WESTMINSTER City Council is expanding the wireless IP CCTV network that it introduced to central London in 2004. Geographical coverage will be extended to the Soho area, the technology will be rolled to two further areas of the council and the wireless network is to be upgraded from 802.11b to 802.11g.
At the initial launch, plans for the introduction of WiMax were mentioned as a potential upgrade path for WiFi. Andrew Snellgrove, Westminster's Network Manager said: "Part of the project is to monitor technology and standards development in this area. We are focused on delivering the business benefits. What technology is deployed is secondary. WiMax for backhaul will be possible in 2005, but not at the device level before 2006".
On questions over the system's security, Snellgrove added that it is more than adequate to protect the content that it delivers.
"The network is secure. We use standards-based encryption and 802.11x, combined with firewall and VPN technology. For an enterprise WiFi network, a robust security strategy must be adopted and this will have a multi-tiered approach. But network security has to fit requirement. Un-necessary layers have a detrimental effect on network usability."
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