Case Studies

Blue Cross
of Northeastern Pennsylvania

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Challenge:

BCNEPA operates from multiple locations in Wilkes-Barre, including three buildings in the downtown Public Square area. When the company outgrew one of these operations centers, the decision was made to expand to an older building about a block away. After renovations, up to 80 employees initially occupied the new site, relying upon 20 Mbps point-to-point links to connect to the corporate network. As the staff at the new quarters grew to 300 employees, network performance slowed dramatically, making it clear much more bandwidth was needed. The company opted to install a 1 Gb Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) ring, consisting of a fiber ring connecting multiple nodes that each send, receive and relay messages through an add-drop-multiplexer. While such a configuration met all BCNEPA’s stringent requirements for a high-availability network extension, the endeavor was a complex undertaking that would take contractors months to complete.

In the interim, BCNEPA turned to The Presidio Corp., a reseller and integrator based in Colmar, Pa., to identify a temporary solution to deliver the high-capacity bandwidth that the employees so sorely needed, along with seamless access to applications residing on the corporate network. Like all participants in the healthcare industry, HIPAA concerns make top-level security an essential component of any technology decision. According to Jim Slick, manager of network services for BCNEPA, other key concerns included reliability, ease of installation and cost savings. His team evaluated radio frequency (RF), but had reservations about its speed, security and reliability as a primary link. Other alternatives, such as leased T1 lines, were never even considered, due to bandwidth limitations.

Presidio recommended optical wireless based on free-space optics (FSO), a line-of-sight technology that provides high-speed bandwidth using beams of light for sending and receiving voice, video and data. Optical wireless operates at full-duplex speeds up to 1.25 Gbps and offers a variety of distance ranges for customers that need secure, high-bandwidth connectivity between buildings or in campus environments. In addition, optical wireless installs quickly and easily, making it ideal for temporary network extensions.

“We recognize that HIPAA is a driving force for customers such as Blue Cross,” said Mike Tamaro, senior account manager at Presidio. “When you combine the company’s HIPAA security requirements with other criteria such as speed, reliability, ease of deployment and budget, there is only one viable option for temporary connectivity between buildings: optical wireless.”

Impressed with the technology, Slick took the next step in the evaluation process. He began assessing the market players and determining the products that best met the company’s needs. After researching a number of offerings, Tamaro felt BCNEPA would benefit most from the throughput and reliability delivered by LightPointe, a pioneer in the development of optical wireless solutions. LightPointe designs and manufactures license-free, high-speed outdoor wireless products that link two or more buildings with classic LAN-to-LAN backbone connectivity, providing bandwidth from 100 Mbps up to 1.25 Gbps while eliminating the installation challenges of fiber.

LightPointe’s relationship with Cisco was a key point in its favor since BCNEPA had standardized on Cisco for all its networking products. Tamaro knew LightPointe was not only a Cisco Technology Developer Council partner, but the company had successfully deployed numerous installations in Cisco “shops” over the years. For Slick, this was reassuring because selecting a non-Cisco product was a major departure: BCNEPA had never deviated from Cisco for any of its network infrastructure. “The benefits of the LightPointe solution far outweighed any reservations we had about introducing a non-Cisco product into our network for the first time,” he said. “Ultimately, we chose the LightPointe FlightLite G because it offered speed, reliability and security at a tremendous cost savings.”

LightPointe Solution:

LightPointe’s FlightLite G provides BCNEPA with full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet throughput (1.25 Gbps) for its data-intensive enterprise connectivity needs. Ideal for high-bandwidth applications such as Voice over IP, digital medical imaging and video, it is also immune to RF interference and the licensing or deployment challenges of competing alternatives. With a lightweight, compact design, the FlightLite G also features rugged weatherproof housing for outdoor installation in a range of temperatures and conditions.

The LightPointe system was installed at BCNEPA over two days in late 2005. With the new building only 300 yards across the street from the Public Square office, a clear line of sight was available, making for a straightforward wireless connection. Mounting systems for placing the wireless devices on the rooftops were delivered and installed by LightPointe, with Presidio’s assistance. To ease into use of the FlightLite G, Slick and his team participated in a one-day orientation session. Their close involvement in the installation also aided their understanding of the system.

Sound Byte:

"The benefits of the LightPointe solution far outweighed any reservations we had about introducing a non-Cisco product into our network for the first time. Ultimately, we chose the LightPointe FlightLite G because it offered speed, reliability and security at a tremendous cost savings."
— Jim Slick, Manager of Network Services, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania

www.bcnepa.com