Proxim Tsunami Quickbridge11 safeguards one of the largest commercial ports in Europe

Background

Situated on the west coast, la Rochelle is one of the largest commercial ports in Europe. The port is one of the strategic sites covered by new government security regulations and in July 2004 the port authority started to plan new measures in order to ensure enhanced security of all port facilities.

Challenge

The size of the facility meant that the fibre solution initially envisaged would be very costly and deployment would take many months. The challenge involved covering and controlling access to:

• 470 acre site
• More than 3 000 visits per day
• 10 000 badge holders

Proxim's certified local partner CTV proposed a full wireless IP based solution which was not only cheaper than the fibre alternative but could also be deployed in weeks. This wireless solution had to be 100% secure providing the following applications:

• video surveillance,
• personnel and vehicle access
• control of shipping traffic
• IP telephony

Solution

Radio and site surveys carried out by CTV led to an installation based on Proxim Tsunami Quickbridge11 for the backhauling of video-surveillance cameras and access control systems.

A wireless loop has been implemented using the Point to Point Quickbridge11 solution in order to connect all the entry points and provide redundancy in case of link failure. Thus, the traffic of the 12 deployed cameras was carried to the supervision centre through wireless. Moreover, the system provides the possibility to grant or to prevent access to vehicles remotely.

The Tsunami Quickbridge11 provided WiMAX capabilities and most importantly secured links using the Proxim protocol WORP (Wireless Outdoor Router Protocol). Why Proxim CTV chose Proxim products due their robust nature in a potentially hostile coastal environment in addition to the high level of performance / cost ratio of the equipment. An independent audit was also carried out which proved that the wireless connections (WORP) were 100% secure and free from potential interference.