World’s tallest building deploys Wi-Fi mesh
Firetide’s Wi-Fi mesh is climbing 2000 feet through concrete, aluminum and steel to provide real-time voice and video communications on the world’s tallest building. Who says Wi-Fi can’t handle architecturally challenging environments? Firetide announced today that its mesh has been selected to provide data and voice communications, as well as video surveillance, up and down Burj Dubai (the name is Arabic for DubaiTower) in the United Arab Emirates. This is an enterprise deployment but munis that are dealing with coverage issues, or are worried that Wi-Fi technology is not sufficient for challenging environments, should take note.
Burj Dubai is currently vying with other large buildings under construction in the Middle East for the title of tallest building in the world. It is presently scheduled for completion in June, 2009, and contractors have not been specific about just how tall the tower will be when complete, only that it will top 2,297 feet, or 700 meters.
The height of the $4.2 billion structure–not to mention its construction of concrete clad in steel and aluminum–presents a daunting technical challenge in delivering the wireless network performance the client, IT developer Samsung SDS, expects. Traditional radio-based communications, the walkie-talkies normally used on construction sites, just couldn’t handle it.
Chang Geun Lee, project manager for Samsung Corp., addressed these issues in a Firetide press release, saying “The increasing height of the building posed a major communication issue –after a certain height and distance, communication via walkie-talkies became unclear, which created delays and safety concerns.”
Developers deployed a combination of Firetide HotPort outdoor wireless mesh nodes and access points to provide workers with Wi-Fi-enabled phones that support VoIP and, according to Chang, the wireless network allows architects, developers and construction crews to communicate with “ease and clarity.”
Normally, we don’t write much about private deployments but I found this one interesting because of the archetectural challenges that the tower poses to the technology. Specifically, it defeats arguments (that have been repeated too often of late) that Wi-Fi mesh doesn’t cut muster as an outdoor technology capable of delivering the results that munis seek in their deployments. The Dubai deployment proves the opposite. To borrow a phrase that another large and architecturally daunting environment uses to tout its accomplishments: “if they can do it there, they can do it anywhere.”
It’s true Wi-Fi was developed as a short-range wireless data communications technology but mesh vendors have been able to adapt it to provide robust solutions in technically challenging scenarios such as this one. Firetide has carved a healthy market in deployments that would be described as “mission critical” in enterprise terms. Among munis, they’ve been especially active in the public safety arena and in other municipal deployments where applications must be operational 24X7.
I talked with Pam Valentine, Firetide’s vice president of marketing, about how Firetide’s mesh is able to handle the challenges of the tower. She cited the technology’s “resiliency, support for real-time video as well as VoIP communications, and its low cost compared to laying fiber or cable.” Her observation that mesh is highly effective in bridging short hops from node to node was also key. How densely the nodes are deployed and their ability to self-heal and re-route communications whenever a node goes down or is temporarily blocked makes the difference between a deployment that is effective and one that is not. (That’s not to say that the specifics in mesh technology don’t make a difference. Pam is quick to point out that the plus the network’s support for real-time video streaming were the chief reasons for Samsung’s selection of their mesh.) This is not a surprising conclusion. Node density has been shown again and again to be the key is addressing complaints about spotty coverage and dead zones in muni deployments. The issue for munis is, of course, budget and the willingness to fund mesh networks at the level necessary to deliver on the performance promised to taxpayers.
More nodes per square mile naturally mean greater costs. But hopefully, deployments such as this one on the private side will demonstrate the error of the detractors of Wi-Fi mesh.
Scroll down for Firetide’s press release and more on the Burj Dubai deployment.
Click here to visit the Burj Dubai website.
LOS GATOS, Calif., Nov. 27, 2007 ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ Firetide Inc., a leading developer of wireless mesh networks, today announced that Korea-based Samsung Corp. recently deployed a Firetide mesh network at the construction site of the tallest free-standing structure in the world, the Burj Dubai (DubaiTower), in United Arab Emirates. The newly installed Firetide network is being used for video surveillance, VoIP (voice over IP), and RoIP (radio over IP) applications at the worksite.
The Burj Dubai is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008 and will rise over 2,275 feet high. Initially, communication in and around the site was accomplished using traditional walkie-talkies ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ easily transportable, battery-powered radio handsets. However, as the building grew taller, this means of connection became less and less reliable.
“The increasing height of the building posed a major communication issue ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ after a certain height and distance, communication via walkie-talkies became unclear, which created delays and safety concerns,” said Chang Geun Lee, project manager for Samsung Corp. “With the Firetide wireless network, we are able to communicate with the ease and clarity that befits the world’s grandest and tallest structure. We are so impressed with these results that we plan to use Firetide wireless mesh in many construction projects going forward.”
Since deploying a combination of Firetide HotPort¬¨?Ü outdoor wireless mesh nodes and HotPoint¬¨?Ü access points at the Burj Dubai site, workers at the tower now experience clear, reliable communication using Wi-Fi¬¨?Ü-enabled phones supporting VoIP, and greatly enhanced connections using RoIP. In addition, a new video surveillance system using the Firetide network is now in place.
“Firetide is honored to receive such high-level validation of our wireless mesh infrastructure,” said Bo Larsson, chief executive officer of Firetide. “Samsung’s choice of Firetide certainly gives testament to our ability to support the most unusual and demanding of the connectivity requirements ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ including those of the tallest building in the world.”
Samsung SDS, the largest IT service provider in Korea and the systems integrator on the project, recommended deploying a Firetide wireless network. “Even boosting and amplifying the radio signals of the walkie-talkies failed to resolve the issues,” said Jerry Jang, project manager for Samsung SDS. “After thorough competitive evaluation and testing of various products, we determined that the Firetide mesh network was the best solution for our situation. The network was deployed quickly and easily, and greatly enhanced the safety and productivity of workers at the massive construction site.”
Firetide is the leading provider of mesh networks that enable concurrent video, voice, and data for municipal, public safety, and enterprise applications. Firetide HotPort¬¨?Ü mesh nodes and HotPoint¬¨?Ü access points provide a reliable high performance wireless infrastructure and access solution for video surveillance, Internet access, public safety networks, and temporary networks wherever rapid deployment, mobility, and ease of installation are required. Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Firetide is a privately held company with worldwide product distribution. www.firetide.com.
The trading and construction arm of the Samsung Group, one of Korea’s top industrial conglomerates, Samsung Corporation has more than 70 branch offices worldwide. Samsung Corporation employs over 6,000 people and achieved $10.18 billion (US) revenue in 2006. The company trades in a range of businesses, including oil and gas, semiconductors, heavy machinery, steel, chemicals, and textiles. Its construction division, which helped build the PetronasTwinTowers in Malaysia ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ among the world’s tallest buildings ‚Äö?Ñ?¨ handles civil projects, plant construction, and architectural design. www.samsungcorp.com
Samsung SDS is the largest IT services company in Korea providing integrated IT services ranging from system integration to engineering outsourcing. Samsung SDS employs over 8,000 people with revenues of $2.26 billion (US) for 2006 across its worldwide offices. Supporting the global Samsung Companies, Samsung SDS has grown to provide thought leadership to its clients across all industries and has been named one of the “Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises” 6 times in a row and the “One of Top 4 All IT Service Vendors” by Gartner Asia-Pacific. www.sds.samsung.com.
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Glad to hear that great news! We are in the building inspections for facilities management issues. Our PROMASYS Inspect appliation works very well with the WiFi technology.Our Middle East market will be glad to hear that. Keep up the good work with WiFi .