City of Houston, High-Performance Wireless Mesh Network Improves Public Safety in Downtown Houston

The Customer

The City of Houston Texas is the economic center of the sixth largest metropolitan area in the U.S., and home to 2.1 million people. Recognized worldwide as a global center for energy, shipping, healthcare, and space exploration, Houston is also the home of leading universities and has been acknowledged by Forbes and Kiplinger magazines as a “best” city for business and quality of life.

The Challenge

Video cameras linked to a central command area can help improve public safety by providing more virtual eyes on the street and enable faster dispatch of public safety personnel where and when they are needed. Surveillance of a wide area can make a real difference in holding down costs while improving public safety and response times.

Results

Using a Urban Areas Security Initiative (USAI) grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Houston has deployed Firetide’s HotPort Wireless Mesh network to enable highdefinition video surveillance of 134 downtown intersections. A 24×7 command center uses video information to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the city’s public safety personnel and resources. In addition to the city’s police and fire personnel, transit system police and park security staff use the surveillance system. Video feeds are also stored for use as effective evidence in court, further reducing time and expense for prosecuting cases, and saving taxpayer dollars.

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About Winncom

Winncom Technologies is a worldwide distributor and provider of complete networking solutions, wireless and wired. Our unmatched expertise in broadband wireless networking products and full range of network infrastructure and access products by the leading industry manufacturers allows us to sell the products and provide complete solutions for various markets and applications.

About Firetide

Firetide, Inc. is a privately held wireless technology company that develops networking equipment for video surveillance, Internet access, public safety, and temporary networks wherever rapid deployment, mobility, and ease of installation are required.