SUNNYVALE, CA — May 14, 2013 — Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) today announced that it was selected by Telecom NZ (Telecom), the national communications service supplier in New Zealand, to transform conventional payphones into ultra fast, outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots in locations across the country.
Telecom’s initial pilot project, completed in less than 12 weeks, outfitted phone booths in holiday locations over this past Christmas in December 2012 with Ruckus ZoneFlex™ 7762 outdoor dual-band 802.11n access points (APs) to provide the public with free high-speed Wi-Fi access. Telecom is now expanding its solution to more of the 3,000 telephone booths it operates across the country.
Each ZoneFlex 7762 AP integrates an adaptive antenna array based on Ruckus BeamFlex™ technology to deliver client devices much stronger Wi-Fi signals that can automatically adapt to obstacles and interference to increase wireless reliability and performance. Central management of the Ruckus access points is provided through the Ruckus SmartCell™ Gateway (SCG) 200, a massively scalable and versatile wireless LAN (WLAN) platform.
“One of the biggest challenges that carriers often have has nothing to do with technology but everything to do with securing locations where the equipment can be deployed with power and backhaul,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. “This is an extremely innovative and creative use of existing telecom assets that adds real value for both the subscriber and the carrier. Telecom New Zealand joins a class of other telecom leaders, such as PCCW in Hong Kong and Oi in Brazil, who are embarking on similar projects to retrofit phone booths with Wi-Fi,” concluded Lo.
Who Needs Change at a Payphone?
Any person with a Wi-Fi-capable New Zealand mobile device can use the free trial Wi-Fi service in selected locations. Users simply connect to an open Telecom Wi-Fi Zone signal and are sent a TXT (SMS) message to register devices on the network. Users can connect up to five devices for free from one registered mobile number. Per customer data usage is capped at 1GB per day. The wireless traffic from each phone booth is backhauled predominately over fixed DSL or ADSL broadband lines. In some cases, wireless meshing is used to backhaul traffic.
Ruckus SmartMesh™ Networking technology allows Wi-Fi APs to automatically establish reliable and resilient wireless connections to adjacent APs that are connected to a fixed line network. This can speed deployment times and eliminate the cost and complexity of having to run cabling to every wireless access point.
“Like many operators around the world, we see Wi-Fi moving beyond simply hotspots and becoming a standard radio access network technology that customers like, want and value,” said Philip M. Ivanier, Head of Telecom Labs and Strategic Partnering for Telecom NZ.
Ivanier continued, “The Wi-Fi pilot with Ruckus has revealed a number of tangible benefits. Wi-Fi is clearly a fast and economical means to attract new subscribers. It gives existing subscribers more service locations, allowing us to quickly expand our service footprint. And the technology helps ease the burden by siphoning data traffic from the macro cellular network.”
With one million fixed line residential and small/medium enterprise (SME) customers, and two million mobile connections, Telecom is a major player in fixed, mobile and ICT for consumers, and corporate, enterprise, SME and wholesale customers.
Ivanier concluded, “Since deploying the Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi infrastructure we’ve seen very strong uptake, very high customer satisfaction and extremely positive user experiences. With its innovative antenna systems, the Ruckus gear uniquely extends signal range and provides a carrier-class user experience that is unique for Wi-Fi within the telecommunications industry.”
Access to Wi-Fi encourages users carrying mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to stay within the city area for longer periods of time, as well as attracting tourists and helping them avoid crippling roaming charges. Additionally, Wi-Fi is being used as a marketing and communications tool to engage with users and shoppers to drive them into particular city center retail areas. Telecom NZ is pursuing this on a commercial basis.
Telecom NZ is deploying Ruckus technology as the carrier wants the Wi-Fi access experience in these high-density areas to be consistent and always available. The Ruckus APs are unique for this environment as the in-built adaptive antenna array delivers industry-leading performance while also mitigating interference — critical when you are deploying in central business districts (CBDs) with lots of other Wi-Fi networks present.
ABOUT RUCKUS WIRELESS
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Ruckus Wireless (NYSE: RKUS) is a global supplier of advanced wireless systems for the rapidly expanding mobile internet infrastructure market. The company offers a wide range of indoor and outdoor “Smart Wi-Fi” products to mobile carriers, broadband service providers, and corporate enterprises, and has approximately 24,400 end-customers worldwide. Ruckus technology addresses Wi-Fi capacity and coverage challenges caused by the ever-increasing amount of traffic on wireless networks due to accelerated adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Ruckus invented and has patented state-of-the-art wireless voice, video, and data technology innovations, such as adaptive antenna arrays that extend signal range, increase client data rates, and avoid interference, ensuring consistent and reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. For more information, visit https://www.ruckuswireless.com.
Ruckus, and Ruckus Wireless are trademarks of Ruckus Wireless, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product or company names may be trademarks of their respective owners.