Canary Wharf Group and Cisco announce first-ever commercial deployment of OpenRoaming

Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, no login required

London, UK – October 30th, 2019: Canary Wharf Group, owner of one the largest business centres in Europe, and Cisco have today announced the world’s first commercial trial deployment of OpenRoaming.

Combining the convenience of mobile roaming with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, OpenRoaming allows devices to connect automatically to Wi-Fi and seamlessly 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 sophisticated location-based analytics to allow its clients to build unique services for their customers.

The City of London contributes more than 22% of the UK’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Having overseen the largest urban regeneration project ever undertaken in Europe, in London Docklands, Canary Wharf Group is at the heart of the capital’s economy with 17 million square feet of high-quality commercial office and retail space. The 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.

Over the last six years, Canary Wharf Group has provided first class infrastructure to over 200 start-ups based in its renowned technology hub, Level39. Wood Wharf, a 5 million square foot regeneration project on the estate, will provide the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to its fast-growth businesses and residents when it opens its doors to tenants in 2020. The latest wireless standard delivers dramatically faster speeds, improved capacity, along with lower latency and longer battery life.

OpenRoaming is anticipated to dramatically improve efficiencies and flexibility of onboarding Wi-Fi seamlessly and securely for the more than 20,000 entrepreneurs, as well as independent retailers, bars, cafes, hotels and workspaces, such as The Office Group, Hoxton Hotel’s new affordable branch NoCo, Grind and Pedlar, to be based at Wood Wharf.

“For the real estate industry, next generation connectivity is a critical utility. Extending the value of our services well beyond office space, our customers are demanding access to world-class digital infrastructure and connectivity,” says Sir George Iacobesco, Executive Chairman, Canary Wharf Group. “Canary Wharf Group is committed to creating an estate-wide environment in which businesses can thrive. As well as refreshing our provision for commercial customers, we are continuously evolving our offering to residents and visitors, and initiatives such as this ensure that we are able to do so. We’re delighted to be working with Cisco on this ground breaking initial deployment.”

“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,” added Scot Gardner, Chief Executive, Cisco UK and Ireland. “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.”

Canary Wharf will also help landlords and tenants to understand how their real estate is being used, with data analytics to drive efficiency in workspace design using Cisco DNA Spaces. Further, it enables over-the-top use cases such as location-based services, end user engagement and wayfinding to enable individuals to find the meeting room or retail store they are looking for.

OpenRoaming is a Cisco-led federation that includes trusted identity providers, 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.

ENDS

About Canary Wharf Group

Canary Wharf Group plc has overseen the largest urban regeneration project ever undertaken in Europe, designing and building more than 16.5m sq ft of London real estate, which now houses local and international companies and renowned retailers.

The Canary Wharf estate is a major retail destination comprising around 1m sq ft across five shopping malls, including the award-winning leisure development, Crossrail Place, housing one of London’s most stunning roof gardens. It also has world-class, year-round arts and events programme offering over 200 diverse and culturally inspiring events performed throughout the Estate.

Canary Wharf’s new district, Wood Wharf, will provide up to 3,600 new homes, 2m sq ft of office space, 380,000 sq ft of retail space and over eight acres of public spaces, squares and parks. There will also be a GP surgery and a two-form primary school for 420 children.

Canary Wharf Group is a wholly owned joint venture between Brookfield Property Partners and the Qatar Investment Authority.

Website:www.canarywharf.com

Instagram:@canarywharflondon
Twitter @CanaryWharfGrp; @YourCanaryWharf; @Level39CW

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