Episode 53: WI-Fiber a Paradigm Shift with Networks

Smart Firefighting

Wi-fiber is a company that creates network solutions for municipalities. Their organization focuses on finding innovative solutions to create private networks. They excel at creating plug and play networks that can be connected with additional nodes. One impressive advantage is that the system doesn’t require additional fiber past the first node.

At CES 2018 in Las Vegas Wi-Fiber transformed the city’s lampposts into smart hubs. The hubs created a web giving wireless access to the city’s fiber net. The nodes integrated into the lamp post were autonomous. This autonomy makes the network decentralized. A benefit of a decentralized network is that it can continue to operate when one or more of the nodes lose power. Wi-Fiber’s technology is a platform, that can be used by cities to create and manage their own software.

One benefit that cities can get behind is the cost savings. Laying fiber is an expensive task. Wi-Fiber’s hubs costs, on the other hand, is far easier to manage. The hubs don’t require additional fiber to be laid. They can expand the network with each node and if any of them break they can be replaced without affecting the grid’s ability to work.