City of Houston Selects Firetide to Build Public Safety Mesh Network

  • Sep 21, 2011

The city of Houston has deployed Firetide's high-performance wireless mesh network as part of a Homeland Security-funded initiative to improve public safety in the downtown area.

The network is a communications foundation that connects IP video cameras, located at 134 traffic intersections, allowing first responders in Houston to centrally monitor activity in the downtown area from a command center 24 x 7. With the ability to view live video feeds, it provides more virtual eyes on the streets and enables faster dispatch of officers where and when they are needed.

Video feeds are also stored and can be used as effective evidence in court, reducing time and expense for prosecuting cases, saving taxpayer dollars.

The Firetide network is comprised of over 200 high-performance nodes, with just four gateways that attach to the City's fiber network, connecting 300 high-definition IP cameras. Each camera needs 2-3Mbps bandwidth therefore requiring the wireless network to maintain performance at close to 1Gbps.

The City of Houston Mayor's Office of Public Safety and homeland Security oversees the development of Houston's system, including the Firetide mesh project. The Public Safety Video Initiative is led by Project Manager, Julie Stroup. Her team is comprised of vendor specialists in the areas of network architecture and engineering, video system subject matter expertise and integration, component configuration and installation, and the Houston Police Department video system manager.

This multi-disciplinary team, working closely with Firetide's engineering staff, was a critical factor in the successful implementation of Houston's system.

The City developed a network infrastructure that was completely independent of the existing City voice and data networks to best protect the integrity of all networks.

The team carefully evaluated communications network alternatives before selecting Firetide.

Fiber was not an option as it was not already available in the area and would be too costly to install. Multiple point-to-point and mesh technology vendors were considered and evaluated; "only Firetide met the functional requirements -- performance, reliability, and scalability, for this project," stated Stroup. "In addition, they were the only vendor that could provide customers references of other similar successful installations."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding covered the costs for the project -- deployment, installation, providing long term benefits for the citizens of Houston and without impact to City budgets.

"The City of Houston's public safety project highlights the need for cities across the nation to embrace and harness technology as a way to cost effectively improve community safety," said Bo Larsson, CEO of Firetide. "We're proud to have been selected as the building block for the City's communications network and look forward to supporting them as they expand its use."

The Firetide network in Houston is operated and maintained by the city of Houston's Police Department Technical Services Department, market leaders in system integration services and wireless network systems, lead the design and installation of the Firetide wireless mesh network for the city.

Featured

  • The Evolution of IP Camera Intelligence

    As the 30th anniversary of the IP camera approaches in 2026, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come. The first network camera, launched in 1996, delivered one frame every 17 seconds—not impressive by today’s standards, but groundbreaking at the time. It did something that no analog system could: transmit video over a standard IP network. Read Now

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.