Colubris Networks, the leading global provider of intelligent wireless LANs (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers, today announced several major enhancements to the Colubris Intelligent Mobility Solution, the company’s flagship wireless LAN offering. The new feature set enables Internet service providers (ISPs) and hospitality companies of all sizes to deploy a range of services that can be specifically tailored to their venues and customers. In addition, the solution boasts an unprecedented level of deployment flexibility that supports multiple ISP business models, payment vehicles and network deployment models, and allows services to be delivered to client devices connected by Ethernet or wireless LANs.
Among the new features is the ability for hospitality companies to integrate their Wi-Fi networks with existing property management and credit-card processing systems, which gives these companies more flexible options for deploying WLANs. In addition, hospitality companies, as well as hotspot operators, retail companies and other businesses that offer public Internet services, can now offer tiered subscription plans and deliver advertising, thereby generating more revenue for their businesses.
“Consumers of public Wi-Fi want the service to be as easy to use as possible, and that often means not being locked into limited subscription models. By the same token, hospitality companies are looking for new ways to provide customers with the services they want while also increasing their revenue opportunities. The new version of Colubris’ products enables organizations to achieve both goals,” said Tom Racca, vice president of marketing of Colubris Networks. “Additionally, the enhancements to our Wi-Fi solution allow hospitality companies to easily integrate their Wi-Fi networks with their existing property management and credit-card processing systems, providing an even more seamless experience to guests.”
The enhanced features in the new version of the Colubris Intelligent Mobility Solution include:
- Integration with hotel property management systems: Colubris now interfaces with property management systems using the Hotel Billing Information Center (HOBIC) standard and popular third-party protocols. This means hotel operators can integrate the Wi-Fi network with a customer’s billing data, allowing customers to charge wireless service to their room bills rather than paying for it separately.
- Integration with credit-card processing systems: Now, by integrating directly with major online credit-card processing systems, Colubris gives hotspot operators, smaller properties and retail chains the ability to set up their own Wi-Fi networks and bill customers directly for wireless service.
- Ability to offer subscription plans: Colubris now enables companies to create more sophisticated and flexible subscription plans for their customers. Service providers have the flexibility to offer subscription plans based on any combination of time duration, upload/download quotas, maximum bandwidth, advertising-free selection and assignment of public IP addresses. This allows ISPs to drive more revenue by tailoring services to local market conditions.
- Security Overlay for Payment Card Industry compliance: Colubris offers the option to encrypt/decrypt selected communications streams in its central controller for security that meets Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). The Security Overlay mode uses strong IPSec or AES cryptography to protect the security of payment card information from end-to-end as it traverses the network and enables a single network infrastructure to deliver multiple services.
- Flexible advertising opportunities: In addition to being able to provide ad-free service, companies can also use Colubris to provide free Internet service supported by advertising revenue. For example, they can offer a toolbar for the user session and offer rotating ads on that toolbar. Colubris also provides companies with a greater number of portal page options, on which properties can advertise their own services or sell ad space to local businesses. The portal pages can be hosted on the controller or delivered by a central server.
- Deployment flexibility: Colubris gives Wi-Fi service providers the flexibility to deploy the 5000 Series MultiService Controller in a central location, such as a network operations center, or distributed on the premises of the venues served. A new NAT traversal feature enables Colubris Wi-Fi access points and controllers to communicate across any intervening IP network, including the public Internet.
The new version of the Colubris Intelligent Mobility Solution also features a software licensing model that provides a strong value proposition for Colubris’ channel partners and customers. Unlike other WLAN solutions that rely on pre-deployed firmware to define usable feature sets, number of supported users and other functionality, the new Colubris software licensing model allows for easy and convenient upgrades without requiring the purchase of new hardware.
“The enhancements Colubris has made are extremely beneficial to our customers, and also make it easy and attractive for us to sell their products,” said Gary Patrick, president of Hotel Internet Services. “The Colubris solution is ideal for public Wi-Fi providers, regardless of size, as it allows them to tailor their wireless service to offer the most attractive options to their customers in order to generate maximum revenue.”
Pricing and Availability
The new features are offered with Colubris Operating System version 5.3, which will be available in September 2008. Most features are standard, except for Property Management System Integration, Credit-Card Processing and Security Overlay, which are licensed separately beginning at $599, $499 and $499, respectively. All features require a Colubris 5000 Series MultiService Controller.
About Colubris
Colubris Networks is the leading global provider of intelligent wireless networks (WLANs) for enterprises and service providers. Its optimized WLAN switching systems deliver unmatched bandwidth efficiency, seamless mobility and secure, easy access for thousands of organizations and 40 million users worldwide. With its “future proof” architecture, Colubris provides organizations with the most cost-effective migration from legacy standards to 802.11n. Its systems unify and integrate with existing network infrastructures, as well as security and management systems. Colubris’ numerous recognitions include Red Herring’s top 100 private companies in North America, Fierce Wireless Fierce 15, CRN’s Emerging Tech Vendors and Mobile Trax Mobility Award. For more information, visit Colubris on the Web at www.colubris.com.
