BEAVERTON, OR – The City of Beaverton, Ore., has launched a mobile broadband wireless network to support the public safety communications requirements of its police force, according to the Web site www.govtech.net. The city is located seven miles west of Portland and encompasses 18.6 square miles. As Oregon’s fifth-largest city and the largest incorporated city in Washington County, it is home to more than 83,000 residents.

Invictus Networks, a local wireless Integrator, and BelAir Networks, the provider of mobile broadband mesh network solutions, worked closely with the city to design and deploy a next-generation public safety network able to provide high-speed wireless Internet access and mobile services to the Beaverton Police Department. Invictus Networks has worked with the city of Beaverton for over six years on a variety of technology projects ranging from high-speed wireless networks to business continuity and recovery.

High-performance BelAir200 and BelAir100 wireless multi-service nodes have been installed throughout Beaverton to provide wireless coverage to city hall and commercial districts. The Information Systems Department of the City of Beaverton installed, deployed, and ran live tests over the wireless mesh network in police cars in the matter of a few months. The city has fitted its fleet of 40 police cars with wireless-enabled computers enabling real-time access to critical information.

Officers can now access their desktop, the city network, and the Portland Police Data System through a remote application while in their patrol cars. With the network in place, police officers will be able to wirelessly access the Electronic In-Field Reporting System in real time for information including mug shots and digitized fingerprints. Prior to the availability of the network, officers had to call in for histories and written reports, which was a more time-consuming process. With the wireless network, officers will have the ability issue electronic traffic citations on PDAs from the field for greater efficiency, according to the Web site www.govtech.net.