Lodgian Unveils Hotel That Fully Integrates 802.11n Wi-Fi Technology From Ruckus Wireless
Sunnyvale, CA - Ruckus Wireless announced recently that Lodgian, Inc. has become the first hotel operator to deploy the next generation of Wi-Fi technology, known as 802.l1n, throughout its Crowne Plaza Beach Oceanfront Resort Hotel in Melbourne, Florida.
The Ruckus Wireless 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi network was designed and deployed by One Media Wireless, one of the premiere technology integrators within the hotel industry.
The integration of the new 802.11n Wi-Fi standard by Lodgian signals a major market shift toward deploying faster and more reliable Wi-Fi services that can be used as a high-speed utility and not just merely a means to provide convenient connectivity.
"The entire market is captivated with 802.11n because it promises such a major boost in performance and range," said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. "But vendor promises haven't matched user reality. In turn, users have been anxiously awaiting a cost-effective system that can be used within a production environment. That day is here."
Lo noted that first generation 802.11n products remain expensive and cumbersome to deploy while delivering a fraction of the expected performance. But advances made in the area of Smart Wi-Fi, when applied to 802.11n, solve many of these problems.
802.11n is the newest IEEE Wi-Fi standard designed to deliver access speeds five times faster, up to 300Mbps , than previous generations of Wi-Fi technology that top out at 54Mbps. The integration of 802.11n within the Crowne Plaza in Melbourne solves two big industry problems experienced by hotel guests around the world: erratic Wi-Fi performance and spotty coverage.
Moving From Good to Great Wi-Fi
"Everyone can relate to some horrendous Wi-Fi experience at a hotel," said James MacLennan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Lodgian. "Today, it's all about leveraging technology to improve the guest experience. Lodgian is taking the lead in deploying the next generation of Wi-Fi that delivers what guests are craving: fast and reliable connectivity everywhere."
Lodgian has retrofitted the entire Crowne Plaza property with new Smart Wi-Fi 802.11n products and technology from Ruckus Wireless. Forty Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942 802.11n access points and a Ruckus ZoneDirector 1050 have been deployed to blanket the 270-room hotel, which includes two multi-story towers, restaurants, meeting space, and outdoor swimming, patios and beachfront areas. The new Ruckus 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi network replaces an older 3Com 802.11g network.
The new Ruckus 802.11n Wi-Fi system enables a raft of new applications for Lodgian guests at the Crown Plaza resort such as a multimedia gaming, digital signage, video surveillance, and voice over Wi-Fi.
"The Crowne Plaza Melbourne was the perfect fit for deploying 802.11n," said Mike Gompers, president of One Media Wireless. "Their younger, family- oriented demographic want to use Wi-Fi for anything and everything - from interactive video gaming to Internet Access on the beach, even voice calls on their dual mode phones wherever they might be. If you don't have the coverage and performance to serve these applications, you have unhappy guests and frustrated general managers."
Smart Wi-Fi Eliminates 802.11n Complexity and Guesswork
For Lodgian, the benefits of deploying Ruckus 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi were eliminating the guesswork and complexity. "This system has been designed to take the guesswork out of deploying the next generation of Wi-Fi," said Gompers.
"You don't have to worry about the underlying technology serving the network architecture requirements with the Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex Platform. The ZoneFlex APs simply attach to the network, download the pre-staged configuration and are completely managed by the ZoneDirector. Though the underlying technology is rocket-science; configuration, deployment and software are managed by the ZoneDirector, allowing integrators to focus on design and coverage requirements. This is essential to mass adoption of 802.11n and wireless in general."
Gompers noted that Lodgian is also using Smart Wi-Fi to support secure point of sale applications throughout the property.
According to Lodgian's MacLennan, long-range Wi-Fi signal coverage and reliability enable Lodgian to use the network to deliver a wider range of services to guests throughout the property. "Having the killer performance, coverage and reliability opens the door to an almost endless range of services we can provide our guests."
"While 802.11n provides a lot more bandwidth, it's the integration with Smart Wi-Fi that makes the difference. If the reliability isn't there, performance and range are compromised," concluded Gompers.
Smart Wi-Fi Helps Deliver the Promise of 802.11n
Smart Wi-Fi technology is a patented new technique that focuses Wi-Fi only where it's needed while steering signals around interference as it occurs. This is particularly important for 802.11n that uses multiple Wi-Fi radios and signals to improve performance. Smart Wi-Fi is the only technology that controls the form and direction of Wi-Fi signals, adapting them to real-time changes in the Wi-Fi environment. This enables more consistent 802.11n performance and signal reliability at range.
Over the last 90 days, Lodgian has upgraded 32 of its hotel properties to Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi and is scheduled to continue the roll-out of 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi to select properties throughout the United States.
SOURCE: Ruckus Wireless