Dad Vail Regatta, Stotesbury Cup Offer Wi-Fi Wireless Access to Race Results
Largest U.S. College and High School Regattas Enhance Race Experience with BelAir Networks Wireless Hot Zone
Philadelphia, PA -/11 May, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology Forum/- Spectators and participants at the country’s largest college and high school regattas will have instant access to data and video race results this year, over a wireless hot zone provided by BelAir Networks.
BelAir Networks, the first company to offer scalable wide-area wireless broadband solutions for metro-scale deployments, is providing the wireless network for The Dad Vail Regatta on May 13 - 14 and the Stotesbury Cup Regatta on May 20 - 21 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
BelAir will turn the entire course for both regattas into a Wi-Fi hot zone for fans and crews. For the first time in the history of the regattas, attendees will be able to download race results in real-time, follow races over Internet video, or even send e-mail updates to friends and family around the world with their Wi-Fi enabled laptops or PDAs. Attendees will also be able to watch the races live on a big screen monitor in the BelAir tent, or access the wireless network for free on one of many complimentary workstations set up by BelAir for the events.
“We are proud to be working with BelAir to offer wireless internet access to the races this year,” said Jim Hanna, Dad Vail CEO. “It’s a great case study for Mayor Street’s vision of a ‘Wireless Philadelphia’ where the community will benefit from the use of this important technology to create business opportunities, support city services and ensure our children are on the right side of the digital divide.”
“With more than 4,500 racers converging on Philadelphia from 180 high schools from around the U.S. and Canada, we think the BelAir hot zone will be a big hit,” stated Clete Graham, regatta director, 2005 Stotesbury Cup Regatta. “Racers and fans can take advantage of the workstations around the race course to keep friends and family up-to-date on the races with real-time results and race video. I think it’s a great statement for Philadelphia as the city looks to deliver the benefits of high-speed wireless access across the entire community.”
Both races follow a 2,000 meter course along the Schuykill River in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA. BelAir will deploy five of its industry-leading BelAir200 Wireless Multi-service Switch-Routers along the race route. The hot zone coverage area includes the start and finish lines, the entire length of the course, as well as the official’s command tent, race results command tent, the Athlete’s Village, the food and vendor area and the grandstand.
In addition to the video and data network, BelAir will also be providing race organizers and officials with a voice over Wi-Fi network and handsets they can use to monitor starts and finishes and keep in contact during races.
“BelAir Networks is proud to support the historic Dad Vail and Stotesbury Cup Regattas with our award-winning wide-area broadband network,” stated Phil Belanger, Vice-President of Marketing, BelAir Networks. “The city of Philadelphia is making huge strides to bring the benefits of wireless technology to its citizens and business community. The wireless hot zone we are providing for the regattas will serve as an example of how quickly and easily this technology can be put to work for the community.”
The BelAir Network at the Regattas
The BelAir200s that make up the network for both regattas are four-radio, Wireless Multi-service Switch Routers that are built specifically for outdoor deployments. Each BelAir200 includes an access radio module that uses the 2.4 GHz band to support Wi-Fi client access. The access radio is connected to integrated antennas that project Wi-Fi signals over wide open areas and directly into multi-story buildings from the outside.
Every BelAir200 can also be configured with up to three separate 5 GHz backhaul radio modules. These radios and their associated antennas are used to connect multiple BelAir200 systems in a wireless backhaul mesh that takes client traffic to and from the Internet. The resulting system delivers unmatched capacity, security and scalability for large-scale wireless applications.
The complete system is packaged in a small, environmentally-hardened enclosure designed to be mounted directly on light poles in parking lots or on city streets.
BelAir’s products are focused on wide-area Wi-Fi today, but the company’s unique multi-radio wireless backhaul mesh architecture can also be applied to other wireless technologies such as WiMAX and cellular.
About the Regattas
The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, drawing 4,000 rowers from more than 100 different colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada along with more than 30,000 cheering fans.
The 79th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta is the oldest and largest high school regatta in the US, and draws more than 4,500 rowers from across the country.
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