Adelaide has become the first city in the world to establish a wireless Internet network that will cover whole City streets. The Lord Mayor, Michael Harbison, launched the new network, known as citilan, which uses high-speed Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) on 17 September 2003.
citilan was developed by AAA Telecommunications, a partnership between Agile Communications, AirNet, along with m.Net Corporation, the Department of Business, Manufacturing and Trade and Adelaide City Council. The network enables people using a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) enabled computer or hand held PDA to collect their email or browse the internet from their laptop computer or personal organisers at a City coffee shop, café table or even the banks of the River Torrens which flows though the heart of the City, without having to plug into a telephone line.
They will also be able to seek a range of information about places and organisations in the area while strolling along North Terrace, Rundle Mall, Hutt Street, Melbourne Street, O’Connell Street, or at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre. Business people will be able to monitor their email anywhere in the City , and students will be able to access resources on their University’s network using the citilan infrastructure This will allow for improved productivity and mobility in a secure online environment.
At the launch the Lord Mayor said “citilan shows yet again that Adelaide is a world leader in applying technology.” He said it also showed the benefits of the Council’s foresight over the past decade of replacing copper wire cabling with fibre-optic cabling every time a major City street was dug up for repairs.
The wireless LAN solution doesn’t require user cabling and instead uses existing infrastructure – such as traffic lights linked through the fibre-optic cabling – to act as wireless hotspots at 50 locations across the City. These overlap to build up a contiguous network, enabling the user to roam over five square kilometres without dropping out of the network.
“Our City is large enough to create significant breakthroughs, but small enough that we can do it in a collaborative manner,” the Lord Mayor said. “This unique combination creates the perfect climate in which creative thinkers can turn their ideas into reality for the benefit of all Adelaideans.”
For further information on this exciting initiative, can be found at www.citilan.com.au
