The world’s first highway Wi-Fi mobile voice and high speed data network has been successfully tested on a US interstate highway – the Canamex Interstate Highway (I-19) from Rio Rico to a point south of Green Valley, Arizona.

New Zealand-based RoamAD is supplying the technology used by Wi-VOD Corporation as part of a United States Department of Homeland Security grant, managed by the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council.

RoamAD is a supplier of infrastructure-mesh solutions for scalable metro Wi-Fi networks

The network will service First Responders (Police, Fire, Ambulance, and Border Patrol), with various community agencies, schools, business and local residents being added as the deployment expands beyond its targeted coverage areas. The network will be used for both voice services and for high-speed data applications including transmission of maps, photos and real time video.

Wi-VOD demonstrated the first phase of the network, 4.9 miles (8 km), earlier this month. The network contained four RoamAD network nodes located on average 1.2 miles (less than 2 km) apart and interconnected wirelessly. The network will be expanded to cover 32 continuous miles (54 km) of highway and is scheduled for completion before May of this year.

The RoamAD solution is specifically optimized to support mobile voice over IP (VoIP) and high-speed mobile data. Wi-VOD was able to make multi-party VoIP conference calls at speeds in excess of 130 kilometres per hour (80mph) sustained over the entire network.