Wavelength reseller newsletter

Health care, more than any other environment, depends on reliable communications. If the network goes down, it is not just inconvenient, it could literally be the difference between life and death.

With this in mind, NHS trusts need to be 100% confident that the network they install is dependable whatever the conditions and the demands of the users accessing it. Traditionally, this has tended to mean wired links, but thanks to Wavelength Aries, more and more hospitals are now moving to wireless communications.

When Local Health Partnerships (LHP) NHS Trust needed to upgrade their network, they turned to Switchnet Systems, their chosen Wavelength Solutions reseller. Switchnet had already worked with LHP on many previous networking projects over a period of several years.

To meet LHP's demanding requirements, and to ensure complete reliability and security, Switchnet Systems recommended Wavelength. Andrew Dixon, the Trust's Technical Programme Manager, commented:

"Switchnet was recommended to me by another of our suppliers, in 1999, when we were first investigating the possibility of using wireless WAN technology to link several sites situated fairly close together.

"Switchnet knew what they are talking about and I felt confident with their proposals. We've been working together ever since, so when they recommended a new Wavelength Aries solution to replace a link we had been having problems with, I was sceptical at first. We arranged a trial and the improvement in link quality and throughput was amazing."

The Trust needed to be able to link two star points in their network, two tall buildings with links to both the IT suite and the remainder of the Trust's campus. They also needed to be certain that the wireless system would not interfere with hospital equipment, nor would it suffer from interference from other users on the unlicensed 2.4GHz frequency band.

An on-site demonstration was arranged with the assistance of Switchnet's Channel Account Manager, Keith Newton. After this proved the effectiveness of the technology, the wireless link was immediately incorporated into the live network in October 2002. The system is always working perfectly at optimal performance. Andrew says:

"This is now our preferred product and we are gradually replacing all our other kit with Wavelength Aries. We have seen great improvements in accessing our PAS system over the links and clinicians are making better user of the system."

This autumn, LHP NHS Trust hopes to incorporate the new Wavelength Gemini dual-band wireless bridge into their network, which will increase the bandwidth available to the Trust to up to 50Mbps. It will also enable the Trust to communicate using the new 5GHz bandwidths, soon to be released by the RA for licence-exempt network communications.

Like most NHS Trusts, LHP's bandwidth requirements are constantly increasing as the hospitals become more and more data reliant. Thanks to Wavelength, they are ensured of a future-proof solution.