TELENET GROUP HOLDING NV 06.10.2014 15:00:00 CET
Telenet makes Wi-Fi more powerful and smarter across BelgiumFirst for Belgium: smart login on all Telenet Homespots and Hotspots with new EAP technology.
First for the City of Mechelen: first Wi-Free city of Belgium. Commercial city centre will be Belgium's biggest connected Wi-Fi zone.
Mechelen, 6 October 2014 - In the coming years, Telenet will invest heavily in the further development of its Wi-Free network to ensure that customers on the move will also be able to benefit from the best connectivity and new digital applications always and everywhere. The company is the first operator in Belgium to implement a new technology known as EAP. Customers only need to log in once with their mobile device to automatically make a connection with the available homespots or hotspots. Telenet and the City of Mechelen also announced that Mechelen's commercial city center will have full Wi-Fi coverage by spring. This offers many digital opportunities for both locals and tourists. These investments are the second pillar of the overarching project "De Grote Netwerf''.
De Grote Netwerf on the move
With this ambitious long-term plan, Telenet is to invest a total of 500 million euros over the coming five years to develop and upgrade the network. The first part, "De Grote Netwerf in your street", comprises broadening the coax network, which will make high-speed Internet of at least 1 Gigabit per second possible in the long term. For the second part, "De Grote Netwerf on the move", Telenet will improve its public Wi-Free network to allow customers to enjoy the best connectivity and new digital applications everywhere, both at home and on the move. More specifically, Telenet will make its 2,000 hotspotsand more than 1 million homespots smarter and more present.
Smart login for Telenet Wi-Fi
As of today, Telenet will also implement an improved technology (Extended Authentication Protocol or EAP), which means that customers only need to log in once with their Telenet details on a mobile device to automatically connect with any Telenet hotspot or homespot always and everywhere. This increases the user-friendliness for the customer who no longer has to 'search' for Telenet Wi-Fi networks. Telenet is the first operator in Belgium to roll out this new technology.
John Porter, CEO Telenet: "Mobile Internet is becoming increasingly important. The past 5 years, data usage on our hotspots has increased 800 percent. It is thus necessary to invest heavily in our Wi-Fi network and to optimise the user-friendliness for all our customers. In places where customers spend longer periods of time, such as restaurants, pubs, but also large shopping streets or tourist squares, they usually look for a high-performance Wi-Fi network. That is where we want to be with our Wi-Free. By simplifying the login procedure and expanding the coverage, we want customers to 'take their Internet with them', as it were, regardless of where they are and enjoy the best Internet experience both at home and on the move. We will provide free Wi-Fi everywhere in Flanders for our customers."
As of today, 6 October, the new technology has been activated for all 2,000 hotspots (with the exception of SNCB stations) and the homespots in Mechelen. The rollout in other cities will be in the course of November and December. By early 2015, all homespots will be fitted with the new technology and all Telenet customers will be able to use Telenet's high-speed Wi-Fi network in Belgium by logging in once per mobile device.
Mechelen: first Wi-Free city
In addition to the existing network of more than 1 million homespots and 2,000 hotspots, Telenet's ambition is to provide full coverage for more city centers - more specifically commercial and tourist areas - with the smart Wi-Free network. Consequently, people visiting the city will stay connected to the Telenet Wi-Fi network the whole time. Mechelen is the first city where this is possible. By the spring of 2015, the commercial center will have full Wi-Fi coverage. Telenet will install extra hardware for this at the Bruul, IJzerleen, Hoogstraat, Grote Markt and Veemarkt, and other places.
Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen: "Mechelen was already the most digital city of Flanders and today has taken another leap forward. Thanks to this unique and massive rollout of the Wi-Fi network over the whole commercial center, Mechelen will be Belgium's first Wi-Free city. Over the last few months, we have been able to launch this project in Mechelen with Telenet, which offers enormous possibilities to further position Mechelen as a smart city."
John Baekelmans, CTO Smart Cities Cisco: "Thanks to the cooperation with Telenet and the rollout of the big Wi-Fi zone in the city center, Mechelen has made a first step in the evolution towards a 'smart city'. Using sensors and the Internet, this will result in a more efficient and smarter policy for waste collection, street lighting, public transport, traffic or parking. Also, an urban Wi-Fi network stimulates the economy and facilitates the communication with the population. Cities thus become more sustainable and liveable."
The Wi-Fi zone in the city center creates, together with the existing homespot network in Mechelen, the biggest connected Wi-Fi network in Belgium. This offers enormous advantages for Telenet customers. In Wi-Free zones, paying data usage for customers can decrease 85%. Access to the smart Wi-Free network across the whole of Belgium is included in the Internet subscription of Telenet customers. And in addition, they can call free of charge via the Wi-Free network and watch television via the Triiing and Yelo application. Tourists or non-Telenet customers will be able to surf free of charge in Mechelen's city center for one hour.
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