Siklu, the global leader in millimetre-wave solutions, was selected by the city of Houston to provide wireless connectivity for the video surveillance system used for Super Bowl Live; a 10-day outdoor event that draws more than one million visitors as part of pre-game festivities leading up to Super Bowl LI.

Siklu’s EH-600TX radios were used to transmit video surveillance from the east side of downtown Houston, which hosted the Super Bowl Live festivities from January 28 to February 5. The high level of wireless activity that was expected to take place was expected to create network congestion that only Siklu’s radios would be able to bypass by operating on the unoccupied, wide 60GHz spectrum, which is separate from traditional wireless consumer networks.

Siklu’s millimetre wave radios use narrow beam technology, eliminating interference from outside networks. They were part of a 36-megapixel camera deployment that was deployed by the Houston Police Department to monitor Super Bowl Live. Using a mix of fibre and millimetre wave wireless from Siklu, the city took a hybrid approach to its network infrastructure for the event to ensure continuous interference-free video surveillance to enable the police department to monitor the area for issues.

The system offered fibre-like quality with the flexibility, speed of deployment and affordable cost associated with a wireless network.

“Given the size of this event, it was extremely important that we deployed a reliable security network that could provide continuous coverage over a large outdoor area,” said Jack Hanagriff, from the City of Houston’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

”We expected the Siklu radios to bulldoze through any wireless interference in the area caused by thousands of members of the public using their phones to stream video and photos.”

Siklu radios provided a high-level network access security by operating over millimetre wave. The narrow beams made it practically impossible to intercept or jam, making the network secured from hackers and fully survivable. “The City of Houston and Police Department were concerned about camera coverage and congestion from numerous wireless networks and mobile devices,” said Shaun Castillo, President of Preferred Technologies, LLC, the lead integrator on this project.

“Siklu radios provided the city with an extension of its fibre network by leveraging the interference-free capabilities of millimetre wave technology.”

“We’re pleased that Siklu’s mmWave radios were an integral part of the Super Bowl Live security measures,” said Zeev Farkash, VP Global Sales at Siklu.

“As security needs continue to grow with large-scale events like these, it’s important to implement a reliable surveillance solution to ensure the safety of visitors. Siklu has exactly this experience and has provided wireless connectivity at many high profile events, including the New York City Marathon and the Tour de France.”