Users at the City of Columbia Heights’ Top Valu Municipal Liquor Store and ParkView Villa, a subsidized living high-rise building, needed access to the information system at City Hall, but didn’t have network connections between the locations. They wanted a cost effective, fast, and reliable communication system that did not require a lot of maintenance.

Because the City of Columbia Heights’ locations were within direct line-of-site, a wireless network was an option. Marco met with Aleksandr Chernin, Information Systems Director, several times to determine their needs. An efficient and reliable Cisco wireless solution was recommended. Marco configured and installed the new Cisco point-to-point bridge units with antennas in all three locations.

“What impressed me was Marco’s fast service,” said Aleksandr. “Marco was very responsive to our needs. Before our equipment arrived, they provided us with demo equipment so we could start using the wireless segment. Even though Marco had to drill through nine floors to run the cable, they were still able to stay within the original estimate. The project was completed on time and within our budget. And the solution started working immediately after it was installed.”

Today, the City of Columbia Heights feels their new wireless technology was well worth their investment. According to Aleksandr, “The upfront cost was less than we would spend for a wired solution, and we don’t have any recurring costs except for Cisco maintenance contracts. The wireless network segment is very reliable and requires very little ongoing support.”

In addition to a faster connection, the City of Columbia Heights is also taking advantage of many other benefits of the wireless connection:

The small, friendly City of Columbia Heights is adjacent to Minneapolis and affords its residents and businesses easy access to the Twin Cities area. Marco provided a direct line-of-sight wireless network connection between the City’s municipal liquor store and subsidized high-rise building to allow them access to the information system at City Hall.