BIG WIRELESS AWARDED "2009 BEST FIT INTEGRATOR" FOR TROPOS NETWORK DEPLOYMENT IN THE VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON

Wellington Already Deriving Significant Benefits from Broadband Network and Automated Water Meter Reading

SUNNYVALE, CA – August 5, 2009 – At the annual “Best Fit Integrator” award ceremony this past weekend, the Center for Digital Government, and the Village of Wellington presented an award to John Dolmetsch, president of BIG Wireless.  The annual Best Fit Integrator award recognizes outstanding private sector companies that work closely with government entities to tailor solutions to suit their unique requirements.  BIG Wireless was selected for their system integration efforts in the Village of Wellington, Florida where they provided system integration services and launched a Tropos wireless IP broadband network covering approximately 40 square miles.

 “BIG Wireless provided outstanding service and were involved throughout the project,” said Tom Amburgey, CIO for the Village of Wellington.  “They are a preferred integrator for future IT projects.  In addition, the Tropos network has provided reliable performance and it is already being used for other applications including building inspectors, code enforcement officers live webcams in parks; and SCADA applications The availability of a city owned wireless broadband network has allowed the Government to reduce their dependency on commercial carriers for their wireless services. More applications will be added to the Tropos network in the future.”

“Our strategy is to partner with experienced system integration partners such as BIG Wireless.  Their performance in Wellington is a great example of the customer value derived from a system integration partner with strong technical expertise, business values and customer service,” said Mike Bailey, vice president of engineering and operations for Tropos Networks.  “We congratulate BIG Wireless in having been selected to receive this well-deserved honor.”

Last year, the Village of Wellington kicked off a project to evaluate alternatives for updating their dated water meter reading system.  The utility selected to deploy automated meter reading (AMR) to improve water meter reading accuracy and efficiency as well as to reduce water loss.  The utility department worked closely with the Village’s IT department to assess and select their solutions.  A wireless broadband network from Tropos was selected as an IP foundation which could be used not only for AMR but for other municipal application where outdoor wireless connectivity access was required.

Within 3 months of completing the project, the Village had experienced a wide range of benefits for the water department alone.  For example, a savings of $2,000 per month by reducing its dependency on cellular data modems; fast identification of leaks as meters are polled more frequently -- every 4 hours; and reassignment of 3 meter readers to other customer service functions which further improve the quality of service provided to the community.

About the Center for Digital Government
The Center for Digital Government (www.centerdigitalgov.com ) is a division of e.Republic Inc., a national publishing, event and research company focused on information technology in the public sector.

About Tropos Networks.
Tropos® Networks is the worldwide market leader in wireless IP broadband mesh networks that enable customers to own and control a smart, affordable, IP foundation for deploying applications and services that build greener, safer, smarter communities.  Tropos has more than 750 customers in over 30 countries around the world using the patented Tropos System Architecture to build Smart Cities and Smart Grids that are reliable, scalable and secure.  Founded in 2000, Tropos is headquartered in the United States in Sunnyvale, California.  For more information, please visit www.tropos.com, or email to info@tropos.com.   Tropos is a registered trademark and Greener, Safer, Smarter is a trademark of Tropos Networks, Inc. 

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