Real-Time Traffic Control
- By Ashish Sharma
- Apr 01, 2010
The municipality of Vic, Spain, sought to deploy a traffic surveillance network for the Urban Guard that could seamlessly integrate with the city’s existing analog CCTV system. Since there was no communications infrastructure in place, the municipality required a vendor that could implement the entire network.
Vic is not your ordinary community. It is steeped in tradition and located in the province of Barcelona on the bank of the Meder River, near Sau swamp. The community has only 39,000 residents, but it is a town of universities with an active student life. It is rich in contrasts from tradition to modernity. It bustles with tourists attractions, businesses and workshops, pubs and offices.
The community boasts numerous festivals and markets and hosts both the traditional Mercat del Ram and Mercat de Musica Viva de Vic, a live music market. Vic officials required a highly secure network that could be controlled and managed by the officers of the Urban Guard. After issuing a public tender, Vic officials chose BC Sistemas to implement the solution.
BC Sistemas chose Alvarion’s point-to-point BreezeNET B and point-tomultipoint BreezeACCESS VL product lines to build the network, which has been in full operation since spring 2008.
The project was divided into three phases: network deployment -- both WiMAX and new fiber optic -- implementation of the traffic control system, including control and recording, and integration of the analog components at the disposal of the Urban Guard.
“We selected the solution we considered the best, as we did not want errors or problems,” said Lourdes Rota Benito, inspector of the Vic Urban Guard.
The robust wireless network coexists with a fiber-optic system that allows the interconnection of video surveillance cameras monitoring city traffic. In addition, it features top quality of service and supports connectivity of WiMAX services for real-time IP video streaming throughout the city.
“The equipment has provided us with the security and performance to which we have been accustomed, allowing us to provide the best opportunities for our customers,” said Jose Antonio Illarregui, general manager of BC Sistemas.
Members of the Vic Urban Guard all agree that the solution is robust and reliable and simplifies their work by enabling an accelerated response time.
The network also allows real-time monitoring and control of vehicle traffic, which allows the Urban Guard to allocate suitable resources for every emergency.
Furthermore, all problematic locations in Vic are more carefully monitored and, as a result, the security and safety of the citizens of Vic has improved significantly.
This article originally appeared in the April 2010 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Ashish Sharma is the vice president of corporate marketing at Alvarion Ltd.