Ruckus launches ‘Europe’s first’ Hotspot 2.0 service

Ruckus Wireless has launched what it claims is Europe’s first Hotspot 2.0 Wi-Fi service, which automates how users connect to a network.

The company has released the product in Warsaw’s Royal Gardens in Poland, which spans 760,000 square metres.

The service is open to customers of any operator. The network has been built using Ruckus’ ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi access points and ZoneDirector controllers, both of which are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Instead of manually selecting a Wi-Fi network to join and keying in log-in details, certified devices connect to Hotspot 2.0 based on information from access points that tell the deice which networks are available.

Among the devices that are compatible are iPhones running iOS7 or a select number of Samsung Galaxy handsets. Customers only have to log in the once, with members of other networks getting a one-off password sent to them so they can log in using their phone number.

Aleksander Jakubczak, who was responsible for developing wireless access at Orange Labs Poland, said: “Hotspot 2.0 not only helps to reduce traffic pressure by offloading data from the mobile network, it also gives our customers faster, more reliable and secure Internet access through a smarter Wi-Fi infrastructure that simply delivers a better user experience.”

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