City of Chaska Improves Wireless Network Performance and Customer Support with Siemens HiPath Managed Services.BOCA RATON Boca Raton (bō`kə rətōn`), city (1990 pop. 61,492), Palm Beach co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic; inc. 1925. Boca Raton is a popular resort and retirement community that experienced significant industrial development in the 1970s and 80s. , Fla. -- Siemens Communications Inc. today announced that the City of Chaska, Minn., has selected Siemens(R) HiPath(R) Managed Services An umbrella term for third-party monitoring and maintaining of computers, networks and software. The actual equipment may be inhouse or at the third-party's facilities, but the "managed" implies an ongoing effort; for example, making sure the equipment is running at a certain quality to provide support and continuous monitoring of the city's wireless network. Chaska, located just outside the Twin Cities area, is one of the first communities in the country to deploy a citywide Wi-Fi network and the first to operate a municipally hosted ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. over a mesh Wi-Fi system. Siemens is now providing its HiPath Managed Services Service Desk and Network Operations Center See NOC. Network Operations Center - (NOC) A location from which the operation of a network or internet is monitored. Additionally, this center usually serves as a clearinghouse for connectivity problems and efforts to resolve those problems. (NOC (Network Operations Center) A central or regional location for monitoring a large network. Also called a "network management center" (NMC), "service management center" (SMC) or "network control center" (NCC), a NOC may be used to manage a large enterprise network, ) support of the chaska.net network, a wireless Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. owned and operated by the city. The NOC also took over the management and support of a separate wireless, point-to-multipoint network service - not based on Wi-Fi - which the city offers its business customers. Additionally, Siemens now monitors performance of the mesh wireless system and back-end network infrastructure, which includes the supervisory control and data acquisition (application) Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition - (SCADA) Systems are used in industry to monitor and control plant status and provide logging facilities. SCADA systems are highly configurable, and usually interface to the plant via PLCs. (SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) A process control application that collects data from sensors and machines on the shop floor or in remote locations and sends them to a central computer for management and control. ) components that continuously manage the city's water supply from the NOC. By monitoring and managing the SCADA components, city officials say they have improved performance, have better control of the delivery of water throughout the municipality and minimized the risks of system failures. "We needed a partner to manage contact center calls and responses, as well as network performance," said Dave Pokorney, city administrator for the City of Chaska. "Siemens demonstrated that it could provide the level of experience and skill needed to deliver end-user and technical assistance services as well as isolate and eliminate network problems through proactive remote monitoring." By outsourcing the support and management of its network to Siemens, the City of Chaska has been able to provide a level of network reliability and customer service to help increase customer satisfaction and expand chaska.net's subscriber base. "With Siemens HiPath Managed Services, we know that any problems related to the network itself are being resolved," Pokorney said. "The overriding reason we created the partnership with Siemens was to take our Internet service to the next level. We were providing good service before, but to provide great service we needed to improve our overall network support and management." As one of the wireless industry's most experienced solutions providers, Siemens also offers its end-to-end mesh Wi-Fi solutions for fixed network operators (FNOs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Siemens' wireless network portfolio includes base stations as well as self-installing residential customer premises equipment See CPE. (CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Communications equipment that resides on the customer's premises. CPE - Customer Premises Equipment ) and outdoor mounted business CPE. Mesh Wi-Fi can be used for a number of applications such as last-mile broadband connections, wireless digital subscriber line See DSL. (communications, protocol) Digital Subscriber Line - (DSL, or Digital Subscriber Loop, xDSL - see below) A family of digital telecommunications protocols designed to allow high speed data communication over the existing copper telephone lines between end-users and (DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary ) services, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), hotspot backhaul and high-speed enterprise connectivity for small, midsized and home-based business. About Siemens Siemens AG (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :SI) is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $96 billion in fiscal 2005. Founded nearly 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , Siemens in the USA has sales of $18.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 460,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: www.usa.siemens.com About Siemens Communications Inc. Siemens Communications Inc. offers its customers a broad portfolio of communication products and services and is a leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. The company's portfolio ranges from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures and complementary services for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens Communications Inc. is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/communications Note: Siemens and HiPath are registered trademarks of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. |
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