The Slovak municipality of Jablonov nad Turňou has signed up for a European program that allows it to obtain a subsidy of EUR 15,000 for the construction of WiFi coverage. One of the interested parties. VEGAnet s.r.o., which was looking for the right hardware for this project, was also building the network. The requirements were simple - the equipment must meet all the conditions set by the EU and, in addition, the price must not exceed the provided subsidy of EUR 15,000. There were only two manufacturers on the market who offered the corresponding HW according to EU requirements, however, both significantly exceeded the set budget. At that time, the manufacturer EnGenius completed the certification of its selected devices with the Hotspot 2.0 standard, which was until then the only obstacle why this affordable and at the same time professional AP could not be used in the project. Therefore, it became a clear choice.
The Slovak company VEGAnet s.r.o. is a local ISP providing wireless connection, TV and camera systems in eastern Slovakia, especially in the vicinity of Rožnava. It also plays a key role as technical support for UPC Broadband Slovakia s.r.o. for eastern Slovakia.
Equipment meeting the conditions for the grant under the WiFi4EU project to build free Wi-Fi coverage in municipalities, which will fit into the budget and allow an interesting margin for the implementation company.
Thanks to a great pricing policy without license and support fees and project prices, we were able to offer a solution that met all requirements and we obtained the project from the municipality. In addition to the registered WiFi4EU project, we received a free SkyKey controller, which further reduced the overall cost,”says VEGAnet s.r.o., Mr. Gallo.
A total of 8 outdoor and 4 indoor APs were used in the project to cover two squares, a bus station, a collection yard and a school, namely an indoor access point EWS357AP with support for the latest WiFi 6 and an outdoor ENH1350EXT with the possibility of connecting sector antennas. Six outdoor APs are located on street lighting poles and the other two on buildings. Indoor APs are located on the walls in the library. The existing network, on which the camera system of the municipality is already running, is used to connect the localities. In places where the network did not reach, it is extended thanks to PtP connections in the 5 GHz band.
“We had to manage the whole installation in a short time of 14 days. Thanks to the absolutely simple plug & play configuration using the SkyKey controller, this was not an absolute problem, more or less it was just a matter of deploying the AP in the appropriate places. In addition, the support from the distributor worked well, and if we needed help with anything during the configuration, the relevant product manager was on the phone and advised us. The only minor flaw in the beauty could be the standard missing PoE adapter in the internal AP, when the power supply is assumed from the system PoE switch - however, we were able to operatively solve this from our own stocks with classic af / at PoE, ” concludes Mr. Gallo.
With the opening of the new call, we are going to sign up for several more projects, and after previous experience with EnGenius, we are clear about the choice of technology. Absolute satisfaction for us and we are happy to recommend further! ” The village of Jablonov nad Turňou lies in the valley of the Slovak Karst under the saddle of Soroška. She signed up for the WiFi4EU project in order to improve services for its citizens.
