Intel & vendors launch global metro mesh net initiative

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 10 September 2005 17:00

Your IT - Home IT

Intel has launched its "Digital Communities" initiative under which it is leading "a diverse group of high-tech companies to help 13 'pilot' communities design, develop and deploy comprehensive solutions and services to enhance government efficiency, promote economic growth, foster greater community satisfaction and bridge the digital divide."

Intel says it is "working closely with Cisco, Dell, IBM, and SAP to help communities around the world replicate the successful instalments in the pilot communities, which span from small cities to major metropolitan areas." It lists other participating vendors as being Accela, Airpath Wireless, Alvarion, British Telecom, CapGemini, CDW Government (CDW-G), Check Point, Civitium, EarthLink, iMove, Panasonic, Pronto Networks, Szintezis Rt, Telindus, Tropos and Vertex.

Intel lists the leading pilot communities as being: Cleveland (Ohio); Corpus Christ (Texas); Philadelphia and Taipei and says: "other participating cities include Portland (Oregon) along with Mangaratiba (Brazil); Dusseldorf; Gyor (Hungary); Jerusalem; Principality of Monaco; Seoul; Osaka; and Westminster (UK.

Highly conspicuous by its absence from the initiative is Nortel which was responsible for the, very extensive, Taipei mesh network and which has a number of other large scale mesh networks to its credit, including Edith Cowan University in Western Australia

Additional information on Intel's Digital Communities initiative and pilot communities is available at http://www.intel.com/go/digitalcommunities.