Oops Bellair equipment

Well I was wrong yet again. It looks like Siemens is using Bellair equipment which is rebranded under their own name. Again does Siemens have any expertise in deploying wireless mesh? I guess the story will unfold in the days to come.

Toronto Hydro name Siemens as the vendor for Toronto' Wireless Mesh

Well here goes... Toronto Hydro has name Siemens Communications Group, a division of Siemens Canada Ltd., as the vendor of record for equipment supply, implementation and services in support of its plan to make Toronto the largest ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone in Canada.

Oh Boy. There are at least 3 commercial mesh vendor's in Canada and the city of Toronto choose Siemens. I have been following wireless mesh for a number of years now and I can tell you that I have not heard of Siemens deploying wireless mesh anywhere. They aren't a player in the Mesh market place! The only thing I can remember them doing is investing about 10 million into obscure wireless mesh company in California.

Now if Nortel/Bell won the contract then you would know it was a political decision. Nortel, Bellair, Firetide, Wi-Lan etc. are all good Canadian Companies. But Siemens? Who are they kidding. Siemens is a large company but they don't have a track record of deploying Wireless Mesh. If they did everyone one would be talking about them.

Now it comes to Best Practices. What Best Practices? What model are Siemens going to use to deploy this network? I can tell you that the for mentioned Canadian companies all have the necessary experience to deploy a successful wireless mesh.

But Siemens, they must have written a great RFP response. You know when people start to fluff things ups with bandwidth and monitoring and excellence it all becomes good reading.

Now that Siemens is going to deploy Wireless Mesh I have a challenge for some rich guy or girl out their to invest in my company and we will beat Toronto Hydro or the City of Toronto and deploy the entire city in less than a year at one quarter the cost of the RFP. You know I was the first to have Wireless Mesh in Toronto. I believe Toronto Hydro is Johnny coming lately.

But even though this blog sounds negative and tries to avoid the smell of another MFP scandal I'm glad that things are moving along. Too bad Siemens will be using the Toronto Taxpayers Money to experiment with deploying wireless mesh. Sorry I had to get that in. All I can wish is for a successful deployment and I hope that the equipment that they choose has been tested. No name vendor equipment, gosh darn they could have ask me to build an open source version. Probably would have been better.

Certified Training with Defacto Wireless

In response to the markets demand for wireless expertise, Defacto Wireless a developer of wireless mesh networks, launched a new program to educate and certify its operators on the latest advancements in mesh networking.

The number of wireless mesh network installations has increased dramatically in the last few years creating a growing need for system integrations who understand and can fully support new applications for mesh technology. We must raise the bar to ensure open source achieve quantifiable expertise in wireless mesh network design and deployment. Wireless operators should get the knowledge they need to ensure fast and successful installations that meet their requirements for data throughput, reliability, and security.

How can bring up the standard of open source wireless mesh? By educating and certifying the wireless Mesh Operators.

Funny URl

I'm trying to get the scoop on this new Mesh Certification Program and I came across a funny URL. I contact David Peterson and he indicated that a new website was being developed and that I came across a development website. The new website will have the following URL http://www.airmatrix.net/

Once I get more information on the Mesh Certification Program I let you know. Finally some one is doing something.

Get Certified Today - Knowledge is Power

How many times have I received a panic telephone caller indicating that he or she has built a network and is having major problems. Do it yourself (DIY) project like Locustword are very powerful. But at the same time having a guide to go by is why I have written so many articles on Wireless Mesh. Now I see many people are providing certification courses. I would encourage as many of you to attend these courses, why?

You wouldn't allow an unregistered builder to build your home, or employ an uncertified mechanic to fix your car. You wouldn't want an unqualified dentist to work on your teeth. But would you allow an uncertified person to work on your wireless Mesh network?

Certification provides an industry standard, a commitment to a level of knowledge and learning that can be relied upon. Like a professional license, certification offers structured, reliable evidence of skills. Certification exams are built on rigorous and standardized criteria, and are often recognized internationally.

Why Does Open Source Wireless Mesh Need Certification
* Create industry recognition
* Provide an organizational path for students
* Provide an organizational mechanism for training centers
* Enhance marketing
* Counter the "no-support" argument
* Turn students into advocates
* Provide other means of employment for Network skilled individuals
* Recruit new Mesh users
* Assist in the hiring process

The easiest way to gain corporate, governmental, and institutional support and usage of wireless mesh is to ensure that there is a bona fide support mechanism in place... Most of the major stakeholder companies within the wireless mesh community have either put one in place or are in the process of doing so. The next step is to provide a path for wireless mesh professionals to follow so that they will be employable within this framework. In short... It's all about support!

Why Should You Get Certified??
* Establish your competence for well-defined wireless mesh and Linux-related functions.
* Easily demonstrate your competence to a potential contractor.
* Certification helps you set out and follow a career path.
* MSE certification is developed from within the wireless mesh community, by your peers, and gives you the opportunity to help develop the certification standards and exams.

Certified Training on Locustworld

After many years of working on Locustworld Open Source I see that Defacto has come up with a Mesh Certified Engineer Program. I know in the past that these types of coarse bring validity to the open source projects plus gives the individuals the insight to learn about wireless open mesh. With Defacto or as I remember it Ultramesh was one of the pioneers of providing hardware service to North American. Specific David Peterson always took time to answer questions. I believe the coarse starts on May 22 if you are interested.

If you are just starting out with Open Source Wireless Mesh this would be a good place to start. I noticed that an old guy like myself could use a refresher coarse from time to time.

Getting a MCE Mesh Certified Engineer designation brings that creditable to any of the projects that you are planning to do.