CUSTOMER PROFILE

Customer• CatawbaCounty,NC• RegionalEcoComplexand

ResourceRecoveryFacility Product• MotorolaMeshWideArea

NetworkAP7181

Benefits• Wirelessaccessfor researchersacrossthe800-acrecomplex

• ImprovedmonitoringofCatawbaCounty’slandfillgreenhousegasemissions

• Deliveryofreal-timedatato researchpartners

• Increasededucational opportunitiesforschoolsand

CaTawBa COUnTy ECOCOMPLEx COnnECTS RESEaRChERS and BUSInESSES wITh REaL-TIME daTa

SITUaTIOn The EcoComplex needed facility-wide wireless Internet access to fully realize the benefits of its ecological research and waste recovery efforts. The800-acreCatawbaCountyRegionalEcoComplexisavitalecologicalresearchfacilitywherepublicandprivatepartnersconductresearchandrecoveruseableby-productsfromwastematerials.BroadbandservicetothesitewaslimitedandthecostofrunningDSLorcablelineswasprohibitive.Thelackofwirelessconnectivitybetweenfacilitieslimitedthedatacollectedfrommonitoringdevices,sensorsandprocessors,whichinturnhamperedthefacility’sresearchopportunitiesandoverallecologicalbenefits.

SOLUTIOnThe EcoComplex deployed Motorola Solutions’ Mesh wide area network aP 7181 to provide up to 180 Mbps of wi-Fi connectivity for data, voice, video and control applications. Working

withpartnerDoubleRadius,aMotorolaSolutionsMeshWideAreaNetworkAP7181wasinstalledtoprovidethewirelessbroadbandinfrastructureneededforfacility-widemonitoringsystemsandwirelessdeviceaccess.

RESULTSThe Mesh wide area network provides wireless access across the facility, giving researchers the real-time data they need to help reduce landfill waste and develop green energy solutions for Catawba County, north Carolina. AccordingtoJ.ThomasLundy,CatawbaCountyManager,“BroadbandconnectivityattheCatawbaCountyEcoComplexenhancesoureffortsbyreducingcostsandenablingreal-timemonitoringbetweentheEcoComplexlaboratories,partneringuniversitiesandbusinesseswhichgreatlyfacilitatesresearchandsustainablebusinessdevelopment.”Inadditiontotheecologicalandcost-savingbenefits,Internetaccessincreasestheeducationalopportunitiesforschoolsandotherorganizationsatthefacility.

The Catawba County Regional EcoComplex and Resource Recovery Facility relies on full Wi-Fi access throughout its 800-acre complex to connect researchers and local businesses with real-time data collected from monitoring devices, sensors and processors.

CaTawBa COUnTy REgIOnaL ECOCOMPLEx and RESOURCE RECOvERy FaCILITy CASESTuDy

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Catawba County Regional eCoComplex and ResouRCe ReCoveRy FaCility case study

KEEPIng IT gREEn ”CatawbaCountyEcoComplexneededbroadbandconnectivitytofullyrealizeitsgoals,”saysChrisShupe,EngineeringDirectoratDoubleRadius,theMotorolaSolutionspartnerthatworkedwiththeEcoComplex.

“Becausetheyarecountyworkers,andnotacommunicationscompany,theypartneredwithustodesignandbuildawirelessnetworkthatwouldcontinuetoworkwithoutrequiringmaintenanceregardlessoftheweather.Basedonourexperience,wechosetheMotorolaMesh7181solutionbecauseitprovidesconnectivitythatworksthefirsttimeandcontinuesrunningtroublefreeforyears.”

DuetotheremotenessofsomeoftheAPs,andinkeepingwiththefacility’sgreen-energyfocus,EcoComplexstaffworkedwithDoubleRadiusengineerstodesignasolarsolutiontopowertwoofthem.

COnSISTEnT and STROng COvERagE“Coveringalargecomplexlikethisisachallengeduetoitsconstantlychangingenvironmentandlackofpoweracrossthefacility,”saysTerryBledsoe,ChiefInformationOfficerofCatawbaCounty.“AllofthesechallengeswereaddressedbyMotorolaandDoubleRadius.”

Coveragethroughoutthefacilityisconsistentandstrong.Evenstandinghalfamileawayfromthegatewaynode,aresearcher’slaptopcanpullfullbandwidthandconnectseamlesslybetweenAPsthroughouttheEcoComplex.

“DuetotheversatilityoftheMesh7181product,”saysShupe,“evenwithpower-hungryradios,theAPsdeliveredthesignalstrengthneededwithuptoaweek’sworthofnosunorenergydraw.Thedrawonradioscameinunderwhatweanticipated.”

FaST dEPLOyMEnT and EvEn FaSTER daTa COLLECTIOnTypically,adeploymentlikethiscouldtakeuptotwoweeks,butwiththehelpofDoubleRadius,thenetworkwaspre-configuredinlessthanadayandtheentiresystemwasupandrunninginthreedays.

WiththeMeshWideAreaNetworkinplace,ithasneverbeeneasiertomonitorsensorsinrealtimeandshareinformationbetweentheEcoComplexlaboratoriesandpartneringuniversitiesandbusinesses.Theapplicationsthatthefacilityusesareweb-based,sotheyrespondwelltomeshnodes,sincethecoverageisconsistentthroughoutthefacility.

“MotorolaandDoubleRadiusworkedwithustoprovideasolutionthatallowsourpersonnelandresearchersfrompartnerorganizationstoeasilyconnecttodatabases,monitorsandotherresourcesfromanywhereintheEcoComplex,”addsBledsoe.

“Based on our experience, we chose the Motorola Mesh 7181 solution because it provides connectivity that works the first time and continues running trouble free for years.”

—ChrisShupe,EngineeringDirectoratDoubleRadius

“Motorola and doubleRadius worked with us to provide a solution that allows our personnel and researchers from partner organizations to easily connect to databases, monitors and other resources from anywhere in the EcoComplex.”

—TerryBledsoe, ChiefInformationOfficerof CatawbaCounty,NC

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Catawba County Regional eCoComplex and ResouRCe ReCoveRy FaCility case study

whaT’S UP and RUnnIng and whaT’S nExTInadditiontoInternetaccessthroughoutitsfacilities,theEcoComplexnowhastheabilityto:

• MonitorthedatatransferforEcoComplexday-to-dayoperations

• Shareresearchinformationamongconstituentuniversitiesviadatatransfer

• Conductvirtualfieldtripsforawarenessandoutreachprograms

• ReadSupervisoryControlandDataAcquisition(SCADA)metersforlandfillgasmonitoringandreporting

Italsonowhasthepotentialtoimprovesecuritythroughfacility-widevideosurveillance.

FormoreinformationabouttheCatawbaCountyRegionalEcoComplexandResourceRocoveryFacilityandtheproductsfeaturedinthiscasestudyvisitwww.motorolasolutions.com/mesh

MOTOROLA,MOTO,MOTOROLASOLuTIONSandtheStylizedMLogoaretrademarksorregisteredtrademarksofMotorolaTrademarkHoldings,LLCandareusedunderlicense.Allothertrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.©2012Motorola,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

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