Wireless Broadband Network News

CONSOL Energy & Port of Pittsburgh unveil a state-of-the art broadband network designed to Improve efficiency & safety on Inland waterways. Aboard its newly refurbished river fleet vessel, the M/V Safety Pledge, CONSOL Energy Inc. and the Port of Pittsburgh Commission have unveiled the first wireless broadband network deployed on inland waterways in the United States. Developed exclusively on Pittsburgh's three rivers over the past several months, this new neutral wireless broadband network…

The Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC) is building an innovative wireless broadband network along the rivers in Pittsburgh and is seeking partners to explore new applications for transportation, safety, security and environmental monitoring, according to James R. McCarville, Executive Director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission. The project, called Wireless Waterways, consists of both the Network System Infrastructure (NSI), which will be scalable and expandable, and an Interoperability Test Bed (ITB). The project has been under construction for nearly a year by the PPC’s contractor, CONXX, Inc., from Johnstown, PA. The PPC will begin to conduct experiments within the Test Bed in June.

The Port of Pittsburgh’s state-of-the-art wireless network will eventually allow a myriad of users to collaborate, improve operations, maritime safety, security and a host of other tasks. Really: the cloud is the limit. This story weaves technology, leadership and innovation – all of it happening on the waterfront. The inland waterfront. If this sounds like something more closely associated with bluewater container shipping logistics, then you can be forgiven for getting lost in the moment.

Broadband Antenna Tracking Systems, Inc. (BATS) has successfully demonstrated an industry-first ship-to-ship wireless broadband communications tracking system integrating its BTS-2500 units with two wireless broadband radios. The demonstration was conducted on the Sea of Marmara for a customer that is seeking a cost-effective communications tracking system with high bandwidth and low latency that can cover great distances for its fleet of ships. The BATS tracking systems were mounted on the main mast of each ship at a height of 16 meters above the sea. The live demonstration involved ships simultaneously moving at speeds up to 13 knots and at distances up to 44 kilometers apart. The RSSI was around -50 when the distance between the ships was under 20Km and -60 between 20-40Km.

By early 2008, all ships in Singapore can have access to mobile wireless broadband, allowing real-time and data-intensive communications between the ships and their customers and business partners. Thanks to WISEPORT (WIreless-broadband-access for SEaPort), activities that could only be done onshore previously can now be achieved offshore as well, from regulatory filings, to broadband communications, to real-time access to navigational data. WISEPORT is one of the initial projects under theInfocomm@SeaPort program, which aims to provide a mobile wireless broadband network within 15km from Singapore’s southern coastline. WISEPORT will provide a low-cost, high-bandwidth and secure access.

Smiths Detection-LiveWave has been awarded a contract to engineer and deploy a prototype security solution for the Rhode Island Port Security Wireless Communications Network (RIPSWCN). As part of a one-year pilot program, the system will interconnect with land-based communications networks to allow government agencies and emergency personnel to share and distribute real-time data throughout Narragansett Bay. A collaborative project of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (EMA), Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Rhode Island Department of Administration (DOA), the RIPSWCN partnership was created as a demonstration project funded by an $856,000 grant from the U.S.