’s largest municipal wireless network,” said Bernard
Herscovich, President and CEO, BelAir Networks.
About Toronto Hydro Telecom
Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro
Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto. A highly
specialized and innovative provider of telecom services to businesses
in Toronto, Toronto Hydro Telecom owns and operates a fibre optic
network that spans 450 kilometres and connects more than 400
commercial office buildings in Toronto with interconnections to
utility-affiliated telecom networks bordering the Greater Toronto
Area.
Siemens in Canada
Siemens is one of the largest and most diversified companies in the
world, providing innovations in areas such as health care, information
and communications, energy and power, industry and automation,
transportation and lighting. In Canada, Siemens is a multi-billion
dollar company headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, with more than
7,200 employees located in 76 offices and 7 major manufacturing
facilities.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), headquartered in Munich, Germany, is a leading
global electronics and engineering company. Siemens and its
subsidiaries employ 461,000 people in over 190 countries and reported
worldwide sales of $106 billion CDN (EUR $75 billion) in fiscal 2005
(10/1/04 - 9/30/05).
BelAir Networks
BelAir Networks is the first company to offer scalable, wide-area
wireless broadband solutions with the highest quality for data, voice
and video. BelAir’s wireless networking solutions are built on the
only multi-service architecture for wide-area wireless broadband
deployments of Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and 3G Cellular networks. Built
specifically for outdoor deployments, BelAir Networks’ patented
solution delivers the lowest cost per user and deploys in days,
blending into the physical infrastructure of downtown business
districts, hotels and resorts, and campuses. Founded in 2001, BelAir
Networks is a privately held company. For more info, visit
www.belairnetworks.com.
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