Toronto Hydro Telecom One Zone Delivers Best Broadband Wireless Performance in North America

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TORONTO HYDRO TELECOM INC. today announced the results of independent third-party performance testing of its broadband wireless network, known as One Zone ^TM -- the largest ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone of its kind in Canada. One Zone consistently delivered Internet upload and download rates at a blistering 5 Mbps, far surpassing the performance of all other tested networks including Wireless Philadelphia, a citywide Wi-Fi initiative currently still under construction, and Google’s Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, California.

One Zone is powered by Siemens Mesh@vantage MR product family, which includes industry-leading broadband wireless mesh technology from BelAir Networks.

“The results of this independent testing validate our network design and business model,” said David Dobbin, President, Toronto Hydro Telecom. “We set out to deliver the highest performance, with coverage both outside and extending indoors to support business and residential customers. We’ve achieved the speed, coverage and scalability that really puts Toronto on the cutting edge of wireless technology and will set a whole new standard for urban Wi-Fi performance.”

Testing was conducted in mid-December by Novarum Inc., an independent consulting firm offering comprehensive broadband wireless advisory, analysis and testing services. Novarum is developing the first standardized benchmarks for overall wireless network performance. All of the North American wireless mesh networks were tested from a user perspective with industry-standard tools and methodology in Q3 and Q4 of 2006.

“We tested 41 wireless networks in 14 cities, and the performance of Toronto Hydro Telecom’s One Zone, delivering speeds of up to 5 Mbps bi-directionally, was stunning,” said Ken Biba, one of Novarum’s analysts. “One Zone’s performance is better than my broadband connection at home and, on average, five times faster than any of the other networks we tested. Most impressive was the fact that this exceptional performance is being delivered in the challenging environment of a dense urban canyon.”

Covering six square kilometers, One Zone deployment was completed on schedule, on December 31, 2006, and will launch commercially on March 7, 2007. Unlike many other municipal Wi-Fi networks in North America that offer outdoor ‘wireless dial-up’ or ‘DSL lite’ performance, One Zone provides users with seamless, untethered Internet access through readily available Wi-Fi enabled devices.

“We believe a new generation of true broadband wireless networks are now available and the Toronto Hydro Telecom One Zone reflects that new standard of performance,” said Mark VanderHeyden, CEO, Siemens Networks Inc. “Toronto Hydro Telecom did extensive research into wireless mesh technologies before choosing Siemens Canada and our partner, BelAir Networks, and they followed that up with extensive network planning. The result was the fast and smooth deployment of what is now North America’s top performing metro Wi-Fi network.”

About Toronto Hydro Telecom

Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto. A highly specialized and innovative provider of telecom services to businesses in Toronto, Toronto Hydro Telecom owns and operates a fibre optic network that spans 450 kilometres and connects more than 400 commercial office buildings in Toronto with interconnections to utility-affiliated telecom networks bordering the Greater Toronto Area.

About Novarum

Novarum Inc. provides comprehensive broadband wireless advisory, analysis and testing services. Novarum’s management team offers over 50 years of combined technical, business and executive experience in the wireless industry making it the ideal partner for service providers, municipalities, enterprises or wireless infrastructure vendors seeking trusted information on broadband wireless technologies and services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.novarum.com

Siemens in Canada

Siemens is one of the largest and most diversified companies in the world, providing innovations in areas such as automation and control, power, transportation, medical, information and communications, and lighting. In Canada, Siemens is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, with more than 7,500 employees located in 76 offices and seven major manufacturing facilities. Sales for fiscal 2006 were $2.3 billion. Siemens Networks Inc. provides and supports the communications equipment business in Canada and focuses on the network needs of service providers.

BelAir Networks

BelAir Networks is the first company to offer scalable, wide-area wireless broadband solutions with the highest quality for data, voice and video. BelAir’s wireless networking solutions are built on the only multi-service architecture for wide-area wireless broadband deployments of Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and 3G Cellular networks. Built specifically for outdoor deployments, BelAir Networks’ patented solution delivers the lowest cost per user and deploys in days, blending into the physical infrastructure of downtown business districts, hotels and resorts, and campuses. Founded in 2001, BelAir Networks is a privately held company. For more info, visit www.belairnetworks.com.