Cellnet and Pronto Networks Launch a Joint Wifi Hotzone Network Deployment for the City of Madison
The Madison City hotzone deployment covers the airport, Capitol Square, State Street, and University Areas of Downtown Madison and the area encompasses residential, commercial, business and government users. The Wi-Fi service consists of a network of Cisco Mesh WLAN Controllers and mesh Access Points deployed throughout the city and Pronto’s UniFi OSS Platform operated from a central NOC (network operations center).
"Outdoor wireless is quickly becoming the standard means for cities to provide low-cost Internet access, as well as an innovative platform for delivering new mobility services,” said Alan Cohen, senior director of mobility solutions at Cisco Systems, Inc. “By working with local technology partners and service providers, such as Pronto Networks and Cellnet, municipalities and their customers benefit by having an experienced and dedicated team focused on their needs.”
“We chose Pronto because of the company's leadership in the municipal wireless broadband space and its demonstrated success in numerous citywide deployments. Pronto has helped us in making the Madison network available to everyone in cafes, hotels, City halls, shops, airport and other public areas through a variety of secure wireless access options including laptops, PDAs and cell phones.” said Louis Kek, CIO of Cellnet. He added, “Pronto's system provides us with the flexibility of features that we need to deliver valuable, long-term solutions. Now we can cater to the wide ranging demands of permanent residents, businesses, casual visitors, and business travelers.”
The back-office and service control functions of Pronto UniFi OSS software handles provisioning, configuration, authentication, access control, security, pre-paid and post-paid billing, and roaming settlement for large public WLAN networks. The software platform offers service providers a cost-effective, end-to-end solution that will enable them to enter the market quickly, expand their footprint, and achieve a rapid ROI. The Pronto UniFi OSS provides users with several choices for access, i.e., a 1-hr plan, 2-hr plan and day pass. The UniFi OSS also provides an integrated customer registration portal, credit card processing, and clearing, settlement and reconciliation with the aggregators such as Boingo.
"We're pleased that Cellnet has selected us as a partner and we look forward to rolling out citywide Wi-Fi deployments like Madison,” said Jasbir Singh, President and CEO of Pronto Networks. “The ability to support multiple VLANs and sublet excess capacity in a carrier-neutral, wholesale model helps cities earn a faster return on investment,” Singh added. “An Access-agnostic UniFi OSS platform allows for future proof migration to emerging technologies beyond Wi-Fi, such as WiMAX and fixed mobile convergence.”
Pronto’s solution has been chosen by dozens of cities deploying metro-scale, broadband wireless networks, including Chaska, MN; Cerritos, CA; Corpus Christi, TX; Daytona Beach, FL, and Fire Island, NY, among others. Pronto’s UniFi OSS supports mixed-use public and private applications on one network.