The Resort Municipality of Whistler has selected V-Link Solutions to provide its yodelTM wireless high speed Internet service, using 802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN equipment provided by Colubris Networks. yodel has been developed jointly by Whistler and V-Link Solutions to provide ubiquitous wireless Internet access at North America’s top mountain resort and vacation destination.
Located in British Columbia, Canada, Whistler is a leader among mountain resort communities, attracting more than two million visitors each year. Whistler has a permanent population of approximately 10,000 residents. Notably, Whistler will be the venue for the alpine skiing, bobsleigh/luge and Nordic events during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The resort also boasts a variety of other outdoor activities plus restaurants, clubs and shops, as well as three championship golf courses.
V-Link Solutions currently provides wireless high speed Internet service to over 100 high quality hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Canada. Whistler and V-Link Solutions add to Colubris Networks’ list of more than 350 service provider and enterprise customers worldwide, including Telecom Italia, NTT-ME, McGill University, Bangkok International Airport, and three of the world’s largest hotel chains.
Whistler selected V-Link Solutions to deliver wireless Internet access throughout the resort – encompassing more than 6,500 guest rooms, including hotels, condominiums, B&Bs, cozy lodges and private residences. yodel utilizes V-Link Solutions’ proprietary Internet access software and systems and intelligent wireless LAN access devices from Colubris Networks. The first phase of yodel deployment covers approximately 50 percent of all guest accommodations.
yodel enables resort visitors to enjoy wireless access to the Internet at broadband speeds via Wi-Fi-enabled laptop computers, PDAs and other wireless devices equipped with an 802.11b networking card. Expanding upon an existing relationship between V-Link Solutions and Colubris Networks, the combined solution for Whistler is designed for ease of use with unique features that transparently adapt the service to any client device or application, delivering a seamless user experience.
The first phase of the yodel service has been successfully deployed in 11 key locations throughout the main Village of Whistler. Those sites include the 2010 Olympic office, four hotels, the public library, fire hall and other municipal buildings. In the next phase of deployment, V-Link Solutions and Whistler plan to expand services to the other areas in the resort where there is a high concentration of tourist accommodation. These include the Upper Village (at the base of Blackcomb Mountain) and Creekside – the location of the original gondola for Whistler mountain – which is currently undergoing a major redevelopment, including hundreds of new rooms for tourist accommodation.
“yodel is a great example of both ‘entrepreneurial government’ and a successful private public partnership,” said John Rae, manager, strategic alliances & marketing services for the Resort Municipality of Whistler. “For us, yodel generates new streams of revenue that will be channeled back into the Whistler community. Also, yodel provides guests with access to increasingly important technology thereby reinforcing our position as a world-class mountain resort with every amenity imaginable.”
Today’s announcement is made in conjunction with the launch of the first phase of yodel. It builds upon a successful trial by Whistler and V-Link Solutions conducted earlier this year. The V-Link Solutions system, together with Colubris Networks equipment provides a range of billing options for guests, including credit cards and pre-paid access cards that are sold in selected locations in the resort. The solution also features customized Web login pages to deliver a consistent yodel-branded service whenever users access a hotspot in the resort.
V-Link Solutions also provides Whistler with robust, back-end services – such as authentication, metering and billing – to ensure that users are validated and that traffic usage is accounted for, and seamlessly interconnects all wireless LAN locations. In addition to installing each wireless location and overseeing the service deployment, V-Link Solutions has a team on-site to provide round-the-clock technical support to Whistler guests.
“Leaders in the hospitality industry like Whistler understand the advantages that wireless access affords residents, visitors and resort operators alike,” said Abbas A. Sadriwalla, president of V-Link Solutions. “They also know how important it is to team with the right partners to put wireless service and customer support in place. We’re honored that Whistler has chosen V-Link Solutions. Our partnership with Colubris Networks and its highly reliable Wi-Fi equipment enables us to deliver the service that Whistler expects. We’re looking forward to a long, productive relationship with Whistler and Colubris Networks.”
According to a June 2003 report from leading analyst firm Gartner, the number of public hotspots worldwide will exceed 71,000 this year, and is anticipated to more than double to 150,000 by 2005. The firm also estimates that there will be 75 million users of hotspots by 2008. Second only to airports, the most popular locations for wireless hotspots are hotels – underscoring the strong adoption rate in the hospitality sector.
“Businesses and consumers alike are fueling the strong demand for wireless access, because people want anytime, anywhere access to information,” said Barry Fougere, president and CEO of Colubris Networks. “Our products enable enterprises and service providers to pursue new business models that make no-hassle Internet access a reality. When leaders like V-Link Solutions and Whistler deploy them, that’s a tremendous endorsement of our company and our technology.”
As a core part of the Whistler yodel network, V-Link Solutions is combining its proprietary software and system with the Colubris Networks CN3500 access controller – an easily managed, highly scalable hotspot gateway – and the CN300 intelligent access point. Together, the Colubris Networks access devices provide a complete hotspot solution that is easy and cost-effective for service providers, such as V-Link Solutions, to deploy and operate.
The V-Link Solutions’ Wi-Fi model takes advantage of Colubris Networks’ access devices to seamlessly integrate service and back-end systems. Doing so ensures that users receive an easy-to-use and reliable Wi-Fi experience, and provides Whistler with the ideal platform to continue expanding its Wi-Fi network throughout the entire resort.
About V-Link Solutions
V-Link Solutions is a provider of cutting edge models for wireless high speed Internet access and is the leading provider of wireless Internet access to the hospitality industry. V-Link Solutions creates innovative systems that are specifically tailored to the customer’s needs and location architecture. V-Link Solutions will create the most cost effective and complete coverage system that can be tailored as a ‘for profit’ model or a ‘guest service’ model. In less than a year of operations, V-Link Solutions has installed wireless high speed Internet access systems in over 100 hotels and resorts. V-Link Solutions has a team of software programmers and innovative hardware partners that guarantee development of a successful system for each customer. To be assured of total customer satisfaction V-Link Solutions provides in-house customer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Learn more about V-Link Solutions at www.vlinknet.com or contact us at info@vlinknet.com.
About Colubris Networks
Colubris Networks is a global leader in providing highly secure, manageable and cost-effective Wireless LAN solutions for enterprise networks and carrier deployments. Its award-winning Wi-Fi certified product family of purpose-built enterprise and public access offerings seamlessly integrates into existing customer networks, providing maximum cost-effectiveness and management simplicity. Colubris Networks embeds strong tools such as Virtual Private Networking, enhanced security and firewall technologies into its open, industry-standard solutions. Colubris Networks’ products are deployed by more than 350 organizations worldwide, including Telecom Italia, NTT-ME, McGill University, Bangkok International Airport, and three of the world’s largest hotel chains. The company’s strategic partners include Alcatel, Juniper Networks, Funk Software, Micromuse, and a worldwide network of value-added-resellers and systems integrators. For more information visit the company Web site at www.colubris.com or contact us at info@colubris.com.
