The Customer Challenge:

Green Dot Corporation is a leading provider of retail based financial services in California. When their Director of IT Infrastructure was told that they needed to expand their client care center across the street by the end of the month, he approached Plaintree Systems to provide a fast, reliable solution.

The link needed to support voice, data for 50 users as well as install seamlessly into the existing Green Dot network.  Added to the challenge was that the link was mission critical and needed a redundant source should it ever be blocked. Plaintree Systems had to design and implement a full turnkey FSO (Free Space Optics) solution with RF back-up and have it approved and in place within a three week time frame.

The WAVEBRIDGE® Solution:

Plaintree chose the WAVEBRIDGE® 5100 series to provide the link between the two locations with a point-to-point customized RF solution for fail-safe. This unit is POE therefore there was no need to run electrical power to the roof. Once the equipment arrived at the location, Plaintree’s installation team flew in to put the link in place.

The optimum location for the link on the roof was chosen and cable paths back to the IT rooms were planned. Starting in the IT Room, Plaintree ran high end shielded outdoor Cat5 through a PVC conduit pipe to the roof. This insured that the cable would be kept from damage during storms and roof maintenance. The non-penetrating roof tray, roof mount and anchors were installed to support the WAVEBRIDGE® head making sure that it would be secure in high winds. The FSO link and RF back-up were installed next, with time taken to insure full alignment and best possible margins.

Full testing and quality control procedures were done on the entire installation and three weeks after the initial contact, Green Dot Corporation had a fully functioning, mission critical Free Space Optic link between their two office spaces.

Client Comments:

“Plaintree responded to our situation with rapid professional service and provided us with a turnkey 100Mbps solution that allowed us to connect our offices on the same LAN and provide our customers with uninterrupted service. The Plaintree FSO link is a secure, reliable, way to connect your two locations without worrying about interference or permit costs. ”

Justin Ferris
Director, IT Infrastructure
Green Dot