For immediate release: November 5, 2003
For more information, contact Laura M. Massie at 216-368-4442 or laura.massie@case.edu

CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Museum of Art, University Circle Incorporated, and two Case alumni turned wireless switching gurus have collaborated to extend the OneCleveland wireless program to cover all of Wade Oval, the park located within Cleveland's University Circle. Designed and implemented to coincide with the grand reopening of Wade Oval on October 10, the availability of free public wireless services in it extends what is already the nation's largest wireless cloud of connectivity.

Lighting up Wade Oval with end-to-end wireless coverage required a new, innovative technology solution. Case grads Ken Biba and Skip Crilly, founders of Vivato Inc., a San Francisco-based WiFi infrastructure company, provided what analysts call the first enterprise switches for WiFi deployments for large indoor and outdoor coverage. "Working with Case and the organizations in OneCleveland is exciting not only because they have an amazing vision but also because it is Cleveland and its happening at University Circle," said Biba, Chairman of the Board of Vivato. Biba received a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's in computer science from Case. Crilly holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.

OneCleveland is a bold initiative supported by the city of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, the Regional Transit Authority, the Cleveland Municipal School District and WCPN/WVIZ's ideastream. The OneCleveland consortium is committed to deploying state of the art digital infrastructure in support of community goals, including a healthy Cleveland, bridging the digital divide, access to cultural and art institutions, better government and public services, and world class research.

Terri Hamilton Brown, president of University Circle Inc., applauded the partnership between Case and the Cleveland Museum of Art. "This is our community at its best," she said. "The technology leadership at the Museum and Case understood our vision of making Wade Oval a true public space for the next generation. We expect that visiting school children, college students and other visitors will connect in Wade Oval to extend their experience in University Circle and to partake in the culture, education and overall sense of place that Wade Oval represents to the community."

Dell Klingensmith, interim executive director of OneCleveland, notes that the partners intend to make wireless service available everywhere its fiber optical infrastructure extends. "We have started in University Circle because there are actually thousands of miles of fiber optics in the Circle," Klingensmith said. "This provides not only for unprecedented speeds to support leading-edge applications it also serves as the foundation for extending wireless services."

In the next several weeks, OneCleveland anticipates lighting up additional services in University Circle as well as extending wired and wireless services across the region.

About Case Western Reserve University

Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, and service. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Sciences. http://www.case.edu.

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