Council cuts costs of wireless-network testing

Pembrokeshire County Council has reduced the time it takes to test the reliability of its wireless networks by using a network analysis application.

The analyser, provided by AirMagnet, has been used within a project to provide permanent wireless networking, alongside the existing fixed networks, in up to 30 council buildings and schools. Another 10 sites have also been provided with wireless connectivity which can be hooked up on demand.

The networks will be used to provide connectivity in locations where space is at a premium, or to convert and reuse spaces such as canteens as meeting rooms and work areas when they are not being used for their primary purpose.

The council's senior systems analyst, Chris Davies, said: "Total investment in wireless technologies made by the authority is approximately £90,000 spread out over a number of different projects. A lot of this investment has been made in an effort to provide broadband services to areas that are not covered by conventional means, such as the BT infrastructure."

The AirMagnet system was used to make sure that wireless access points are placed at the optimal position to ensure good coverage and to detect wireless channel conflicts, as well as highlight any security breaches.

Davies said that the time it took to survey locations in the planning stage of the implementation was cut by a third as a result of using the analysis tool.

He said: "Before we used the analysis tool, it took two people to do the surveys. We've managed to cut that down to one."
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