Sweden takes the fast train to wireless broadband
The Cloud, the leading wireless broadband network operator, today announces far-reaching plans to make public access WLAN services available in Sweden’s network of railway stations – the largest such deployment in Europe to date.
The deal also marks The Cloud’s entry into mainland Europe with the establishment of The Cloud Nordic as a wholesale WLAN hotspot network operator in Sweden. The Cloud plans to expand into other markets including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland and Benelux during 2005.
The plan for Sweden will mean that passengers and employees at 178 railway stations in Sweden will have access to public access WLAN. This is the result of a contract The Cloud has agreed with Jernhusen, the largest owner and manager of public real estate sites in Sweden. In the short term, the deal will see 55 stations deployed by the end of January 2005.
In European countries, railway stations are one of the most valuable real estate locations. This groundbreaking deal will provide public wireless Internet access to customers including passengers, tenants and employees, turning these public locations into landmarks for WLAN access across Sweden. The initial deployments will be in public areas with the service gradually being expanded to cover platforms, retail areas, restaurants and parking spaces.
George Polk, CEO, The Cloud, said: “We chose Sweden as it is the most advanced and mature European market in terms of WiFi technology adoption. The decision to deploy a comprehensive combined public/private network infrastructure into the rail estate is a powerful demonstration of the Cloud’s focus on providing innovative coverage and connectivity options for locations with a high demand for both public and private broadband wireless access. Using our already proven expertise in managing large scale rapid deployments in the UK market, we will use these network assets as the core of a larger strategy of building a strong, shared network infrastructure in Sweden, we have an aggressive international expansion plan for the coming year and we will be leveraging our Swedish experience for our other European target markets. We are already in advanced discussions with site owners in other European markets, and international service providers that are looking to expand the reach of their propositions.”
Cecilia Granath, spokesperson for Jernhusen, commented: “We are committed to providing the best possible service to customers through the availability of new technologies in our properties. This deployment will not only make it easier for business rail travellers to gain wireless access, but will also mean that our stations become convenient locations for non-passengers who need access to online services. In the longer term, we envisage our stations becoming highly intelligent areas where WiFi services from The Cloud help us drive exciting new revenue streams.”
The Cloud is already in discussion with several local service providers about giving their users seamless access to the new network, with the intention that customers of any major Swedish branded service provider will be able to access the network through their service provider’s branded interface.
The Cloud also announced participation in the WiFi@Rail consortium, which is focused on providing turn-key enterprise and public access solutions to the rail sector across Europe. This industry leading consortium of partners includes Capgemini, Cisco, Aptilo, Appear Networks. The WiFi@Rail consortium is working with major rail station owners, network operators and infrastructure providers to design and deploy comprehensive wireless broadband solutions that will provide secure, mission critical private connectivity solutions and applications alongside multi-service provider public access. The Cloud is providing a public overlay network and network management as part of this solution, so that infrastructure deployed for private use can also be profitably used to provide public access. By leveraging the same investment for both communities of users, the rail sector can offset the investment costs normally associated with building a private network with usage revenues from the public use, all the while providing better access and service for internal and public users.
(www.thecloud.net)
The deal also marks The Cloud’s entry into mainland Europe with the establishment of The Cloud Nordic as a wholesale WLAN hotspot network operator in Sweden. The Cloud plans to expand into other markets including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland and Benelux during 2005.
The plan for Sweden will mean that passengers and employees at 178 railway stations in Sweden will have access to public access WLAN. This is the result of a contract The Cloud has agreed with Jernhusen, the largest owner and manager of public real estate sites in Sweden. In the short term, the deal will see 55 stations deployed by the end of January 2005.
In European countries, railway stations are one of the most valuable real estate locations. This groundbreaking deal will provide public wireless Internet access to customers including passengers, tenants and employees, turning these public locations into landmarks for WLAN access across Sweden. The initial deployments will be in public areas with the service gradually being expanded to cover platforms, retail areas, restaurants and parking spaces.
George Polk, CEO, The Cloud, said: “We chose Sweden as it is the most advanced and mature European market in terms of WiFi technology adoption. The decision to deploy a comprehensive combined public/private network infrastructure into the rail estate is a powerful demonstration of the Cloud’s focus on providing innovative coverage and connectivity options for locations with a high demand for both public and private broadband wireless access. Using our already proven expertise in managing large scale rapid deployments in the UK market, we will use these network assets as the core of a larger strategy of building a strong, shared network infrastructure in Sweden, we have an aggressive international expansion plan for the coming year and we will be leveraging our Swedish experience for our other European target markets. We are already in advanced discussions with site owners in other European markets, and international service providers that are looking to expand the reach of their propositions.”
Cecilia Granath, spokesperson for Jernhusen, commented: “We are committed to providing the best possible service to customers through the availability of new technologies in our properties. This deployment will not only make it easier for business rail travellers to gain wireless access, but will also mean that our stations become convenient locations for non-passengers who need access to online services. In the longer term, we envisage our stations becoming highly intelligent areas where WiFi services from The Cloud help us drive exciting new revenue streams.”
The Cloud is already in discussion with several local service providers about giving their users seamless access to the new network, with the intention that customers of any major Swedish branded service provider will be able to access the network through their service provider’s branded interface.
The Cloud also announced participation in the WiFi@Rail consortium, which is focused on providing turn-key enterprise and public access solutions to the rail sector across Europe. This industry leading consortium of partners includes Capgemini, Cisco, Aptilo, Appear Networks. The WiFi@Rail consortium is working with major rail station owners, network operators and infrastructure providers to design and deploy comprehensive wireless broadband solutions that will provide secure, mission critical private connectivity solutions and applications alongside multi-service provider public access. The Cloud is providing a public overlay network and network management as part of this solution, so that infrastructure deployed for private use can also be profitably used to provide public access. By leveraging the same investment for both communities of users, the rail sector can offset the investment costs normally associated with building a private network with usage revenues from the public use, all the while providing better access and service for internal and public users.
(www.thecloud.net)
posted by Rico Biriah at 11:24 am
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