Meraki Introduces “Main Street WiFi” for Cities and Towns
State-of-the-Art, Plug-and-Play WiFi Offer Can Provide Broadband Connectivity Across One Square Mile, Giving Any Neighborhood or Business District Immediate Wireless Access
SAN FRANCISCO — November 5, 2008 – Meraki, an award-winning provider of wireless mesh networking solutions, today announced the first-ever Main Street WiFi Starter Pack to assist any town or business district deploy broadband wireless access across a full square mile.
“We are seeing Main Streets and business districts around the globe adopt Meraki’s WiFi solution as an amenity for businesses, consumers and tourists, and as a means to drive local economic growth” said Sanjit Biswas, CEO and founder, Meraki. “This Main Street WiFi Starter Pack is the kit a neighborhood or business district needs to bring full broadband wireless access to approximately one square mile, and it’s easier and faster to deploy, at a fraction of the cost of other solutions.”
The new Main Street WiFi kit includes the technology and support to make it easy for cities and towns to deploy WiFi across approximately 1 square mile for less than $10,000. That’s a fraction of the cost of other solutions in the market. Said municipal WiFi guru Steve Pierce in his Concentrate Media blog: “Typically a wireless system from one of the big companies like Motorola or Tranzeo might cost between $25,000 and $100,000 per square mile.”
The Main Street WiFi Starter Pack, available until December 1, 2008, also includes a special 60 day money-back guarantee. For cities looking for someone to deploy or manage the solution on their behalf, Meraki will introduce them to a certified partner to handle the roll out.
Prestonsburg, KY deployed a Meraki network to supply WiFi to the city and outlying valleys. Deployed by a non technical city executive, the network was easy to set up and has netted great results – restaurants, national retailers and other businesses have moved into the city’s core since deployment.
“WiFi has changed the perception of our town and has brought more people into the downtown area. Finding Meraki was like a breath of fresh air – their solution let us deploy and enjoy the results and not get bogged down in configuration and support,” said Brent Graden, Economic Director, City of Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
Cities and towns around the globe are deploying Meraki networks in neighborhoods, business districts, and along Main Street where free, high-speed wireless access is attracting visitors and driving commerce. The Harvard Square Business Association in Boston launched a free WiFi network in Harvard Square in June 2008, and in just four months the network has provided reliable WiFi access to more than 25,000 users. Vista, CA; Nashua, NH, Ypsilanti, MI, and Coelemu, Chile are just a handful of the other cities and towns who have deployed Meraki wireless solutions. To learn more about their networks and the Meraki Main Street WiFi offer, visit http://meraki.com/solutions/business/municipal/
Meraki devices are powerful plug-and-play wireless devices that serve as a gateway, repeater, and access point all in one. After they are plugged into a power source, Meraki devices immediately talk to each other over the Internet to form a network. Meraki’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) enabled management Dashboard ensures that connectivity across the entire network is optimized and reliable. Together, Meraki’s hardware and software deliver WiFi in a fraction of the deployment time, a fraction of the management time, and a fraction of the cost versus other solutions.
About Meraki
Meraki began in 2006, from a Ph.D. research project at MIT, with the intent of helping bring affordable Internet access to people around the world. Starting with a single network which covered Cambridge, Massachusetts, the technology quickly spread into over 120 countries around the world in less than a year. Today, Meraki networks are being built in thousands of locations around the world, connecting people everywhere from San Francisco to villages in India. Meraki is based in San Francisco, California, and is funded in part by Sequoia Capital and Google. For more information, go to www.meraki.com. For information on becoming a Meraki certified reseller, go to www.meraki.com/partners.
Paul Loeffler
SutherlandGold Group for Meraki
415-848-7176
meraki@sutherlandgold.com
