Canada's Largest Wi-Fi Zone

Toronto Hydro Telecom Deploys Canada's Largest Wi-Fi Zone

Toronto Hydro Telecom plans to make Toronto the largest ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone in Canada. Negotiations with Siemens Communications Group relating to the terms and conditions of equipment supply, implementation and services are ongoing and have not yet been finalized.

"Siemens’ proposal was based on leading-edge third-generation wireless technology that more than meets our criteria for reliability, speed and scalability. That's exactly what a world-class city such as Toronto needs in order to steer a course to greater competitiveness and productivity," said David Dobbin, President, Toronto Hydro Telecom.

The agreement with Toronto Hydro Telecom, which marks Siemens' entry into the Canadian wireless technology market, includes the use of a mesh Wi-Fi network that will provide coverage for an area of up to ten square kilometers and it is anticipated that it will be fully deployed in downtown Toronto by year-end 2006. End-users will be able to access the Internet from wireless-enabled laptop computers, mobile headsets and other mobile devices, or simply place VoIP phone calls. High transfer rates (up to 54 megabits per second) will mean shorter download times and faster surfing than what is currently available today. "We are extremely pleased to part of such an historic initiative in Canada's largest city," said Prof. Dr. Albert Maringer, President and CEO, Siemens Canada Limited. "Siemens has been intimately involved in building Canadian infrastructure for over 80 years. With the completion of this project with Toronto Hydro Telecom, the city of Toronto's wireless connectivity will be a benchmark for cities not only in Canada but across the world."

As part of its deployment strategy, Toronto Hydro Telecom will use Siemens' "Wireless Integration@vantage" wireless integration platform which provides features such as access control, authentication and accounting. The software for this platform was developed by Garderos Software Innovations, a wholly-owned Siemens subsidiary. The network nodes are from the "Siemens Mesh@vantage MR" product family, based on industry-leading wireless mesh technology from BelAir Networks.

"BelAir Networks is proud that our industry-leading wireless mesh technology has been chosen by Siemens and Toronto Hydro Telecom for North America's largest municipal wireless network," said Bernard Herscovich, President and CEO, BelAir Networks.

Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto. A highly specialized provider of telecom services to businesses in Toronto, Toronto Hydro Telecom owns and operates a fiber optic network that spans 450 kilometers and connects more than 400 commercial office buildings in Toronto with interconnections to utility-affiliated telecom networks bordering the Greater Toronto Area.



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