Hoteliers Continue Move to More Reliable Wi-Fi to Combat the Onslaught of Wireless-Only Devices

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruckus Wireless™ (www.ruckuswireless.com) today announced that Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants (Larkspur), a west coast collection of upscale all suite and boutique hotels and restaurants, has standardized all 23 of its properties on the Ruckus ZoneFlex™ Smart Wi-Fi system.  

Since January 2011, Ruckus Wi-Fi products and technology have been deployed in more hotels around the world than any other enterprise-grade Wi-Fi system.

With the proliferation of mobile devices and tablet computers in use by consumers and business travelers alike, has come increased pressure on hotel operators to provide steady, reliable wireless broadband access while also ensuring there is plenty of bandwidth to go around. Hotel chains like Larkspur are investing in cost-effective advanced Smart Wi-Fi technology to not only meet today's demands for high speed Internet access (HSIA), but also to future-proof their properties with wireless networks that will support new applications and devices for years to come.

"Reliable wireless access has become as important to hotel guests as a bar of soap," said Jim Hansen, executive vice president for Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants. "The need for always-on, never faltering Wi-Fi connectivity is the same for business executives and families on vacation. Whether it's streaming a Netflix video on their iPad or sending large files to the corporate office, if the connection breaks, guests are extremely unhappy. With its patented technologies, Ruckus has clearly differentiated itself as the system of choice to take hotel Wi-Fi where it needs to go – everywhere."

Delivering the Comforts of Home with Better Wi-Fi

Established in 1996, Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants is a rapidly growing company headquartered in Larkspur, California, just north of San Francisco. With the help of Hotel Internet Services (HIS), the company is replacing a legacy network of access points with Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi indoor products. To provide complete coverage at every property, Larkspur Hotels is using roughly half the number of Ruckus access points (APs) it had in place previously.  

"Larkspur's previous Wi-Fi systems were supposed to deliver property-wide coverage, but never did, even as more APs were added," said Gary Patrick, president of HIS. "There were always problem locations where getting a signal was difficult, and other areas where connections were either slow or inconsistent."  

Like many hotels, high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access and ubiquitous coverage was quickly becoming a primary requirement across Larkspur's properties as more and more guest surveys were showing. Meanwhile a dramatic increase in the number of wireless-only devices being brought into Larkspur hotels exacerbated the need to switch out older Cisco Wi-Fi technology to state-of-the-art Smart Wi-Fi. So Larkspur acted quickly by selecting patented Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products and technologies.

"Once we made our Wi-Fi move, we quickly discovered that on top of surprising performance increases delivered through its adaptive antenna technology, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system had a much lower total cost of ownership," said Hansen. "Not only did we see lower capital costs from having to deploy fewer APs at each site but we were able to deploy these systems much more quickly, in many cases using their Smart Mesh technology to overcome wiring limitations in older buildings. The unique combination of these technologies and capabilities let us streamline the whole deployment process while delivering much stronger and faster Wi-Fi throughout our properties."

Unlike conventional Wi-Fi products, each ZoneFlex AP 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 the range and reducing the number of APs needed to cover any given area.

With the Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi system in place, Larkspur Hotels is providing guests with reliable and ubiquitous wireless high-speed Internet connectivity. And because of its unique support for multimedia, the ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi system lets Larkspur explore new wireless applications such as using the network for in-room HD on-demand IP-based video streaming and digital information displays as well as VOIP handsets and other next-generation technologies.

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 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.

About Hotel Internet Services

Founded in 2003, Hotel Internet Services (HIS) is a leading provider of secure wired and wireless Internet services, IPTV, VOD, 24x7 guest support and monitoring services, unattended business centers, meeting & convention services for hotels, resorts, timeshares, casinos, and other venues. Over 250,000 business and leisure travelers use HIS Internet services each month. HIS provides services to hundreds of hotels, resorts, casinos meeting and conference venues across the US, supported by offices in California, Florida and Nevada. www.hotelwifi.com

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

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless