WELSH CAPITAL TO EXPAND WIRELESS CAPABILITIES
Cardiff set to benefit from BT’s Wireless Cities scheme
Released: 8 October 2007

BT today announced that Cardiff will take a further step in its role as a ‘Wireless City’, as it seeks to broaden the range of Wireless Broadband coverage which is already available extensively in the city centre and in specific places including the International Airport, parts of Cardiff Bay, and the city’s Millennium Stadium.  

Today’s development which involves BT working with the council to identify key areas where the network could be extended to other parts of the city centre, represents the next step in Cardiff’s desire to be a leading Wireless City.  

Cardiff’s inclusion in the Wireless Cities programme ensures that all customers - whether consumers, businesses or public sector organisations – can take advantage of the many opportunities wireless technology brings.  It should also make the city a more attractive place to do business while having the knock-on effect of attracting new industries. 

The move follows similar schemes in London (Westminster and Waltham Forest), Birmingham, Newcastle and Liverpool. 

Steve Andrews, BT Group, Chief of Mobility, said: “BT and Cardiff have always had strong links, with the city helping BT to pioneer the new 21CN network. Today’s announcement cements these links further.  Cardiff’s decision to work with BT to extend its Wireless City network will open up a raft of new opportunities for local businesses, citizens and visitors to benefit from access to all the high-speed broadband services normally available at home or in the office.

“Through the work BT Openzone is doing in Cardiff, people will be able to get the most out of their Wi-Fi enabled devices.   Whether it's a business person using BT Corporate Fusion , BT Office Anywhere or Intel®Centrino® Duo enabled laptop  to access their emails , right through to a consumer using  their BT Fusion Mobile, Internet Tablet or Wi-Fi enabled console to play games online, BT Openzone will help liberate the lifestyles and working practices of those in Cardiff."

Cllr Mark Stephens, Executive Member for Economic Development and Finance said, "This is very exciting news for Cardiff and demonstrates once again how far the city has come in recent years and is truly a world class quality of life capital city for Wales. I am delighted to be able to say that thanks to our partnership with BT, Cardiff is at the forefront of wireless communication and I am sure this development will be of huge interest to everyone who works, visits and lives in our city.

"This is real boost for the business, residential and leisure markets in the city and I am proud that Cardiff has been chosen to be one of BT’s Wireless Cities."

BT will be responsible for funding the rollout of the extension of the Wireless Cities network and will include best of breed technology and services from Motorola, Tropos and other suppliers in the process.

Joe Cozzolino, corporate vice president and general manager EMEA, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility said “In addition to managing the ongoing operation of the network, we will supply solutions from our MOTOwi4™ wireless broadband portfolio, which will be deployed across the cities on existing street furniture such as lampposts.  Working with BT, our solution allows data to be backhauled wirelessly helping to save time and disruption involved with building a fixed network.” 

Ron Sege, President and CEO, Tropos said “"Ease of use is a critical success factor to encourage a wide range of users to take full advantage of the growing number of Tropos MetroMesh networks being deployed worldwide. This principle will be at the core of the work we do with BT and Cardiff City Council.”
The development and operational costs of the network will be borne entirely by BT – with no cost burden on the taxpayer for the provision and management of the network. 

BT customers have access to the internet over high-speed wireless broadband (Wi-Fi) at more than 2,000 BT Openzone hotspots in premium locations and extensively across 12 city centres managed by BT in the UK and Ireland, as well as at more than 35,000 sites globally. Following a recent announcement wireless access is also available at BT FON and international FON hotspots for BT Total Broadband customers.

To find your nearest hotspot or to find out more about BT Openzone, visit www.btopenzone.com.

WESTMINSTER’S WIRELESS CITY PROJECT UPDATE
Released: 5 June 2006

Westminster City Council and its technology partners have completed the review of a large scale Wireless City pilot scheme that has been operating across three different areas of the city.

The project is set to transform council services, whilst delivering significant cost savings, and has been hailed as “one of the most exciting developments in Westminster’s history,” by Leader of Westminster Council, Sir Simon Milton. It is a key part of the One City vision, a five-year programme to build strong communities, supported by excellent council services.

In April 2004, Westminster City Council and its partners launched the first phase of the pioneering project to transform the heart of London into a Wireless City, which tested the concept of transferring data and CCTV images over a wireless network. The current phase was developed to test the potential for exploiting wireless technology to deliver business benefits in Parking, Housing and Community Protection.

The Wireless City Phase 1B pilot formally went live on 13th December 2005 in three areas, Soho, Lisson Green in Marylebone and Churchill Gardens in Pimlico. The evaluation period ended on 31st March, 2006.

The pilot has centred around three different areas of service delivery: the wider use of CCTV to help in the management of a 24 hour city; the use of a wireless network to support more productive mobile working and various other applications such as remote noise monitoring. It is the development of these applications which is attracting world wide interest.

The results of the pilot are sufficiently encouraging that the Council and its Wireless City Partners are now designing a solution which they propose to roll out across the City. This will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet over the summer.

Leader of the Council, Sir Simon Milton said: “We are ambitious to be a world leader in city management, and we are looking to technology to enable us to deliver our One City programme. Wireless boosts the capacity of our staff to focus their efforts upon the things that our residents tell us really matter, providing good customer service at a low price.”

Ends

Notes

• Westminster City Council and its strategic partner on Customer Service, Vertex, are delivering the solution in partnership with global technology leaders BT, Intel, Cisco Systems, Capgemini, BTSkyNet and Telindus.
• Wi-Fi is a wireless technology that transmits data over radio waves using standard protocols at broadband speeds.
• The system involves establishing the infrastructure for a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) includes CCTV and noise monitoring devices and is interconnected with the City Council’s corporate network.
• The network allows web-based remote monitoring and management systems, integrated with mobile devices including pan tilt and zone video cameras, laptops and handheld devices.
• The technology being used is compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards.

