Telecom adding wi-fi to Auk, Well, Chch phone booths - US co.

Since this article was first published this morning, Ruckus Wireless has, after communication with Telecom, backed off its original statement to NBR ONLINE that "Telecom New Zealand is transforming 3,000 traditional phone booths into super fast Wi-Fi Hotspots using Ruckus Wireless technology." Ruckus also added that Telecom has yet to select a wi-fi partner outside of trial areas. As for whether NYSE-listed Ruckus was being over-enthusiastic in its description of its business with Telecom, or let the cat out of the bag too early .. time till tell.  - CK

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Californian company Ruckus Wireless has revealed itself as the supplier for a trial Telecom NZ scheme to turn phone boths into wi-fi hotspots (for wireless broadband access to the internet). Ruckus says a pilot programme at summer holiday destinations is currently being extended "into metropolitan areas in selected parts of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch."

Both Telecom and Vodafone have talked about using alternative wireless technologies to supplement traditional cellular networks, boosting coverage and filling gaps (in Vodafone's case, Russell Stanners has talked about the role of femtocells - paperback-size mini cellsites that connect mobile phones around a home or small business to a DSL landline. Vodafone has a low-key femtocell offering; read Femtocell changes Auckland man's life).

Ruckus, which is listed on the NYSE [RKUS] and has a market cap just below $US1 billion, says it also supplied gear for Telecom's hotspot trial over the Christmas holidays, which saw free wi-fi available in around 100 holiday areas.

For that pilot scheme - which Ruckus says took 12 weeks to deploy - used a mix of Surf Life Saving clubs and phone booths to host wi-fi gear.

This morning a Telecom spokeswoman told NBR the number of phone booth hotspots had increased to 115 and will continue to grow - but was not putting a number on it.

Telecom's network of phone booths seem ideal for hosting wi-fi kit (and of course they're little used for their original purpose these days).

With wi-fi (and cellular) network sites, resource-consent issues always loom larger than any technology challenges. I've got a request in with Telecom for confirmation, but its holiday trial seems to indicate it has no issues with rapidly adding wi-fi gear.

Another bonus: phone booths already have backhaul (a copper or fibre link to Telecom's main network) and power - traditionally two challenges for wi-fi hotspots.

As for the cost of the rollout? I got no immediate response from Ruckus or Telecom on that front, but Ruckus does say its Ruckus ZoneFlex 7762 was used for Telecom's holiday trial - and that piece of kit sells for between $US1500 and $US1999, according to Mr Google. Assuming it gets a bulk discount, that indicates Telecom would have to spend around $5 million for kit to cover every phone booth - although of course there will also be installation costs, the cost of Ruckus switches, plus the cost of setting up a system to manage the network (and don't forget that billing software).

Telecom's wi-fi hotspot pilot scheme lets you send a txt connect up to five wi-fi devices for free with a 1GB data cap (see the locations of the hotspots here). There is a brief online registration process. You only need to have an NZ registered mobile phone number (that is, not necessarily be a Telecom customer) to connect.

Moving the pilot into parts of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch will definitely make life more interesting. Ruckus notes Telecom has cited wi-fi's potential benefit for offloading traffic from its cellular network. If that does happen will be interesting to see how the metro wi-fi is charged, and whether it's seamless included in one monthly data cap (of course, free like the holiday hotspots would be nice, too).

While we're still wating for Telecom to confirm numbers, it looks like this could be another bold play for the Moutter regime. Since the new CEO came in last October, we've seen a shock-and-awe move to flat rate Australian roaming, the transtasman cable joint venture, big job cuts, the decision to launch home UFB plans before billing software or voice-over-fibre services were ready, and the $100 million purchase of data centre operator Revera. 

It's too early to say if these plays will sure up customer numbers, and turn around a profit decline, but but no one can say Moutter's standing still.

Follow @ChrisKeall

ckeall@nbr.co.nz

RAW DATA: Ruckus press release

Telecom New Zealand and Ruckus Wireless Transform
Traditional Phone Booths into Super Fast Wi-Fi Hotspots

Attracting New Customers, Giving Existing Customers More Choice, Expanding Wireless Service Footprint and Offloading Data From Cellular Network All Cited as Key Benefits

SUNNYVALE, CA – MAY 14, 2013 – Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) today announced that it was selected by Telecom NZ (Telecom), the national communications service supplier in New Zealand, to transform conventional payphones into ultra fast, outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots in locations across the country.

Telecom’s initial pilot project, completed in less than 12 weeks, outfitted phone booths in holiday locations over this past Christmas in December 2012 with Ruckus ZoneFlex™ 7762 outdoor dual-band 802.11n access points (APs) to provide the public with free high-speed Wi-Fi access. Telecom is now expanding its solution to more of the 3,000 telephone booths it operates across the country.

Each ZoneFlex 7762 AP integrates an adaptive antenna array based on Ruckus BeamFlex™ technology to deliver client devices much stronger Wi-Fi signals hat can automatically adapt to obstacles and interference to increase wireless reliability and performance. Central management of the Ruckus access points is provided through the Ruckus SmartCell™ Gateway (SCG) 200, a massively scalable and versatile wireless LAN (WLAN) platform

“One of the biggest challenges that carriers often have has nothing to do with technology but everything to do with securing locations where the equipment can be deployed with power and backhaul,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. “This is an extremely innovative and creative use of existing telecom assets that adds real value for both the subscriber and the carrier. Telecom New Zealand joins a class of other telecom leaders, such as PCCW in Hong Kong and Oi in Brazil, who are embarking on similar projects to retrofit phone booths with Wi-Fi,” concluded Lo.

Who Needs Change at a Payphone?
Any person with a Wi-Fi-capable New Zealand mobile device can use the free trial Wi-Fi service in selected locations. Users simply connect to an open Telecom Wi-Fi Zone signal and are sent a TXT (SMS) message to register devices on the network. Users can connect up to five devices for free from one registered mobile number. Per customer data usage is capped at 1GB per day. The wireless traffic from each phone booth is backhauled predominately over fixed DSL or ADSL broadband lines.  In some cases, wireless meshing is used to backhaul traffic.

Ruckus SmartMesh™ Networking technology allows Wi-Fi APs to automatically establish reliable and resilient wireless connections to adjacent APs that are connected to a fixed line network. This can speed deployment times and eliminate the cost and complexity of having to run cabling to every wireless access point.

“Like many operators around the world, we see Wi-Fi moving beyond simply hotspots and becoming a standard radio access network technology that customers like, want and value,” said Philip M. Ivanier, Head of Telecom Labs and Strategic Partnering for Telecom NZ.

Ivanier continued, “The Wi-Fi pilot with Ruckus has revealed a number of tangible benefits. Wi-Fi is clearly a fast and economical means to attract new subscribers. It gives existing subscribers more service locations, allowing us to quickly expand our service footprint. And the technology helps ease the burden by siphoning data traffic from the macro cellular network.”

With one million fixed line residential and small/medium enterprise (SME) customers, and two million mobile connections, Telecom is a major player in fixed, mobile and ICT for consumers, and corporate, enterprise, SME and wholesale customers.

Ivanier concluded, “Since deploying the Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi infrastructure we’ve seen very strong uptake, very high customer satisfaction and extremely positive user experiences. With its innovative antenna systems, the Ruckus gear uniquely extends signal range and provides a carrier-class user experience that is unique for Wi-Fi within the telecommunications industry.”

Access to Wi-Fi encourages users carrying mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to stay within the city area for longer periods of time, as well as attracting tourists and helping them avoid crippling roaming charges. Additionally, Wi-Fi is being used as a marketing and communications tool to engage with users and shoppers to drive them into particular city center retail areas. Telecom NZ is pursuing this on a commercial basis.

Telecom NZ is deploying Ruckus technology as the carrier wants the Wi-Fi access experience in these high-density areas to be consistent and always available. The Ruckus APs are unique for this environment as the in-built adaptive antenna array delivers industry-leading performance while also mitigating interference - critical when you are deploying in central business districts (CBDs) with lots of other Wi-Fi networks present.

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ABOUT RUCKUS WIRELESS

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) is a global supplier of advanced wireless systems for the rapidly expanding mobile Internet infrastructure market. The company offers a wide range of indoor and outdoor "Smart Wi-Fi" products to mobile carriers, broadband service providers, and corporate enterprises, and has approximately 24,400 end-customers worldwide. Ruckus technology addresses Wi-Fi capacity and coverage challenges caused by the ever-increasing amount of traffic on wireless networks due to accelerated adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Ruckus invented and has patented state-of-the-art wireless voice, video, and data technology innovations, such as adaptive antenna arrays that extend signal range, increase client data rates, and avoid interference, ensuring consistent and reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. For more information, visit http://www.ruckuswireless.com.

BeamFlex, SmartCell, SmartMesh, Ruckus, Ruckus Wireless, and ZoneFlex are trademarks of Ruckus Wireless, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product or company names may be trademarks of their respective owners.