BridgeWave’s Wireless Links Help Power Video Surveillance System For Texas Town

  • Jul 10, 2009

BridgeWave Communications, a supplier of gigabit wireless solutions, today announced that its FE60U gigabit upgradeable wireless products power the backbone of the wireless video surveillance network for the City of Highland Village in Texas.

Recognized for the last seven years as the “Safest City in Texas” (FBI Uniform Crime Reports), Highland Village relies on BridgeWave’s links to backhaul surveillance video over their network to ward off crime and aid first responders in the community.

With construction of new mixed-retail MarketPlace and The Shops of Highland Village developments, Captain Corry Blount of the Highland Village Police Department recognized the need for video surveillance cameras to proactively deter crime from these high-end luxury retail shops and restaurants. The video cameras would allow the police communication team to monitor suspicious activity, theft, car accidents, and quickly respond to incidents, with the goal of improving public safety in the area.

“It’s nearly impossible to have a police officer on every street corner, therefore video surveillance was an appealing option for the safety of our community,” Blount said. “However, since police officers and first responders depend on video surveillance, the network running our video surveillance cameras must be up and running at all times.”

Working with RedMoon Broadband, a leading provider of next-generation network solutions for mobile broadband and wireless access in city deployments, Blount concluded that a fiber optic network for the surveillance cameras was not an option. Fiber optic cables were costly and time consuming to install.

Instead, RedMoon opted for BridgeWave’s upgradeable gigabit wireless bridges as backhaul links for the surveillance cameras connected via Firetide’s wireless mesh nodes. To cover the shopping centers, Highland Village used multiple license-free BridgeWave FE60U products for its advanced wireless security providing full-rate, full-duplex Fast Ethernet capacity.

In addition, the ultra-low latency afforded by these wireless links allow officers at the monitoring station to utilize the camera’s full pan-tilt-zoom function with little delay, providing razor sharp images as the camera moves to a new subject almost instantaneously. As the network adds more cameras, and thus requiring greater backhaul capacity, the FE60U links can easily be upgraded to full-rate gigabit speeds.

“It was an easy decision to go with a wireless network-- it’s dependable, easy to install and allows for high-capacity bandwidth,” said Bill Young, government sales representative at RedMoon Broadband. “BridgeWave’s high-capacity backhaul links allow the police officers to keep a constant 24-hour eye on the community.”

With the BridgeWave backhaul network and high-resolution cameras in place, Highland Village is able to pan and tilt the camera views to monitor the shopping areas’ entrances and exits, parking areas and store fronts in real time.

Officers are able to view the area from both the Communications Center and the department’s remote Police Sub-Station, and with the ability to observe criminal activity, view license plates and immediately respond to accident scenes, the department is confident it’s providing the highest level of security. Not only does the video surveillance network reduce crime, the network also aids first responders on the scene of an accident.

Highland Village’s use of the wirelessly-connected video cameras at the retail shopping center spurred a video surveillance network at one of their local city parks as well as at a new city service center currently under construction. There are also plans for future video surveillance projects in other parts of the city along the city’s extensive inland trail network and with new retail development.

“The City of Highland Village is a stellar example of a community effectively using technologically advanced wireless video surveillance networks to increase safety in their town,” said Amir Makleff, CEO at BridgeWave. “Additionally, with BridgeWave’s products, Highland Village can adapt to future bandwidth requirements using gigabit wireless links, thus ensuring the use of high performance video cameras that will let Highland Village preserve its record as the safest city in Texas.”

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