APPENDIX A
What we have achieved in the latest pilot:

• A wireless network in 3 pilot areas- Soho, Lisson Green and Churchill Gardens
• 38 Wireless enabled CCTV Cameras
• 24 BT back-haul locations
• A ‘master’ control centre at the Trocadero, with integration into the existing analogue CCTV systems.
• 4 satellite control centres at Lisson Grove (the Council’s City Management Centre), Lisson Green (Housing Estate Office), Churchill Gardens (Housing Estate Office) and Lexington Street (NCP’s Operational Centre in Soho).
• Noise Monitors.
• Developed a successful model for ‘partnership working’.
• Supported an innovative arts project (FreqOut) utilising wireless technology. This provided the Council with a unique opportunity to engage with young people in developing the project.
• Some 160 organisations and delegations have visited Westminster in the last 24 months to understand more about this pilot initiative.

APPENDIX B
Parking: In the 1B pilot, parking attendants are being directed to problems on the street by trained operators viewing images from wireless CCTV cameras across Soho

• Staff have been sent to 3556 parking contraventions, 211 obstructions, and moved on 1468 vehicles.
• The Public Perception surveys provide indirect evidence suggesting that ‘smart deployment’ has been effective, with Soho residents and businesses perceiving more Parking Attendants on the streets when in fact there are less, and greater availability of parking spaces for loading & unloading.
• The incidents of physical and verbal abuse of staff have remained at a low level during the Pilot, reducing to zero in month 3, and there has been a marked improvement in staff perception of personal safety.

APPENDIX C
Crime & Disorder: There are a total of 38 wireless CCTV cameras in operation in Westminster.

• Using wireless CCTV a total of 58 incidents have been reported. Of these 9 related to violent crimes, 19 to drug offences, 14 to anti-social behaviour, 5 to car crime and 4 to theft.
• In addition to 15  arrests, police have responded to incidents resulting in 5 victims being hospitalised, 2 cautions, and 20 ’police stops’ where the police intervene and question suspects at the scene.
• The Wireless CCTV cameras had a deterrent effect immediately after installation.
• The local problem-solving partnerships (police, civic watch and city guardians) have found the wireless CCTV easy to use and helpful in gathering intelligence and responding to incidents. Crime and anti-social behaviour on both the pilot estates has reduced. On the Lisson Green Estate it has been reduced to its lowest level since April 2004.
• Residents have also reported a disproportionately positive impact on their fears and perceptions of crime with intractable cases of drug trading and loitering solved as soon as cameras were installed.

BT ANNOUNCES MAJOR INVESTMENT IN ROLL OUT OF WIRELESS CITIES ACROSS BRITAIN
Six major cities  sign deals with BT
Released:  17 May 2006

BT today announced agreements with six cities to become wireless pioneers as part of its plans to create a first phase of 12 Wireless Cities across the UK. People in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff and Westminster will benefit from huge wireless networks, giving them access to information and services. That could be anything from where to park to what’s on at the local cinema, as well as improved public services, like health monitoring, traffic monitoring and public safety.

BT started the Wireless City rollout in Cardiff, where BT Openzone hotspots have been installed in many locations in the city centre. In Westminster, a dedicated high-bandwidth wireless network is already in place and is now being extended. The first six cities were chosen for their commitment to embracing the possibilities brought by the technology. BT aims to announce deals with many other cities. 

In Westminster, where the project is now moving on to its second phase, the pilot results showed that after wireless technology enabled the council to expand the public safety network, residents on housing estates now feel safer walking in their area after dark.
    
The wireless cities network will bring together the very latest technologies and applications for use by public services, businesses and people. Intel has been working with BT to develop the technology, and is sharing its expertise of developing these services in cities like Philadelphia in the US and was one of the lead organisations involved in the Wireless Westminster project.
    
BT’s strategy is to work with Intel, other leading partners in wireless solutions and local authorities to roll out a wide area of wireless broadband in metropolitan areas. This will be based around wireless broadband in the home, BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots, Wireless Cities, and high speed mobile access. The result will be that customers can do anything, anytime, anywhere.
    
Leisure and business applications, many developed by councils with BT and partners, will be available to a wide range of devices, including the forthcoming Wi-Fi version of BT Fusion and a similar product currently being developed for corporate customers. These handsets will use the wireless broadband network to make calls over broadband at landline rates and provide a rich media experience, such as video calling and access to internet applications and services.
    
Steve Andrews, BT’s chief, Converged Communications Services, said:  “We are delighted to announce the first batch of many wireless agreements. We have been thrilled with the overwhelming response of local authorities and businesses wanting to be part of this wireless revolution. This first phase of 12 cities is just the start. We are already negotiating with many other cities.
    
“Our networks will make sure customers are connected at all times, but all people will notice is how valuable the services are, such as knowing where to park, access to tourist information and public services.
    
“The Wireless City initiatives offer wide area wireless broadband access across metropolitan areas, enabling people to use the network on a range of devices for entertainment, education and communication, such as email, video and voice calls, even when they’re on the move.
   
“BT is at the forefront of deploying wireless broadband today to realise customer benefits, and researching and testing evolving technologies, such as WiMax.
    
“This is the first key step towards a future of rich, high speed services enabled by new technology.”
    
BT has one of the widest portfolios of wireless access products and applications in the industry, meeting the needs of local authorities, businesses and consumers.
    
Gordon Graylish, vice president and GM Intel, EMEA, said: “We are continually looking to drive the adoption of new technology within the market and are delighted to be working with BT to bring the benefits of wireless technology to UK cities.”

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