Dallas Police Department Deploys Wireless Video Surveillance Network to Reduce Crime in Downtown Business District

LOS GATOS, Calif., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Firetide Inc., a developer of wireless mesh technology, announced today that the Dallas Police Department has deployed the company's mesh networks for video surveillance to combat crime throughout the downtown business district. The city selected a solution from BearCom, a Dallas-based wireless system integrator, which included Firetide wireless mesh nodes, Sony IP cameras, and BridgeWave transfer units. The wireless video surveillance network was funded by a grant from the Meadows Foundation.

As a tool in the Police Department's crime reduction efforts, the surveillance system covers approximately 30 percent of the downtown area and delivers live 24-hour monitoring in City Hall and Dallas' Police Headquarters. The system is designed with strict adherence to applicable laws and will be used only in public areas with visible camera placement and street level signage.

"Our goal was to reduce crime in the downtown business district and to combat the perception of inadequate safety measures in the area," said Deputy Police Chief Tom Lawrence. "We were pleasantly surprised at the speed of implementation and the tremendous support from the business community. While we did not go into the project with the concept of wireless, the benefits quickly became obvious: the mesh enables quick setup of the network without a complete overhaul, while providing excellent bandwidth and security for video streams."

The wireless surveillance system primarily serves as crime deterrence and as an investigation tool for evidence collection. Image quality is paramount as detectives need to be able to read license plates from 300 yards away and provide night-time monitoring. Most of the cameras have motorized controls so officers sitting in a remote monitoring location can move the camera lens in any direction and zoom in for a closer look.

"Without Firetide's wireless mesh, it would have been too difficult and cost-prohibitive to install the cameras where they were needed," said Jeff Murray, project manager for BearCom who oversaw network design and installation. "In addition, the mesh network forms itself making installation even easier. It creates many alternate wireless links so the network is extremely reliable. Even if a wireless link is blocked or a node loses power, the video will always go through without any interruption in service."

The initial phase of the installation, which was completed in January, consisted of 40 Sony cameras, 32 Firetide mesh nodes and seven BridgeWave transfer units. The mesh nodes link to each other wirelessly to form the video network that spans the entire area selected for surveillance. Additional long range wireless links from BridgeWave connect the mesh network to the monitoring stations. For added security and to avoid interference from other wireless devices, the Dallas Police selected the public safety version of Firetide's mesh network which operates at 4.9 GHz, a spectrum licensed by the FCC designated use for public safety agencies and first responders.

"Dallas Police Department's use of wireless mesh for video surveillance places it among the technology innovators in public safety," said Bo Larsson, CEO of Firetide. "The Dallas project clearly shows that mesh networks are very effective in delivering wireless solutions for crime prevention. The network is highly scalable, which will enable the police department to expand it throughout the city as they see success and reduction in criminal activity."

For more information about Firetide, visit http://www.firetide.com/. About Firetide Inc.

Firetide is the leading provider of mesh networks that enable concurrent video, voice, and data for municipal, public safety, and enterprise applications. Firetide HotPort mesh nodes and HotPoint 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. The company's patented AutoMesh flow-based routing protocol optimizes network performance and capacity for high bandwidth and latency sensitive applications. Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Firetide is a privately held company with worldwide product distribution. For more information, visit http://www.firetide.com/.

Copyright 2007 Firetide Inc. Firetide and Reliable Connectivity Anywhere are trademarks of Firetide Inc. BearCom is a registered trademark of BearCom Wireless Worldwide.