WiFi mesh networking helps secure border

Illegal immigration into the United States is a contentious political issue with important business-related aspects. The administration has allocated billions of dollars to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico and the U.S.-Canada borders, and, as is often the case with large government contracts, there is already criticism of how some technologies — part of the rich SBInet project awarded to Boeing — were rushed to deployment without sufficient testing.

Some border-security technologies appear to be working well, though, as we note the WiFi mesh networking system from Santa Clara, California-based MeshDynamics. Border patrol field personnel are using the company’s MeshDynamics MD4000 Wireless Mesh Nodes to access to different applications, in a pilot testing of the system. A series of fixed-location MD4000 mesh nodes provides connectivity to additional MD4000 mobile mesh nodes mounted in security vehicles.

The network comprises both fixed and mobile nodes operating at both 5.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz and using both 802.11a and 802.11b. The fixed nodes are placed on towers along the border and some are deployed with sectored antennas for long-distance connections. Backhaul node-to-node distances range up to fourteen miles, although most are in the three- to four mile range. The areas where the network has been deployed is rugged, and some of it so remote that some of the wireless mesh sites have no connection to AC power supply, so solar arrays, wind power, and batteries are used to power the equipment. The links operate at speeds of up to 54 Mbps. Especially important is the fact that the company’s make-before-break connectivity allow agents in moving vehicles to travel through the network at high speeds without losing connectivity. Future phases of the pilot will include wireless connectivity to agents’ PCs and PDAs.