Motorola’s Wireless Broadband Solution Helps Indianapolis Neighborhood Bridge the Digital Divide

Wireless mesh wide area networks and point-to-multipoint solutions deliver Internet access to the Martindale-Brightwood community

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) announced that Paul E. Estridge Homes and ERS Data Solutions have jointly deployed its wireless broadband network to deliver free Internet service to residents of Martindale-Brightwood, Ind., a historic, low income neighborhood on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The initial deployment provides Internet access to over 450 homes in the free access neighborhood (FAN) and plans are already under way to expand it to an area of three square miles, covering close to 4,000 homes and businesses. The wireless network helps bridge the digital divide for previously underserved families and, more importantly, has become an educational system that provides local students with access they need outside of the classroom to stimulate their minds, raise test scores and improve graduation rates.

“For several years, I’ve had a vision of providing the less fortunate with affordable Internet access to help level their playing field, especially when it comes to education,” said Paul Estridge, chief executive servant, Paul E. Estridge Homes. “Wireless broadband solutions from Motorola proved to be the quickest and most cost-effective way of providing an urban community with reliable and secure connectivity to stimulate economic growth and enable youth to take advantage of the latest technologies to better their education experience.”

During the first phase of the deployment, Motorola and ERS Data Solutions provided mesh outdoor wireless broadband and point-to-multipoint equipment as well as network design and management tools to support the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project in Martindale-Brightwood. Covering an area of one-half of a square mile, it was designed to deliver high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity to over a thousand volunteers and builders working on the show, providing reliable access to business applications and allowing them to quickly download and upload multimedia content to the Web. At the same time, the high-bandwidth, ubiquitous coverage made available with Motorola’s solution enabled Paul Estridge to realize his vision and expand access to residents of homes near the project site. Providing these families with free Internet connectivity was only one of his goals. Even more important was the chance that students in this low-income neighborhood could gain access to the same opportunities available to their peers.

“Based on our experience in deploying outdoor wireless broadband solutions in urban areas, the highly compressed timing for this project and the high availability requirements, we immediately recommended a solution from Motorola,” said Sam Kinkaid, product manager and systems engineer, Mobile & Fixed Wireless Products, ERS Data Solutions. “The deployment took just three-and-a-half hours, including equipment provisioning and installation at the building site, the staging area and the half mile stretch that connected them. Such quick turnaround would not be possible were it not for the robust planning and management tools, and easy-to-install solutions that Motorola’s wireless broadband portfolio offers.”

The high-speed wireless broadband network deployed by ERS Data Solutions combines Motorola’s Duo (4300 series) mesh nodes and PMP 400 Series point-to-multipoint solution to provide robust and secure connectivity across the entire coverage area. The Mesh Duo nodes leverage Motorola’s field proven MeshConnex(TM) routing engine, creating a highly reliable self-forming, self-healing wireless broadband network, while the point-to-multipoint (PMP) wireless access solution handles the distribution of data traffic from the mesh nodes. ERS Data Solutions used Motorola’s One Point Wireless Suite to design, deploy, manage and optimize the network. The One Point MeshPlanner ensured quick deployment with maximum performance throughout the coverage area. The network is managed by Motorola’s One Point Wireless Manager 2.0, a powerful network management solution that lets IT administrators visualize the network via an embedded Google map environment, offering them a single point of control and the ability to monitor the health of the network while being able to quickly identify and troubleshoot connectivity issues. In fact, this capability already proved its worth right away when one of the access nodes experienced power interruption. While the mesh network re-routed traffic from the downed site to prevent a full outage ERS Data Solutions was able to quickly identify the issue and take appropriate steps to fix it just as the calls from customers who experienced connectivity problems began.

“Motorola’s wireless broadband solutions power high-speed networks in hundreds of municipalities across North America and the world, offering businesses and residents Internet access they need to stay connected, informed and productive,” said Scott French, MSSI vice president and senior sales director, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions. “We are especially proud of the fact that our solution has proven that the technology is reliable, resilient and can be cost-effectively deployed in just a matter of hours or days without the need to dig trenches or make expensive infrastructure modifications.”

Motorola offers a comprehensive portfolio of wireless broadband solutions designed to deliver reliable and secure connectivity to communities — from small villages and townships to larger cities and municipalities. Leveraging Motorola’s experience and expertise in working with wireless Internet service providers to deliver wireless communications solutions that help communities become better connected, this innovative portfolio includes fixed point-to-multipoint, point-to-point and mesh solutions. With time-proven resiliency, security and performance equal to or greater than that of a wired network, Motorola’s solutions substantially reduce network deployment and maintenance costs, and ensure the availability of cost-effective wireless broadband connectivity when and where it is needed.

About Motorola

Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications and is focused on advancing the way the world connects. From broadband communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility and public safety solutions to high-definition video and mobile devices, Motorola is leading the next wave of innovations that enable people, enterprises and governments to be more connected and more mobile. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had sales of US $30.1 billion in 2008. For more information, please visit www.motorola.com.

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. (C) Motorola, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.

The Emmy award winning reality program “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” now in its 6th season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It’s executive-produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.

SOURCE Motorola, Inc.