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Kansas City Power & Light
Energizes Its Network with Motorola’s PTP 58600 Fixed Broadband Solution
Other Topics: WiMAX Multimedia
Streaming, Mobile WiMAX
Interoperability, DoD WiMAX
Motorola, Inc.
September 20, 2006
Utility company takes innovative
approach to improving network reliability
Schaumburg, IL -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that Kansas
City Power & Light (KCP&L), a leading regulated provider of electricity
in the Midwest, has deployed Motorola’s PTP 58600 broadband wireless
point-to-point Ethernet bridges, formerly known as Orthogon Systems
OS-Spectra, to provide higher levels of capacity, security and
reliability to the utility company’s internal data communications
network. |
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The PTP 58600 wireless
Ethernet bridges are part of Motorola’s MOTOwi4™ portfolio of innovative
wireless broadband solutions and services that creates, complements and
completes IP networks. Delivering IP coverage to virtually all spaces,
the MOTOwi4 portfolio includes Fixed Broadband, Mesh, Broadband over
Powerline, and WiMAX solutions for private and public networks.
A pioneer in adopting leading-edge wireless technologies, KCP&L selected
the PTP 58600 because of its easy integration into its existing network
and to support newer, advanced internal applications, such as remote
monitoring. KCP&L operates a 15-year-old 6 GHz licensed system
throughout its service area, connecting power plants, substations and
corporate locations. This system could no longer handle the
high-bandwidth requirements for Internet access, multimedia or VoIP
applications. In addition, KCP&L was looking to upgrade its data network
to better meet its future needs.
This deployment was unique because instead of completely replacing the
existing
6 GHz licensed network, KCP&L decided to run the PTP 58600 network, an
unlicensed spectrum solution, in parallel with the current system. By
using Motorola’s wi4 Fixed Broadband solutions, KCP&L is able to provide
additional communications capacity, and improved reliability to its
network at a reasonable cost.
To date, KCP&L has deployed 33 PTP 58600 bridges that deliver 100 Mbps
across its entire network, spanning over 200 miles from end to end. In
addition, high-reliability throughout the network is sustained because
of the PTP 58600’s ability to combat fading over long distances.
"KCP&L’s commitment to using technology has helped us achieve top-tier
operating performance, resulting in an outstanding record of reliability
and high customer satisfaction," said John Marshall, senior vice
president, Delivery, at KCP&L. "When it came time to add additional
bandwidth to our network, we turned to Orthogon Systems for a powerful,
high-capacity system that was cost-efficient and provided the necessary
flexibility for future beneficial applications."
Orthogon Systems, a recognized leader in wireless solutions for reliable
connectivity in difficult environments, was acquired by Motorola in May
2006. Orthogon Systems products now are offered by Motorola’s
Point-to-Point Wireless Solutions Group.
"The role of public utilities continues to evolve due to an
ever-changing economic, political and social climate," said Phil Bolt,
general manager, Motorola’s Point-to-Point Wireless Solutions Group. "As
these socio-economic forces continue to redefine its sector, KCP&L had
the foresight to adopt a wireless network to consistently provide its
community with reliable and high-quality service."
Revenue from this transaction, processed by TESSCO Technologies, Inc.,
was recorded by Orthogon prior to its acquisition by Motorola. TESSCO,
previously an authorized Orthogon distributor, now is a Motorola
Point-to-Point distributor for North America.
For more information on Motorola’s wi4 Fixed point-to-point wireless
solutions, please visit: www.motorola.com/ptp.
About Kansas City Power and Light
Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., KCP&L (www.kcpl.com) is a leading
regulated provider of electricity in the Midwest. KCP&L is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP), the
holding company for KCP&L and Strategic Energy, L.L.C., a competitive
electricity supplier.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in
wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of
Seamless Mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you
get and stay connected simply and seamlessly to the people, information,
and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and
delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful
networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune
100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US
$35.3 billion in 2005. For more information about our company, our
people and our innovations, please visit www.motorola.com.
Media Contacts:
Kathi Haas
Motorola Networks & Enterprise
+1-480-732-2835
kathi.haas@motorola.com
Tara Klein
The Bateman Group for Motorola
+1-650-270-9454
tklein@bateman-group.com
Industry Analyst Contact:
Kathy Wiesner
Motorola Networks & Enterprise
+1-847-632-6021
k.wiesner@motorola.com |
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