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City of
Long Beach, Calif. Goes Wireless With
Intermec
Downtown
Wireless Internet District Provides Free High-Speed
Internet Access for Residents and Visitors
EVERETT, Wash., Jan 7, 2003 - Slow dial-up
connections and internet access fees are a thing of the
past for shoppers, diners and visitors in Long Beach,
Calif.
Now, visitors to the downtown area can
connect to the Internet for free, courtesy of the city's
new Downtown Wireless Internet District. Unlike other
wireless "hot spots," which typically require monthly or
per-minute access fees, Long Beach provides the
high-speed access at no charge.
Thanks to a
wireless network with wireless access points from
Intermec Technologies Corp., anyone with a laptop or
Microsoft Windows Pocket PC-equipped personal digital
assistant with an 802.11b wireless radio card can access
the Internet. The weather-proof Intermec MobileLAN 2100
wireless access points, based on the Wi-Fi(TM) 802.11b
networking standard, provide a broadband connection to a
centrally located switch at speeds up to 11Mbps. In
comparison, an average dial-up connection runs at
approximately 54Kbps.
To access the system,
users simply open their Internet browser, which will
automatically load a portal site for Long Beach's Pine
Avenue Hot Zone. Users then can check e-mail, download
files or just surf, all at speeds up to 50 times faster
than with a standard dial-up connection. The Wireless
Internet District, which can accommodate hundreds of
simultaneous users, encompasses several blocks in Long
Beach's downtown core, an area of restaurants and retail
shops popular with visitors and business travelers.
Future plans include extending the wireless network to
the convention center, marina area and the Long Beach
Airport.
The wireless network is designed to
allow users to roam throughout the District without
losing connectivity. For example, a user may be
downloading a presentation while finishing a cup of
coffee at a local cafe. With the network's roaming
capability, there's no need to wait for the file
transfer to be complete before heading down the street
to do some shopping. To ensure this seamless coverage,
Intermec conducted a site survey to determine optimum
placement for the access points and antennas to maximize
the range and speed of the network.
"We wanted
to make sure that we provided easy, hassle-free
connectivity with no gaps or dead spots," said Bruce
Mayes, project manager for the Long Beach wireless
HotZone. "Intermec's expertise in wireless network
design was one of the keys to making that happen. And
since the MobileLAN 2100D is designed to withstand harsh
environments, we know people will be able to rely on the
wireless network even on the rare days when it rains in
Long Beach."
"Intermec has 20 years' experience
designing and installing mission-critical wireless
networks for high-traffic outdoor and industrial
environments," said Pam Cory, Intermec vice president of
systems marketing. "Public wireless network access is
becoming a `Main Street' phenomenon. Intermec is proud
to have been selected by the City of Long Beach to help
it fulfill this exciting vision."
To view the
portal site from outside the Hot Zone, visit
www.longbeachportals.com.
About
Intermec
Intermec Technologies Corp., a UNOVA
Inc. (NYSE:UNA) company, is a leader in global supply
chain solutions and in the development, manufacture and
integration of wired and wireless automated data
collection, Intellitag(R) RFID (radio frequency
identification), mobile computing systems, bar code
printers and label media. The company's products and
services are used by customers in many industries to
improve productivity, quality and responsiveness of
business operations, from supply chain management and
enterprise resource planning to field sales and service.
For information about Intermec, visit www.intermec.com.
To learn more about how companies can benefit
from Intermec's supply chain technologies, contact
Intermec Technologies Corp., 6001 36th Ave. West,
Everett, WA 98203-9280 USA; telephone 800/347-2636; or
visit Intermec's web site at www.intermec.com. To learn
more about UNOVA, visit www.unova.com.
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