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iFORTE of Indonesia Rolls Out Firetide Mesh and Access Network to Deliver Wireless Broadband to Jakarta's Main Business Districts

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 09:00 CDT

Businesses and residents in metropolitan Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, now have a compelling choice when it comes to broadband Internet service. Thanks to iFORTE, Indonesia's premier service provider and IT integrator, and Firetide, a leading provider of wireless mesh and access networks, the Jakarta business district can take advantage of iFORTE's M-WIFO (Mobility-WiFi Fiber Optic) service. Extending the reach of the fiber backbone installed by iFORTE along the dedicated bus lines of the TransJakarta transit system, the Firetide mesh and access wireless network cost-effectively brings broadband connectivity to thousands of businesses and residents along the bus line corridor.

Similar in approach to the recently revived Wireless Silicon Valley project, the deployment uses an enterprise-focused business model to deliver Internet access to business customers and residential complexes through a combination of fiber and wireless connectivity. Although the deployment has an access component, no public Wi-Fi(R) access is planned at this time. The first phase of the fiber build out -- to deploy a 120 mile fiber optic network backbone -- will conclude in June 2008. Spanning 300 square miles, this phase includes 10 corridors of the Trans-Jakarta transit system in metropolitan Jakarta's business districts, including most of the first and second tier main streets.

"The Firetide wireless infrastructure allows us to extend service coverage wherever there is demand without having to install additional fiber optic connections as the last mile," said Andrie Tjioe, director of iFORTE. "The unique ability of Firetide mesh to act as a redundant backhaul, should the fiber be damaged, increases the reliability of our service and enables us to stand by our advertised service levels. Firetide's track record in the region and throughout the world -- and Firetide's commitment to the project -- made all the difference."

In the current phase of the deployment, iFORTE has deployed 95 Firetide HotPort(R) wireless mesh nodes and 72 Firetide HotPoint(R) access points along a 25-mile stretch running through Jakarta's business districts in two corridors of the Trans-Jakarta bus system. The wireless mesh nodes tap into the fiber backbone and distribute bandwidth to other mesh nodes deployed on surrounding buildings, or to access points installed on bus stops. The wireless access points deliver the broadband signal to Firetide HotClient(TM) customer premises equipment (CPEs) installed in offices, shops, banks and residential complexes. The end-to-end Firetide wireless infrastructure enables reliable delivery of guaranteed bandwidth to subscribers - be it 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps or 4 Mbps.

"Firetide is pleased to partner with iFORTE on this deployment," said Bo Larsson, chief executive officer of Firetide. "Our high-performance, resilient wireless network is a perfect complement to the fiber backbone installed by iFORTE. The Firetide wireless infrastructure enables iFORTE to extend connectivity selectively, where and when needed, driving economies not previously possible in these large scale deployments. Plus, should there be a break in the fiber backbone due to fiber damage or a power outage, for example, our mesh intelligently and instantly reroutes the network traffic, ensuring that it reaches its final destination without interruption or packet loss."

iFORTE evaluated a number of vendors and technologies for this ambitious project, eventually choosing the Firetide solution. iFORTE teams visited Firetide installations not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also in the U.S. where they toured the Firetide network deployed by IBM throughout downtown Chicago for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Firetide and iFORTE worked closely together from project conception to network design, installation and system integration. The two companies also collaborated on advanced features that enable iFORTE to offer a virtual private network infrastructure using a customer's internal virtual local area networks to communicate among branches with complete security.

About Firetide Inc.

Firetide is the leading provider of wireless mesh and access networks that enable concurrent video, voice, and data for municipal, public safety, and enterprise applications. Firetide HotPort(R) mesh nodes, HotPoint(R) access points, HotClient(TM) CPEs, HotView Controller(TM), and HotView Pro(TM) network management platform provide a reliable high performance wireless infrastructure and access solution for video surveillance, Internet access, public safety networks and temporary networks wherever rapid deployment, mobility and ease of installation are required. Headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif., Firetide is a privately held company with worldwide product distribution. www.firetide.com.

About iFORTE

iFORTE Solusi Infotek is a 300-strong IT solution provider serving customers in diverse businesses. The company was founded in March 2002, and began its service upon securing a license for VSAT operation at the national level. At the end of 2002, iForte acquired Power LAN Indonesia, a subsidiary of PowerLAN Australia. This acquisition added Microsoft Axapta (now called Microsoft Dynamics) and Invensys Protean teams to iForte. Since 2002, iForte has established itself as a premier ISP serving the corporate market. In April 2008, iFORTE launched its M-WIFO (Mobile-WiFi Fiber Optic) service which covers metropolitan Jakarta.

Source: Business Wire

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