CCS Metnet
Self-Organising Microwave Backhaul
Selected for Next-Generation Wireless Network
in
London’s Square Mile
Metnet powering new
high density wireless network
serving businesses, residents and visitors in
number
one global financial centre
Cambridge Communication Systems
(CCS) Limited today announces that its Metnet
solution has been selected to provide neutral host
backhaul for a new, ultra-fast next-generation
wireless network being deployed to serve the
businesses, residents and visitors of the Square
Mile in London. The project – which includes
the single biggest WiFi investment in the City to
date – has been awarded by City of London
Corporation to CTIL, working in partnership with
Telefónica O2.
The new wireless network includes a combination
of WiFi for free public access – now live
– and 4G small cells, available to carry
traffic for all UK MNOs. Small cells
and WiFi access points are being deployed on
street furniture including lampposts, street
signs, and CCTV columns, to improve wireless
coverage and capacity in the heart of
London’s financial centre.
The neutral host backhaul of the WiFi and small
cells network is built on CCS Metnet – the
world’s only self-organising 5G microwave
backhaul – operating in the licensed
area-based 28GHz band. Fibre will also be deployed
at strategic points to aggregate the traffic from
the Metnet nodes for connectivity into the WiFi
and small cell core networks. Metnet was
selected as the backhaul backbone having satisfied
all the key requirements for deployment in a dense
urban area for neutral host WiFi and small cell
connectivity. Based on a unique and future-proof
self-organising mesh architecture, Metnet is quick
to deploy, easy to scale, and offers high capacity
and low latency coupled with high availability and
resilience, robust synchronisation and lowest
total cost of ownership. Metnet units are small
and discreet making them suitable for deployment
in towns and cities at street level.
The Square Mile deployment delivers a dense and
advanced microwave and access network, providing
next-generation coverage and capacity. The
ultra-fast WiFi network service is now launched,
and the small cell deployment is currently
underway.
Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer at O2
said: “We’re very proud to be
delivering a world-class infrastructure project,
in conjunction with CCS. Reliable, high
performance backhaul is absolutely key to
realising the quality of wireless service
that’s now desired by businesses and
consumers in the City of London. Using this
solution we’re able to give people what they
need wherever they are in the area –
reliable and high speed internet on the go.
”
Commenting on the project, CCS CEO Steve Greaves
said: “We are very excited to be deploying
Metnet to enable enhanced wireless coverage and
performance in the number one global financial
centre. The Square Mile’s tall buildings and
narrow streets have posed significant mobile
service problems for the City’s 400,000
workers and 10 million annual visitors –
issues that our self-organising mesh-based Metnet
system is uniquely positioned to solve. This
solution delivers a significant boost in browsing
speeds, and offer the ability to access
high-bandwidth services – such as video
streaming – on demand over a free Wi-Fi
network.”
Source: CCS media announcement