The City of Lincoln Council in the UK has upgraded 300 CCTV cameras to a new wireless high-definition 4K HD system after a £400,000 (US$567,500) investment as part of its three-year Vision 2020 plan to improve the city’s infrastructure, roadways and public spaces.
The new wireless network is a key part of Lincoln’s Vision 2020 project that was announced last year and aims to create a smart city, improving infrastructure and public services, including investment in a new transportation hub. Previously the city’s CCTV system was transmitted back on traditional analog fiber circuits, which were both costly and bandwidth limiting. The new network includes wireless radios from USA-based Siklu Inc, one of the market leaders in mmWave solutions, with the company’s equipment providing 14 high-capacity wireless data links in support of a modern IP networked CCTV system, primarily to provide surveillance for the city infrastructure and public spaces.
To install the wireless network, Lincoln Council worked closely with systems integrator Videcom Security, a company specializing in large multi-site town and city center public safety CCTV systems. Videcom chose Siklu as its wireless partner following previous successes in Watford, Ipswich, Cambridge, and the London Borough of Richmond, where Siklu hardware had already been successfully deployed, demonstrating the best cost and performance solution.
The project involved installing Siklu’s mmWave EtherHaul E-band radios to deliver 1Gbps full duplex capacity for the main backhaul resilient ring over the 80GHz frequency. Using Siklu’s Layer 2 switch functionality to deliver resiliency and diversity routing, the network provides ‘mission critical’ up-time with automatic fail-over. In addition, Videcom installed Siklu’s 60GHz V-band frequency radios to connect 300 cameras at the street level, including city wide Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) cameras.
Ultra-low latency, combined with high reliability and accurate forecasted uptime and resilience, added weight to the tendered design and installation. Significant cost savings on transmission and reduction in maintenance have also helped to reduce the total lifetime cost of the CCTV system. The extended CCTV camera coverage, including the creation of a Safe Zone, using Siklu radios connecting high-specification Dahua cameras, is already providing significant results, both proactively and reactively. Spare transmission bandwidth is allowing the planning of smart services to the city, as well as wi-fi connectivity and car lot data sharing.
“We’re pleased to have had such a successful working relationship with Videcom Security on numerous projects throughout the UK,” said Eyal Assa, Siklu’s CEO. “The recent project with the City of Lincoln Council is part of our commitment to providing the most reliable, interference-free mmWave technology available to the market for Smart City and surveillance system networks.”
Steve Bird, assistant director for communities and street scene at Lincoln Council, stated, “The new system will have extended capabilities and coverage, and therefore be better able to support the police and other agencies in keeping people safe in the city center.”
