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Italian Province Deploys Wireless Mesh Network to Stimulate Economic Growth and Bridge Digital Divide
Province of Brescia Will Use Wireless Broadband to Connect Over 200 Rural Towns and Could Attract an Estimated EUR 139m Into the Local Economy Over Six Years
| Source: Cisco Systems, Inc.
MILAN, ITALY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 19, 2007 -- Cisco® (NASDAQ : CSCO ) today announced that
the Italian Province of Brescia will use an outdoor wireless solution based
on mesh technology to deliver wireless broadband connectivity and Internet
Protocol (IP) services to its rural communities. The goal is to help
stimulate economic growth and bridge the growing digital divide throughout
the region. The solution will help the province deliver broadband Internet
to local government organisations, citizens and businesses.
The Province of Brescia will use a Cisco Outdoor Wireless solution to
deliver a variety of online services to the municipalities of the region,
ranging from simple Internet access for citizens to electronic procurement
and online applications for businesses. The Cisco Outdoor Wireless
solutions, which include a broad range of wireless devices and centralized
management and security components, will help the province achieve its
vision of being able to deliver a wide variety of IP services over a single
converged network. The new network will help Brescia grow the services
sector of its economy and help improve the quality of life for citizens by
providing them with access to online services and mobile applications.
"The province of Brescia has a rich manufacturing and agricultural
tradition, but recently there has been a move towards a more
service-orientated business model," said Raffaele Gareri, chief information
officer, Province of Brescia. "Attempts by companies to grow their service
offerings have been restricted by the fact that more than half of the
province does not have broadband access. Cisco's mesh technology has
provided us with a reliable, scalable and easy-to-deploy solution."
Brescia consists of a large number of disparate communities in a
predominantly mountainous region, making it expensive for traditional
carriers to wire the region for broadband. Cisco's wireless mesh technology
helps Brescia overcome the problem by using Cisco Aironet® 1500 Series
mesh access points, which build a flexible wireless infrastructure and
helps reduce dependency on a wired network. The mesh deployment is expected
to deliver broadband services to 120 towns, with plans to extend the
service to 210 towns during phase two of the project.
The need to deliver broadband Internet access to these rural towns at the
same time as providing connectivity for businesses spurred the province to
develop a public-private partnership. The network is managed by a private
telecommunications company, but owned by the local public administration.
"We are increasingly seeing rural and suburban governments invest in
wireless
technology to deliver online services to local businesses," said Richard
Roberts, director of wireless business development at Cisco. "In addition
to the positive impact on the local economy, regions such as Brescia,
Singapore and Silicon Valley are harnessing the power of wireless
technology to achieve a variety of goals, from improving public safety to
delivering online portals to tourists."
"If we look at the bigger picture and the impact of this technology on the
region, it is intrinsically linked to the growth of the economy and the
social inclusion of people who live in the province. We also believe that
through the public and private partnership we will see significant economic
gains. We estimate that our initial investment of EUR 2 million could
deliver a positive financial return of EUR 139 million within six years,"
Gareri said.
For further information on the business model examples for deploying Cisco
Outdoor Wireless solutions, please visit:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns621/networking_solutions_white_paper0900aecd80564fa3.shtml
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns621/networking_solutions_white_paper0900aecd80564b36.shtml
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