Ruckus Wireless today announced that its ZoneFlex Smart Wireless LAN (WLAN) system has seen broad, worldwide adoption by many of the busiest airports around the globe looking to bring reliable, high-performance Wi-Fi connectivity to highly trafficked, high-density passenger terminals.

With thousands of business and leisure travelers carrying smartphones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices passing through airport terminals and guest lounges every day, airports are one of many public venues where the need for high-capacity, high-performance Wi-Fi connectivity has become an expected service.

Among the airports around the world to select Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products and technology are China's two largest airports – Beijing Capital International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport – which are using the Ruckus system to offer high-speed wireless networking guest access, as well as to support digital signage and other applications.

Mobile device usage is on a significant upward climb in airports and other public areas everywhere, putting strains on airport IT personnel to outfit passenger terminals with advanced Wi-Fi technology capable of handling high user densities and streaming multimedia.

In June of 2011, a study conducted by Boingo Wireless showed that smartphone and tablet usage in airports for the first time overtook laptops, with 58.9 percent of users on its network using handheld devices, up from 34.1 percent in June 2010 and 11.5 percent in June 2008. The 2011 study also showed that the iPad alone accounted for 23.5 percent of connections at airports. Forrester Research estimates that more than 25 percent of business airline passengers and 12 percent of leisure travelers go online at airports.

Smart Wi-Fi Connects Millions at China's Biggest Airports

Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (GBIA), China's busiest and second busiest airports by passenger traffic, are deploying the Ruckus ZoneFlex system to provide free hotspot services to passengers. Both the Beijing airport and Guangzhou airport are installing approximately 100 Ruckus ZoneFlex 7962 and 7363 802.11n dual-band indoor access points (APs) to cover the entire passenger terminals, and are also using Ruckus ZoneDirector 5000 WLAN controllers and the FlexMaster network management system to centrally manage the networks.

Installation at Guangzhou airport was completed in December 2011, while the installation work at Beijing airport is currently underway and is expected to be completed by March 2012.

Beijing JianFei KeLian Technologies, the hotspot provider for these two airports, had conducted vigorous live tests of all the popular WLAN products at the airports for two months. Only Ruckus ZoneFlex APs were able to simultaneously connect 100+ mobile devices, including laptops, smart phones and tablets, reliably at any time. Both airports allow carriers to deploy their own Wi-Fi networks, and Ruckus' patented adaptive antenna and ChannelFly™ technologies played a major role in the selection, given their unique ability to mitigate interference and select the best channels for providing hotspot services.

In addition, the compact, non-conspicuous design of the ZoneFlex system and mounting options enabled JianFei KeLian to place and install Ruckus APs on walls, ceilings and poles, without affecting the integrity and aesthetics of the terminals.

India Flies High With Better Wi-Fi

India's largest airport, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), has installed Ruckus ZoneFlex 7300 series 802.11n smart Wi-Fi access points throughout its international and domestic terminals and is initially offering free multimegabit Wi-Fi services to millions of passengers that transit the airport every year. CSIA operates five terminals over an operational area of 1,450 acres (5.9 km2) – handling over 29.1 million passengers and 670,235 tons of cargo in 2010. 

Malaysia's KL International Airport Moves to Better Wi-Fi

KL International Airport (KLIA), one of the largest airport sites in the world, has standardized on Ruckus' popular ZoneFlex™ indoor/outdoor Smart Wi-Fi products and technology. The new Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi system is initially being used to provide free high-speed hotspot services to the passengers that transit KLIA every year. KLIA recorded growth in terms of passenger movements to 34.1 million in 2010. The Smart Wi-Fi network will also be used by airlines, ground handling and aircraft engineering staff to access an array of applications.

Operated by Malaysia Airports, KLIA's facilities span over 100 square kilometers. KLIA's main terminal building alone is equivalent to the size of 72 football fields. According to KLIA, the move to a new airport-wide Wi-Fi system was driven by the need to give passengers the best possible airport experience by providing ubiquitous broadband access, reliable wireless connectivity and consistent performance.

 

The international airports that have deployed the Ruckus ZoneFlex system include: