Canary Wharf Group (CWG), which is the owner of one the largest business centres in Europe, has announced the first European commercial deployment of OpenRoaming for residents on the Canary Wharf estate, in partnership with Cisco and Virgin Media.
Combining mobile roaming with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, the partners said that OpenRoaming allows devices to connect securely and automatically to Wi-Fi networks and roam seamlessly from one hotspot to another without the need for the user to log in. The joint initiative will also provide up to four times faster wireless speeds by deploying Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi 6 access points, along with location-based analytics to allow its clients to build unique services for their customers.
OpenRoaming aims to provide the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to residents of CWG?s first build-to-rent building from Vertus at 10 George Street, and homeowners at 10 Park Drive, CWG?s first for-sale residential property, both at Wood Wharf, in London.
Wood Wharf, Canary Wharf?s new district, is a five million sq. ft mixed-use development of over 3,000 new homes, including two million sq. ft of commercial space.
In Canary Wharf, Virgin Media has recently expanded its gigabit capable network, connecting more than 1,000 homes over the past year. This is part of a wider plan to connect more than 4,000 homes in the area and provide connectivity to public spaces.
?Our commercial, retail and residential customers are demanding access to world-class digital infrastructure and next-generation connectivity,? said Shobi Khan, CEO of Canary Wharf Group. ?Canary Wharf Group is committed to creating an estate-wide environment in which businesses can thrive. The rollout of Wi-Fi 6 and OpenRoaming is a vital part of our continuously evolving user experience for residents and visitors.?
CWG will also help landlords and tenants to understand how their real estate is being used, with data analytics to drive efficiency in workspace design using Cisco DNA Spaces, the partners said. This solution enables over-the-top use cases such as location-based services, end user engagement and wayfinding to enable individuals to find the meeting room or retail store they are looking for.
?This year, for many U.K. businesses, what was once deemed ?the future of work? became a reality almost overnight. As businesses now accelerate to a digitized and automated future, OpenRoaming and Wi-Fi 6 will play a critical role in that journey. In the next normal, strengthened digital infrastructure and robust cybersecurity are fundamental to recovery and growth. They provide the foundations for businesses to benefit in the digital economy,? said David Meads, chief executive for Cisco UK and Ireland.
OpenRoaming is backed by a global Wi-Fi federation of WBA members, including: Airmesh, Airties, Aprecomm, American Tower, Aptilo, AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Broadcom Inc, Cisco, Cityroam, Comcast, Commscope, Deutsche Telekom, Eduroam, Eleven Software, GlobalReachTechnology, Google, Hub One, Hughes Systique Corp, Intel Corporation, IT&E, m3connect, Nomosphere, Orange, Purple Wifi, Samsung, Single Digits, Sun Global, Veniam, Virgin Media, WiFiCoin and Zephyrtel.
