Business centres Canary Wharf Group and Cisco have announced the world’s first commercial trial deployment of ‘OpenRoaming’ technology.
An alternative to 4G and 5G connectivity, the technology allows mobile roaming with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, allowing devices to connect automatically to Wi-Fi and roam 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 Wi-Fi 6 access points, along with location-based analytics to allow its clients to build unique services for their customers.
Canary Wharf Group’s estate has a working population of 120,000 people with an additional 40,000 visitors daily on weekdays and 130,000 visitors over the weekend. There are up to 4,250 homes in development, in a state of the art ‘smart’ environment across the estate.
The latest wireless standard is hoped to deliver faster speeds, improved capacity, along with lower latency and longer battery life.
“For the real estate industry, next generation connectivity is a critical utility,” said Sir George Iacobesco, Executive Chairman, Canary Wharf Group.
“Extending the value of our services well beyond office space, our customers are demanding access to world-class digital infrastructure and connectivity.”
Scot Gardner, Chief Executive, Cisco UK and Ireland added: “Canary Wharf Group is a pioneer in delivering the latest innovation to drive experiences for its businesses, shoppers and residents and we are proud to be a part of their vision for this iconic site.”
“Secure connectivity is fundamental to the UK’s growth, and with best-in class Wi-Fi, as well as the seamless experience of OpenRoaming, Canary Wharf Group is providing the foundation for businesses to benefit from the digital economy.”
OpenRoaming is a Cisco-led federation, allowing users to join any network that is part of the federation.
It enables the network to securely auto-authenticate end user devices by using established identity providers, such as the user’s service provider or device manufacturer.
Proven as a concept for the first time in February 2019, with attendees from around the world at MWC Barcelona, the network technology has now been tested in some of the most challenging environments – including Orkney, one of the remotest parts of the UK.