FRHI Holdings Limited (Fairmont) Selects Ruckus Wireless as a Preferred Wireless Supplier

AUSTIN, Texas, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HITEC CONFERENCE AND EXPO – Ruckus Wireless™ (www.ruckuswireless.com) today announced that its ZoneFlex™ Smart Wi-Fi products and technologies have been selected by FRHI Holdings Limited (FRHI), a leading global hotel company operating properties worldwide under the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel brands. Ruckus is providing guest and administrative support services to Fairmont as one of the hotel company's preferred worldwide wireless suppliers.

As the number of mobile devices and their use increases, hoteliers are looking to future-proof their properties with advanced wireless systems instead of investing in expensive solutions that will be obsolete in a matter of years. The outpacing of consumer technology compared to hotel technology upgrades has created a different set of guest expectations than even a few years ago. Now that many hotels boast technology that is more dated than what a traveler has at home, a different set of goals are driving hoteliers' information technology decisions, particularly those related to wireless services.  

Consequently, major hotel brands around the world are upgrading their properties with the latest Wi-Fi technology that delivers unprecedented reliability, coverage and speed – supporting multimedia applications and opening the door for a wide range of customer service beyond high speed Internet access (HSIA).

Over the last two years, the Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi system has become the most popular wireless solution within the hospitality industry and is a preferred product for major brands including Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental, and Kimpton Hotels.

Creating More Value with Better Wireless

FRHI is a leading global hotel company with more than 100 hotels worldwide. The company is deploying Ruckus single or dual-band 802.11n indoor and outdoor products throughout the 650-room Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, the 770-room Fairmont Banff Springs, the 338-room Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel in Bangkok, and is rolling out Ruckus in a number of different properties throughout 2011.  The Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi system is providing guests with reliable and ubiquitous wireless high-speed Internet connectivity and will be used as the foundation for future wireless services.  

"We view recent innovations in the Wi-Fi space as an opportunity to truly redefine the guest experience," said Vineet Gupta, Senior VP of Technology at FRHI.  "Wi-Fi is no longer just a casual hotspot service for our guests, it's an integral aspect of their stay. Given its popularity, performance and relatively low cost, Wi-Fi has quickly become a strategic tool that we can use to improve guest service, satisfaction and business operations."

Gupta noted that three key challenges have inhibited conventional Wi-Fi technology from being used more within the hotel industry: unreliable connectivity, inconsistent performance and weak, spotty coverage.  "With the advent of advanced RF technology designed to deliver longer-range and focused signals that adapt to changing environments, Wi-Fi operates much more like a reliable utility," he said.

Wi-Fi has become much more strategic within the hospitality industry because it has become a key decision criteria for guests and a fundamental foundation for new guest services." As a leading hotelier, we are constantly looking to innovate in this area with new products and technologies that provide our guests the best possible, untethered experience," said Gupta.

Five Fairmont Fundamentals Drive Wireless Decision Making

FRHI cited five requirements that guide their wireless infrastructure decisions: consistent performance, ubiquitous coverage, affordable cost, dependable reliability and flexible deployment options. The company is leveraging patented adaptive antenna array technology and smart meshing from Ruckus to meet these requirements. With a solid wireless infrastructure foundation that enables the best HSIA to guests, FRHI can begin focusing on a host of new wireless-enabled services such as curb-side check in, in-room controls, and wireless VoIP for inter-staff communications.

FRHI is installing dual-band ZoneFlex 7962 and 7363 indoor access points as well as ZoneFlex 7762 dual-band outdoor access points. Centralized ZoneDirector controllers that can be deployed on- or offsite manage all Ruckus indoor and outdoor access points.

Each Ruckus Wi-Fi access point integrates a miniaturized adaptive antenna array that forms and directs Wi-Fi signals only where they are needed – constantly focusing and steering RF energy over the fastest signal path. This ensures higher data rates at longer ranges without any manual tuning while extending range and reducing the number of access points needed to cover any given area.

"Given the size of our properties, we needed a system that was both simple and flexible to deploy," added Gupta.  

Another important technology for the hotel company was smart meshing.  Smart meshing enables access points to be deployed using radio frequencies to establish a connection to the network. Unlike other wireless meshing approaches, Ruckus leverages its long-range, high-gain antenna array system to minimize mesh "hops" that cause delays and to maximize reliability.

Ruckus Wireless can be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ruckuswireless and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ruckuswireless. The company's blog can be read at www.theruckusroom.net. Ruckus also has a YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/ruckuswireless.

About FRHI Holdings Limited

A leader in the global hospitality industry, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a celebrated collection of 59 distinctive hotels, which includes iconic landmarks like The Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi and Canada's Fairmont Banff Springs and more than 20 new properties in development, including London's The Savoy and the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai re-opening next year following extensive restoration programs. Fairmont hotels are one-of-a-kind properties where sophisticated travelers can discover culturally rich experiences that are authentic to the destination. Situated in some of the most exclusive and pristine areas in the world, Fairmont is committed to responsible tourism and is an industry leader in sustainable hotel management with its award-winning Green Partnership program.

FRHI Holdings Limited is a leading global hotel company with over 100 hotels worldwide under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel brands. The company also manages Fairmont and Raffles branded Residences, Estates and luxury private residence club properties. For more information or reservations, please call 1-800-441-1414 or visit www.frhi.com.  

About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ruckus Wireless is a supplier of advanced wireless systems for the mobile networking market. The company markets and manufactures a wide range of indoor and outdoor "Smart Wi-Fi" products for mobile operators, broadband service providers and corporate enterprises. Ranked as the top telecom company in the 2009 Inc. Magazine 500 list and named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Ruckus Wireless has realized dramatic growth. With more than 25 patents granted to date, Ruckus invented state-of-the-art wireless technology that focuses and directs signals over the best performing paths, automatically adapting them to changing environmental conditions. This unique capability extends signal range and ensures consistent reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. The company has raised $51 million in funding from premier investors such as Sequoia Capital, Focus Ventures, Sutter Hill, Motorola, T–Ventures, Telus Ventures and Firelake Capital. The company is led by Ms. Selina Lo, president and chief executive officer. For more information, visit Ruckus Wireless at http://www.ruckuswireless.com.

Media Contacts
David Callisch
Ruckus Wireless
[email protected]
+1-408-504-5487

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless