In preparation for the increased security needs of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the City of Vancouver -- along with ADT Advanced Integration/Intercon Security and MDT Technical Services -- deployed a Proxim wireless network to extend video surveillance throughout the city. They selected Proxim’s 4.9 GHz point-to-point and point-to-multipoint products to extend the city’s public safety network and connect video surveillance cameras in areas where fiber connectivity was not an option and continue to use this system today to enhance security within the city.

As part of the overall situational awareness security scheme at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the City of Vancouver contracted with ADT and MDT to extend the public safety network to better protect the millions of tourists and visitors. Based on the time frame and the budget available, it was not feasible to extend the fiber network to all of the locations that needed video surveillance. As a result, they selected Proxim’s Tsunami™ MP.11 4954 point-to-multipoint and Tsunami® QB.11 4954 point-to-point radios to provide the wireless connectivity and backhaul for these additional surveillance cameras.

“The safety and protection of visitors was a paramount goal as we prepared for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, therefore the video surveillance network was critical to our success,” said Kevin Wallinger, Director of Emergency Management for the City of Vancouver. “We determined early on that the cost and time to extend the fiber network was not feasible, and wireless came to the rescue.”

“Wireless is the obvious solution in situations where cost and physical deployment barriers are a concern. And when it came time to select a wireless solution, the performance and value that Proxim provides proved to be unmatched,” said Doug Peterson, President of MDT Technical Services. “Proxim’s solution enabled us to provide performance on par with wired solutions, but at a third of the cost and with much faster deployment times.”

The wireless video surveillance cameras were located throughout pedestrian corridors where cameras were unable to be connected to the city’s fiber backbone. ADT Advanced Integration/Intercon Security, having extensive experience in complex security integration projects and video system design, installation and monitoring, incorporated many multi-megapixel cameras from Avigilon and IP-encoded Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras from Pelco throughout the network.

ADT and MDT did evaluate other wireless solutions before selecting Proxim, but based on the performance and value that Proxim products had proven in previous deployments with MDT, the Proxim solution was chosen. In addition to this wireless video surveillance network for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Parlympics, ADT and MDT also work with the City of Vancouver to provide situational awareness for the annual HSBC Celebration of Light fireworks festival. Based on the performance of Proxim’s solutions during the Olympics and the flexibility of Proxim’s products, the City of Vancouver continues to easily re-deploy Proxim’s radios when needed for camera connectivity during future events.

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“Proxim’s solution enabled us to provide performance on par with wired solutions, but at a third of the cost and with much faster deployment times.”

– Doug Peterson, President of MDT Technical Services.

“As more and more organizations realize the power of wireless for video surveillance, the cost and time of deployment for surveillance networks continues to improve,” said Robb Henshaw, Sr. Director of Global Marketing & Communications for Proxim Wireless. “At Proxim, we have the ability to provide a complete end-to-end wireless solution, providing performance that rivals wired solutions while providing far greater cost-effectiveness, speed of deployment, and flexibility.”

Challenge:

• The City of Vancouver needed to deploy additional video surveillance cameras to help monitor and secure the millions of Olympic visitors
• In many areas of the city, fiber connectivity for the cameras was not an option due to cost and time
• The system needed to be flexible enough so that cameras could be easily relocated and re-deployed as needed for other situational awareness needs after the Olympics were over

Proxim solutions:

• Proxim’s Tsunami™ MP.11 4954 point-to-multipoint radios – Base stations and subscriber units provide high-performance point-to-multipoint (PtMP) connectivity in the 4.9 GHz public safety band
• Tsunami® QB.11 4954 point-to-point radios – Complete wireless backhaul links operating in the 4.9 GHz public safety band
• Together, the MP.11 4954 and QB.11 4954 provided both the high-performance wireless connectivity and backhaul needed for the additional video surveillance cameras

Results:

• The City of Vancouver was able to deploy all of the additional cameras needed via a Proxim wireless network in a fraction of the time it would have taken to deploy fiber.
• The City was able to extend the situational awareness network while staying within budget, since Proxim’s wireless connectivity solutions cost a fraction of wired solutions.
• The City of Vancouver continues to use this system today to enhance security within the city.