Singapore's free WiFi hotspot access extended to three years

Stuart Corner
Monday, 04 December 2006 02:08

Your IT - Home IT

SingTel to deploy Cisco WiFi mesh
Cisco Systems announced that SingTel will use Cisco wireless mesh technology for its WiFi network in the northern part of Singapore. SingTel subsidiary, NCS, a Cisco certified gold partner, is managing the implementation of the network. SingTel aims to deploy more than 2,400 hotspots by May 2007.

In WiFi mesh networks many of the access points are not physically connected to a wired network. The access points create a mesh that routes back to the network. This configuration enables SingTel to provide broadband-based services to a large area where no wired network is available.

In the first phase of the rollout, Cisco Aironet 1500 series lightweight outdoor mesh access points will be attached to city buildings and streetlights to provide 10 square kilometres of coverage. To reduce management costs and centralise network monitoring, SingTel will use Cisco 4400 series wireless LAN controllers and the Cisco wireless control system.

According to Cisco, its Adaptive wireless path protocol provides the key intelligence for effectively running Cisco WiFi mesh networks. "Just as routers serve as traffic-management systems for wired networks, so the Cisco Aironet 1500 series access points use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to decide the optimal ways to route traffic from access point to access point and back to the main wired network. The protocol helps traffic avoid congested nodes, offering WiFi networks a 'self-healing' capability