DALLAS -- June 23, 2004 -- BelAir Networks and Telecom Ottawa Limited, a broadband services provider in Eastern Ontario, today announced that the Radisson Hotel Ottawa Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, is using the BelAir wireless internetworking solution to provide wireless connectivity to guests throughout the entire hotel.
"Today's hotel industry is fiercely competitive -- providing customers with the services they need is an imperative. By enabling us to be the first 100 percent Wi-Fi hotel in Ottawa, this new network has given us the ability to offer our guests the extra level of service that will set us apart," said Kelly McCauley, General Manager, Radisson Hotel Ottawa Parliament Hill. "The simple, secure and easy-to-use system allows us to provide our guests with broadband telecommunications services when and where they need them."
Because of the unique multiple point-to-point mesh configuration of BelAir's cellular LAN architecture, providing complete coverage of the 176 guest rooms, lobby and common areas of the 11 story facility required only four BelAir200 units. The innovative BelAir200 is designed to beam Wi-Fi into buildings from the outside. This enabled the Radisson Hotel Ottawa Parliament Hill to provide indoor Wi-Fi access to its customers anywhere, anytime, without needing indoor access points and the associated wires, cabling, cost and inconvenience.
"The BelAir system combined with our fiber backbone is one of the most cost-effective ways of providing high-speed Internet services to hotels in the area," said Dave Dobbin, Chief Operating Officer, Telecom Ottawa. "This system provides good performance for hotel applications and is easier to install, manage and operate than some other solutions that claim the same functionality."
"The specific challenges of deploying Wi-Fi in hotels and conference centers really let the BelAir solution shine," said Phil Belanger, vice-president of marketing, BelAir Networks. "Our unique cellular LAN architecture allows us to project Wi-Fi into buildings from the outside which provides complete, broadband Wi-Fi access -- without disrupting hotel guests and at a much lower cost than conventional Wi-Fi or long reach Ethernet to every room."
Telecom Ottawa is also conducting a trial of BelAir's cellular LAN architecture in other regional locations. Current deployments include BelAir200 nodes to provide Wi-Fi service in the common areas and meeting rooms at Ottawa City Hall and in the public areas of the Nepean Sportsplex -- a sports and recreation complex.
The BelAir200 is a four-radio, wireless internetworking platform available in multiple configurations that can be used to build Wi-Fi networks for a single private building or scale up to carrier grade, city-wide networks. Built around a high-performance network processing core, the system can be configured with multiple, independent Wi-Fi access and backhaul radio modules. The system is designed for outdoor use and can be mounted directly on light poles in parking lots or on city streets. Multiple BelAir200 systems are interconnected by a multiple point-to-point wireless mesh that provides a carrier grade wireless backbone network and allows for placement of BelAir200 systems near desired coverage areas.
About Telecom Ottawa
Telecom Ottawa is a broadband services provider based in Ottawa with operations across Eastern Ontario. The company owns and operates the largest 10 Gigabit Ethernet metropolitan-wide network in North America, with more than 600 kilometers of fiber optic cable. This broadband infrastructure enables the provision of bandwidth capacity for data networking, high-speed Internet access, e-business applications and multimedia services. In providing services to businesses and public-sector organizations, Telecom Ottawa also delivers an extensive portfolio of ISP capabilities such as email, web hosting, wireless and remote Internet access.
About BelAir Networks
BelAir Networks is a wireless infrastructure supplier that provides advanced, multi-service, wireless networking solutions built around Wi-Fi, WiMAX and cellular technologies and optimized for high density hot zone and metro deployments.
BelAir Networks wireless solutions are designed for metro Wi-Fi, hotels, conference and convention centers, higher education campuses, transportation centers and corridors, and Federal Government networks. They are built on a patented point-to-point wireless mesh architecture that provides a high capacity wireless backbone. This mesh is combined with modular internetworking platforms designed for outdoor deployment to provide coverage over large areas and into buildings. The complete BelAir Networks offering is designed to simplify wireless infrastructures, reduce capital and operating expenditures, and deliver unmatched coverage, capacity and deployment flexibility. www.belairnetworks.com.
