Emergency Responders Rely on Xirrus for Wi-Fi Communications

March 13, 2009 - PRLog -- Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi "Power-Play" that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announces the selection of their 802.11n Wi-Fi Arrays as part of the County of San Bernardino, Disaster Response Mobile Connectivity Solution. The County’s Information Services Department’s Core Solutions and Security Division (CSSD) chose the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array to quickly deliver and distribute voice, video, and data network access for County, Federal, and non-profit groups during disaster and recovery operations. The County recently won an award from the National Association of Counties for this Disaster Response Mobile Connectivity Solution.

“To increase our efficiency and effectiveness during emergencies, we require access to resources available on the County’s network and the Internet,” said Jake Cordova, Information Services Department, County of San Bernardino. “To provide immediate assistance to those who have been affected by a disaster, it is crucial to establish this capability quickly with the least amount of devices and power possible. Wi-Fi seemed like the perfect technology for our disaster solution, but deploying multiple APs at a command post was slow and created too many points of failure. We needed a reliable wireless appliance that could compliment our mobile and easy-to-deploy Disaster Recovery Solution consisting of 12 HP® 8510w laptops, a 20 unit Anthro® laptop cart, and a APC® 1500 UPS—that perfect Wi-Fi device was the Xirrus 8-radio Wi-Fi Array.”

“Adding the Xirrus 802.11n Array to our Disaster Recovery solution has allowed us to become more flexible and provide access to an even greater amount of clients—it covers a large area while providing stable and reliable network services to our clients,” added Jake.

“The Wildfires of 2007 was the first test of our Disaster Recovery Solution,” continued Jake. “The Xirrus Array provided the County’s departments, Federal, and non-profit agencies stationed at the Orange Show Fair Grounds with immediate network connectivity and communications from a network drop. Because the Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays integrated multiple radios, we were able to customize the four radios for 5GHz and an additional four radios for 2.4GHz -- reducing the interference across the b/g for the numerous agencies utilizing 2.4GHz, while continuing to provide ample network and Internet connectivity across 802.11a was extremely beneficial and provided us an efficient means to assist the residents of our county."

“We are proud to be a part of emergency centers around the world—making it possible to quickly deploy reliable communications for the field—making their jobs a little easier,” said Charles Bettinelli, Regional Manager at Xirrus. “We are leaps ahead of the competition. Our Wi-Fi Arrays integrate up to 16 802.11abgn radios, a sectored directional antenna system, and the control into a single device, making it possible for organizations to blanket an area with high performance Wi-Fi connectivity for hundreds of users with a simple flip of a switch.”

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