CCTV Surveillance Goes Wireless in the Caribbean
St. Kitts government officials performed a pilot project to evaluate the use of video surveillance in crime fighting.
The government of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean performed a pilot project to evaluate the use of CCTV surveillance in crime fighting and general monitoring of activity in the downtown Basseterre area. As a result, government officials contacted St. Kitts-based Liamuiga Security as the project’s integrator. Local telecommunications company LIME, which offers broadband and cellular service, sponsored the project.
The primary challenge was to pair a good quality video provider with a high quality video transmission provider. Also, installations were needed at various remote sites with varying distances from the central location. Another major concern was the environment that exists on the Caribbean island — high heat, humidity, stormy conditions, salt air and sea blast are just some of the everyday situations that the cameras and transmitters must endure.
As one of the top CCTV integrators on the island, Liamuiga Security saw wireless transmission as the only solutions, as tapping into the telecom providers’ network would have caused unwanted issues with bandwidth, congestion and also practicality in point placement. So, the integrator chose a Fluidmesh solution due to the product’s ease of installation and programming, and the diagnostic and service via the software and the data transmission quality included the throughput and transmission range/distance.
Additionally, Liamuiga Security chose Bosch Security solutions as the video provider of choice because of their product reliability and after sales service.
“The government needed a provider that not only could deliver a quality installation but also had a background in both video and wireless transmission and could tie both together to recommend a solution that they’d be pleased with,” Liamuiga Security CEO Omari Browne explains. “Our experience with both Bosch products and network products especially gave us the edge and also the foresight to see that Fluidmesh’s wireless transmission solutions would stand a cut above the rest.”
Bosch 500 pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) network cameras were used and connected directly to the Fluidmesh 2200 utilizing the 2.5 and 5.1 to 5.8 GHz antennas units. The command center also runs on a Fluidmesh 2200 unit as a receiver head end unit. This configuration was done as to ensure maximum reception and mesh configuration. In addition, these points can also double as a repeater if future expansion is needed. All units were mounted to buildings that provided the main power.
Although Liamuiga Security has worked with wireless technology since 2005, this was the company’s first video mesh application. “We adapted very easily to it,” Browne says. “Once you have a basic concept of networking and network products, then the adaptation is simple.”
Browne reports that the system has met and exceeded the client’s needs. The robust construction of the mesh network has enabled the system to run undisturbed and unmaintained with no transmission or signaling issues, and the units have stood the test of time and pass with flying colors. “I think that speaks volumes to the quality of the system and the reliability of the Fluidmesh products,” he says.
“The simple installation and low maintenance was a key factor as we know maintenance is often a lacking area with smaller economies and government,” Browne points out. “The client is also happy that the mesh network is flexible and expandable. They see the benefits not just as a detection tool but also as a preventative one, as well. In most cases, when people know that the system is installed, they’d be cognizant that any activity has the potential to be detected and acted upon swiftly.”
“In choosing a solution provider, if you can’t function in this space, then don’t even try to enter the door,” Browne advises. “Fluidmesh held the key for me and has shut the door for anyone else to enter in my book.”
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