Ruckus Wireless takes pole position at Goodwood Revival

LONDON, ENGLAND and SUNNYVALE, CA, September 17, 2012 – Ruckus Wireless™ today announced that it has been selected by one of the UKs leading event technology providers, Etherlive, to provide high-capacity Wi-Fi equipment to support the communications infrastructure across Goodwood, home of the world famous racecourse and motor-racing circuit.

Goodwood hosts a number of high profile sporting and cultural events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival (14–16 Sept) and Glorious Goodwood attracting both the consumer and corporate hospitality. The Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi equipment is being used throughout the estate. This includes The Goodwood Hotel, the motor circuit and racecourse, and Goodwood House itself.

Etherlive will install and operate the Wi-Fi network using advanced 802.11n Wi-Fi products from Ruckus developed specifically for high-traffic environments. The Ruckus products uniquely integrate patented technology that adapts Wi-Fi signals to changing environmental conditions –“steering” them over faster, less noisy radio frequencies.

The network will allow those attending the event reliable access to social media through a network splash page which asks for their email in return providing Goodwood with a contact list of all those who use the service. The deployment is also designed to be commercially practical, enabling the use of Wi-Fi chip & pin terminals for transactions and the management of networked pay-gates.

Major sponsors and corporate exhibitors use the reliable wireless network to communicate with head offices to process high value transactions and complete customer surveys using tablets and other mobile devices.

Up to 40 Ruckus Wireless access points have been deployed to cover a range of locations across the estate. Indoor sections of the estate have been equipped with Ruckus ZoneFlex 7962 dual-band 802.11n enterprise-class access points. The provision of the outdoor Wi-Fi network will be supported by a mixture of both ZoneFlex 7762, concurrent dual-band (2.4/ 5Ghz) 802.11n access points and ZoneFlex 7731’s, which are based on the 802.11n standard and operate within the 5GHz band.

Ann Stupple, IT Director at Goodwood, said: “We have continued to work with Etherlive because of its technical expertise and experience in the provision of Wi-Fi to live outdoor events and large venues. The deployment of their extension to our core network has enabled us to implement a large scale Wi-Fi network that will meet the needs of our corporate and consumer customers, as well as improve internal communications.”

“At Ruckus, we pride ourselves on delivering top quality Wi-Fi technology that can be tailored to suit a project of any size or complexity. We are delighted at being selected to provide smarter Wi-Fi gear to support hospitality and live sporting events at the world famous Goodwood Estate, but this is a clear indication that conventional Wi-Fi isn’t enough to support the new demands facing the telecoms industry,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless.

Dealing with Density

“Dealing with density in a wireless environment requires not just one technology, but many technologies working in concert to deliver the ultimate experience for users,” explained Tom McInerney, Director at Etherlive. “Reliable, high-speed wireless access is no longer a negotiable amenity at the type of public events staged at Goodwood. Ruckus hardware continues to be our choice when deploying large site wide networks, the unique radio management technology approach means their networks continue to deliver service when others run out of gas.”

Providing a variety of communications services to Goodwood, Etherlive is well-versed in delivering high-speed Wi-Fi to large, live events such as the Isle of Wight Festival, Regent Street Festival, the PSP Southampton Boat Show and many others.

“The attention on today’s Wi-Fi technology has moved from one of coverage to capacity,” continued Lo. “The Mobile Internet is driving telecom operators everywhere to think differently about how best to deliver reliable, high-speed access to their subscribers due to the strain that massive amounts of data traffic is having on their cellular networks. This presents a game-changing opportunity for Ruckus to raise the bar in the world of wireless”.

Additionally, Etherlive is able to take advantage of Ruckus’ SmartMesh Networking enabling easy, on-demand deployment of Wi-Fi access points in locations where no computer network cabling is present. Etherlive can simply find a location requiring Wi-Fi service, plug a Ruckus access point into a power source and the device automatically uses the radio frequencies to establish a connection with another nearby access point.

ABOUT RUCKUS WIRELESS

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ruckus Wireless is a supplier of advanced wireless systems for the explosive mobile Internetworking 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 around the world. Ranked as the top telecom company by Inc. Magazine and named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Ruckus invented and has patented state-of-the-art wireless technology, such as adaptive antenna arrays that focus and direct Wi-Fi transmissions over the best signal path, automatically avoiding sources of Wi-Fi interference. These unique capabilities extend signal range, increase client data rates and ensure consistent and reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. With over 55 patents, 12,000 customers, and 4,000 solution partners worldwide, Ruckus employs over 500 staff in 22 countries. To date, the company has shipped over 3 million Smart Wi-Fi systems around the world and has raised $75 million in funding from premier investors such as Meritech Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital, SingTel, 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 https://www.ruckuswireless.com.

ABOUT ETHERLIVE

Based in Wiltshire, England, Etherlive is one of the UKs leading providers of IT and communications technology for the live event sector, working in partnership with event organisers to deliver key services such as VoIP, internet, People Counting, CCTV, payment processing, interactive advertising and rich media to all types of festivals, events, product launches and conferences. A specialist in large-scale indoor and outdoor events with multi-faceted communications needs, as well as being a major supplier to the corporate conference and events market, Etherlive provides services for Isle of Wight Festival, Goodwood Festival of Speed, South West Four, Southampton Boat Show, Jubilee Festival, Nokia, Amazon and Sony. For more information visit https://www.etherlive.co.uk