Case Study: City of Boulder achieves 95% equipment reduction and major cost savings in traffic management with FreeWave’s FGR2‑PE wireless M2M solution

The City of Boulder’s State-of-the-Art Traffic Management System

The City of Boulder’s Public Works (Transportation Division) needed a smarter way to monitor and control its busy traffic network—handling more than 250,000 vehicle movements daily—while replacing aging phone-line infrastructure and improving response to congestion, weather and event-driven surges. The challenge was to deploy a reliable, scalable smart‑cities traffic-management system that could deliver real‑time visibility and control across the city.

Boulder installed 145 FreeWave FGR2‑PE wireless M2M devices to replace T1 phone lines, providing license‑free serial and Ethernet connectivity and linking signals to 16 gateways without extra radios. The deployment cut Traffic Operations Center equipment by 95%, eliminated 17 costly T1 lines, delivered significant cost savings, faster real‑time email alerts for signal issues, and proven reliability in harsh weather—all supported by FreeWave technical assistance.

City of Boulder