Nortel, Wireless Valley Team to Maximize Wireless Mesh Network Services

Business Wire, May 18, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- MeshPlanner for Nortel Creates Detailed, Cost-Effective Network Designs to Ensure Reliable, Seamless Mobile Communications

Nortel (NYSE: NT)(TSX: NT) and Wireless Valley(R) Communications today announced a joint initiative to bring to market MeshPlanner(TM) for Nortel, a precise, intuitive planning tool that optimizes wireless mesh network design. MeshPlanner makes it possible for network designers to ensure superior service coverage and secure network access for seamless mobility throughout a city or campus while reducing planning and implementation costs.

Tailored to the unique architecture of Nortel's wireless mesh network technology, MeshPlanner allows designers to simulate the mesh solution on a computerized model of the deployment area. By examining the impact of obstacles such as buildings, parking garages and foliage on wireless coverage, MeshPlanner enables the network to be deployed faster while ensuring excellent resiliency, redundancy and performance.

Wireless mesh networks often cover hundreds of acres of service area. Man-made and natural obstructions must be factored into these designs, which can be costly, time consuming and lead to troublesome inaccuracies when manual planning methods are used. MeshPlanner's precise computer modeling of an area removes the guesswork from planning by recommending where wireless access points (APs) should be placed to maximize coverage and ease installation. The model also predicts how landscape will impact wireless signals and simulates capacity required to ensure uninterrupted service for specified numbers of users.

"To meet the ever growing demand for 'always on' wireless connections across a variety of devices, network planners need to be able to deliver reliable, cost-effective communication solutions as quickly as possible," said Mark Whitton, general manager, Wireless LAN Solutions, Nortel. "People want full mobility - to be connected anywhere, at any time. Nortel is making this a reality through wireless mesh technology that extends WLAN coverage to expansive outdoor areas such as parks, municipalities and university campuses."

"Delivering wireless access everywhere means that mesh networks have to be designed with exacting, predictable precision. A noted leader in radio frequency design and management, Wireless Valley has created for Nortel one of the industry's most robust and powerful mesh planning tools for network design, and ultimately, enhancing the human experience for the end-user," said Whitton.

"Nortel is a recognized leader in the wireless industry, and we are excited they chose Wireless Valley for their mesh network design solution," said Jim Welch, CEO and president, Wireless Valley. "Mesh networks are clearly gaining traction in various markets and MeshPlanner will help support this growth by enabling quick and effective design of large, multi-faceted networks."

Wireless mesh networks - which provide a cost-effective method for extending WLAN coverage more broadly into business and end user markets such as metropolitan areas, shopping malls, airports and stadiums - are increasingly being deployed around the world by enterprises and service providers. Nortel's Wireless Mesh Network solution has been deployed or selected by some of the world's leading governments, businesses and universities, including Taipei City, Kaohsiung City, University of Arkansas, Edith Cowan University, Seo Won University and Black Stone Golf & Resort.

Now available, MeshPlanner for Nortel provides an easy and flexible process for designing mesh networks in a few simple steps. First, designers import a map of the location and identify obstructions such as buildings or trees that will impact wireless signals. End-user regions are then created by establishing capacity requirements including how many users are expected and what type of service will be needed. The designer then adds APs to the end-user service area and is able to run simulations that visualize network performance and signal strength to ensure no coverage holes exist.

MeshPlanner allows designers to next create transit links between APs within the mesh network and then determine which APs will have wired access to the network. To complete the design, the user runs a comprehensive simulation to check coverage areas, redundancy, capacity requirements, transit links and AP connections. If any design factors are not met, MeshPlanner highlights which APs need to be adjusted and corrections are made.

Wireless Valley's products enable companies to establish a repeatable and scalable process for designing and managing wireless networks. The composition and contents of a building or city such as the wall construction, trees and electronic interferers can have significant impact on wireless signals. Adding to the challenge is the invisibility of radio waves. Using a predictive approach pioneered by the company, Wireless Valley's software enables design engineers to interactively visualize how the wireless signals will propagate and fine tune the network design with "what if" analysis to determine optimum performance. Once the network is installed, IT departments use the software to visualize radio frequency (RF) activity, detect wireless network issues and remotely resolve problems. Wireless Valley's approach has been proven in thousands of in-building and campus deployments where quality of service requirements have been met; design, deployment and management costs have been minimized; and investments in wireless equipment have been maximized.