By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW Chairman & CEO
Wi-Fi services that know the customer’s persona and know their preferences – also depending on location, time, activities, and more – is the new megatrend in enterprise wireless, says Wi-Fi services platform provider ANTlabs. The new customisation trend will especially impact hospitality, public spaces, and service providers and it is a bold step away from traditional ‘static’ subscription-based services, ANTlabs says.
Most enterprise or service provider Wi-Fi networks deliver subscription-style services with relatively simple policies on data usage and speeds. The new megatrend is the exact opposite: Contextual and ‘user-aware’ services that know who you are and what you want. This is part of the newest enterprise connectivity megatrend, which points to Wi-Fi services becoming increasingly personalised and customised, says Singapore-based Wi-Fi service management platform provider ANTlabs.
“Customisation of services is something that everyone wants – except many enterprises and service providers are not always aware that this is even possible. With deeper integration with CRM systems and the right Wi-Fi service platform tools, a lot of sophisticated and valuable service intelligence can be created,” says Kwang Tat Ang, VP Customer Solutions at ANTlabs.
Bring-Your-Own-Content – and more
For example: In hospitality the ‘BYOC’ concept- meaning ‘Bring Your Own Content’ – is setting a new standard for personalised guest services. The BYOC service – highly in demand by a US-based ANTlabs client and ISP – allows guests to use Wi-Fi to securely cast their own content to smart TVs or displays in their rooms or within an apartment. These types of differentiated hospitality Wi-Fi services form part a wider suite of applications, says Kwang Tat Ang.
Other use cases may include identifying premium hospitality or MDU guests and allowing such visitors to receive high bandwidth services while conversely, staff may be blocked from using certain applications during work hours – like Youtube or social media. It is also possible to provide for example event information or banner adds to a specific group of users based on their presence at specific locations within the premises or campus complex, ANTlabs says.
Another example of deep integration and customisation of Wi-Fi services is using unique and client-specific codes for Wi-Fi authentication. ANTlabs has implemented such a system at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar where travellers can use their PNR code (unique flight reservation code) to access the airport’s free Wi-Fi. Alternatively travellers can scan the QR code on their boarding pass to access the Wi-Fi, ANTlabs says.
“Especially home Wi-Fi has evolved enormously during the pandemic and now most people are accustomed to super-fast and highly consistent Wi-Fi that responds to their needs. We believe enterprises need to step up their game as far as Wi-Fi services are concerned or otherwise face a deepening expectation gap. The good news is that getting customized Wi-Fi services right means strong loyalty and brand recognition towards those who provide it,” says Kwang Tat Ang.
This December ANTlabs released their new ‘ASP Cloud’ platform designed for service providers or – for example – hotel Wi-Fi operators to deliver customised Wi-Fi services across multiple locations. For more about ANTlab’s new ASP Cloud read here.
/Claus.
