About RedZone Wireless

RedZone was founded in 2005 to provide affordable high-speed Internet service to communities in Maine. As of June 2006, our network extends across 250 square miles in the Midcoast, and services customers in 10 local towns. Our corporate vision is to provide affordable high-speed Internet service in underserved areas of Maine, and New England.

The RedZone network consists of a combination of proprietary wireless mesh, and standards based 802.11 WiFi technology. Mesh networks are the only broadband wireless medium that provide metro-scale and performance. Our mesh radios are used to backhaul customer traffic throughout our midcoast network, and to provide premium service packages to residents and business. WiFi is used as an access method for our Entry Level service package, and for hotspot connectivity for mobile customers, including local police, fire, EMS, business travelers, and tourists.

Background of WiFi Technology

Mesh networks have emerged as the most cost effective means to bridge the digital divide. US cities, towns, and counties will spend over $700 million over the next three years to build municipal-owned wireless broadband networks. Major metro areas such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Portland, OR have already begun the process of building out metro-wide wireless broadband networks, and hundreds of other cities and towns are in various stages of a community-wide network deployment. These broadband wireless networks provide multiple benefits to the local community, including:

• Stimulate the local economy by providing low-cost broadband Internet access to residents and businesses;
• Boost productivity for mobile workers (real estate, sales, field technicians, transportation, etc.);
• Increase security as a mechanism for law enforcement personnel to access critical databases and file police reports from the field.

Unlike DSL and Cable, WiFi is the only broadband option that provides true roaming capability, with over 107,000 public WiFi hotspots around the globe. Our ever-increasing reliance on email, IM, and Internet access for personal, and business communications is driving the demand for "Broadband Everywhere", and WiFi is the only proven technology that meets the need.

Some analysts believe that we will have a national WiFi network within the next decade, with enough capacity to provide cellular voice service, high speed Internet, and streaming video. In fact, the state of Rhode Island has already begun the build-out of a statewide wireless broadband network, and Sandoval county, NM has launched a $9 million, five-year program to deliver up to 1 gigabit per second to every citizen – wirelessly.

A Proven Success

Wireless mesh is a rapidly maturing technology with an increasing number of Mesh networks spannng entire cities. The community of Chaska, MN chaska.net has deployed 350 mesh radios in order to provide contiguous broadband coverage to over 15,000 residents. Metrofi metrofi.com, a private company in California, has deployed a mesh network covering 75% of the city of Cupertino (15,000 residents) and the neighboring communities of Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale. In Taiwan, the capital city of Taipei has installed 4,100 mesh radios to provide contiguous wireless Internet access for the city’s entire population of 2.6 million residents.

How It Works

RedZone is a distributed network of radios that provides community-wide high speed Internet access for area residents and businesses. These radios are placed strategically throughout a community in order to provide maximum coverage and system performance. The radios communicate with one another using Mesh technology, allowing the signal to bounce from one radio to the next as it finds its way from customer to the Internet. Only the first radio deployed in a community needs to be wired to the Internet. Additional radios act as repeaters, and carry the signal from radio to radio as the signal travels to/from the Internet and the end user.

Customer Access

In order to access the RedZone network, one of our network technicians will install a high performance wireless radio at your home or business. This radio acts as a bridge, connecting the data (Ethernet) port on your computer or router, to the RedZone broadband wireless network.

For customers located within ~1/4 mile of one of our network access points, Redzone typically provide a small indoor radio (3"x4"x1") that sits on the customer's desktop. For long-range applications, at distances up to 10 miles from one of our network access points, RedZone installs an outdoor radio with integrated directional antenna unit (6"x12"x1"). Please contact us to determine which configuration is best for your home or business location.

Mesh vs. alternative access methods

For the network operator, wireless mesh networks provide a distinct advantage over traditional wired broadband systems such as DSL and Cable. Whereas DSL and Cable require investments of several hundred dollars per home passed, wireless mesh networks can be deployed in a dense residential area for under $10 per household. This low capital investment allows the operator to pass on considerable monthly savings to the subscriber.

Mesh technology is also self-healing, making it the most resilient of all broadband access methods. If a link fails between two radios, any customer traffic is automatically, and seamlessly rerouted through other radios in the mesh.

The service also provides a distinct advantage over traditional fixed wireless service. Whereas fixed wireless can only service those customers who have clear line of sight to the broadcast tower, mesh networks can be extended through a series of repeater radios to provide access over and around obstacles in order to reach previously underserved areas.

Hotspots / Bring your own device

RedZone provides a professionally installed radio for our monthly residential and business subscribers. However, if you are just passing through the area, or staying for only a few months, you might consider connecting to our network for daily, weekly, or monthly pay-as-you-go Internet service. At these locations, you are free to connect using your built-in wireless capability, and you can roam throughout our entire service area at no additional cost.