GOOGLE WIFI CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WIRELESS BROADBAND NETWORKS IN THE WORLD AS IT CELEBRATES ITS THIRD ANNIV

Tropos-based Network has Adapted to Support Thousands of New iPhone Users and Record-Breaking Traffic

SUNNYVALE, CA - (BUSINESS WIRE [1]) - The Google wireless broadband network built with Tropos routers, in Mountain View, California marks its third anniversary in August of this year and continues to experience unprecedented usage. The steady growth trend was outpaced in a recent 30-day period as the number of users jumped from 16,000 to 19,000, according to Google’s statistics. On a daily basis, the network now transports close to 600 gigabytes of user data -- double the volume from just two years ago. “We continue to experience extremely high demand – both in terms of users and bandwidth,” said Karl Garcia at Google, who leads the Google WiFi project. "We’ve seen the iPhone and other Wi-Fi enabled handheld devices as significant drivers of the high demand we see. Currently nearly a quarter of all devices that connect to our network are handhelds, compared to almost none when we launched the network,” said Garcia. The growing trend for smartphone access of Wi-Fi networks is similarly being experienced by AT&T who recently reported to AppleInsider [2] that 49 percent of users who connect to their Wi-Fi network are using a smartphone.

The coverage area of Google WiFi is approximately 12 square miles and incorporates business and residential areas.  The high performance broadband network is accessible to the community and visitors free of charge; all they need is a Wi-Fi enabled device and a Google account.  “The Google WiFi network is a valuable community resource and helps increase economic development by making it easy for residents and visitors to stay connected anywhere around town,” said Margaret Abe-Koba, mayor of Mountain View.  “We are very pleased that Google continues to support our community with this robust service.”

The Google WiFi network has managed to keep pace with the doubling in bandwidth demand without major hardware upgrades.  Instead, most of the increases in capacity have been due to innovations in the Tropos software and new, patented algorithms to coordinate and manage radio spectrum resources. These include PowerCurve, which adjusts the power and bit rate of each packet; Airtime Congestion Control, which senses congestion and allocates resources fairly; and Smart Channel, which maximizes spectral reuse and avoids interference. These three patent-pending technologies enable far more efficient use of radio resources than before, typically quadrupling the data capacity for the same swath of spectrum.  Tropos continues to be a wireless broadband market leader with its proven technology and ongoing innovations which make customers’ networks faster, smarter, and more reliable.

“The volume of data and number of users on the Google WiFi network in Mountain View is unmatched compared to other similar networks anywhere in the world,” said Tom Ayers, president and CEO of Tropos Networks.  “We continue to work closely with Google to extend Tropos' technology leadership and continue to solve the unique and challenging issues that outdoor wireless broadband presents.”

About Tropos Networks.
Tropos® Networks is the worldwide market leader in wireless IP broadband mesh networks that enable customers to own and control a smart, affordable, IP foundation for deploying applications and services that build greener, safer, smarter communities and utilities.  Tropos has more than 750 customers in over 30 countries around the world using the patented Tropos System Architecture to build Smart Cities and Smart Grids that are reliable, scalable and secure.  Founded in 2000, Tropos is headquartered in the United States in Sunnyvale, California.  For more information, please visit www.tropos.com [3], or email to info@tropos.com [4].   Tropos is a registered trademark; GridCom and Greener, Safer, Smarter are trademarks of Tropos Networks, Inc. 

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