September 24, 2005, Vienna, VA— Today, Network Designs, Inc (NDI) provided public access to the Library of Congress (LOC) private network from the lawn of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by Laura Bush, the fifth annual National Book Festival celebrated Creativity Across America with 90,000 fans and 75 award-winning authors, illustrators, poets, and storytellers in attendance.
Its fourth year at this event, NDI used wireless technology to provide the public with interactive access to the library’s online resources from the Library of Congress (LOC) Pavilion. More than 50 devices located at the main LOC Pavilion had full access to the library’s computer systems. NDI provided Internet access at the Pavilion of States and at the Internet Archive Bookmobile and enabled full voice services to reporters at the Media Pavilion.
NDI integrated Cisco Systems and Verint technologies to deliver both encrypted broadband network and voice-over IP (VoIP) services from the National Mall lawn. “Each year, the solution we offer adapts to the unique requirements of this festival,” said Greg Conran, Chief Technology Officer for NDI. “The lack of line-of-sight, new communication requirements, the interference of existing communication solutions, and the addition of computers or devices that show up on the day of the event all contribute to a fast-paced implementation.” This year, NDI directed wireless signals over the Capitol Building to the main LOC Pavilion, then off to several areas on the National Mall, outside of direct line-of-sight, providing continuous bandwidth to key festival pavilions throughout the day.