SkyPilot Networks announced that its Wi-Fi mesh equipment has been deployed in Vail, Colo., and in the Rockland-Thomaston areas of Mid-coast Maine. For the Vail deployment, the vendor worked with CenturyTel on a contract that service provider won to build and operate the Wi-Fi network, which will be up and running at the end of this year. Vail is the first Colorado city to move ahead with this type of partnership to build a municipal Wi-Fi network, according to SkyPilot. The town selected CenturyTel to build its system following a competitive bid process that included proposals from six other companies.

In Maine, the communities of Rockland and Thomaston now have Wi-Fi mesh coverage built out by service provider RedZone Wireless, using SkyPilot's equipment. While larger Internet service providers have targeted Tier 1 markets for their initial municipal mesh roll-outs, RedZone is pursuing the other 25% of the marketplace, which is made up of towns having populations of 5 to 50,000," said Jim McKenna, president, RedZone Wireless, in a statement. "Many of these communities are presently underserved and a community mesh network is the fastest and most cost effective means to extend high-speed Internet service to these areas. After only six months of service, our penetration rate rivals that of local DSL and cable providers."

"RedZone's deployment demonstrates how mesh networks can be rolled out quickly, and cost effectively in communities with less than 15,000 residents," added Bob Machlin, president and CEO, SkyPilot Networks.

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