São Paulo, Brazil, July 15, 2015 – Cisco® Wi-Fi technology was deployed in the Rio de Janeiro city subway, called MetrôRio. Subway stations Flamengo, Largo do Machado and Catete now have wireless Internet through Cisco Access Points and Cisco Prime™ architecture. The Wi-Fi service is used by subway users and also by commercial establishments inside the stations.
Cisco Aironet™ 2602-i Access Points and the Cisco 8500 Wireless Controller were installed, in addition to Cisco Prime architecture, which integrates the solutions Prime LAN Management Solutions (LMS) and Prime Network Control System (NCS) in a single package, simplifying management and integrating the networks. The infrastructure was deployed in a "star" topology, interconnected with the concessionaire central and the Wi-Fi points arranged in mezzanines and the platforms. Linktel was chosen to deliver the service, and the implementation of the project started in February 2014.
In just April, the MetrôRio recorded 4,869 accesses in the three stations. "It’s important for MetrôRio to provide convenience and services such as free Wi-Fi, to facilitate the users' life, making their experience within the subway system even more positive," said Ricardo Nunes, director of Marketing and Sales at MetrôRio.
Throughout the whole operation time in the three MetrôRio stations, no wireless network failure has been reported, nor communication problems or in users’ authentications. Not even during the project implementation was a service interruption necessary - the traffic of the stations was added to the rest of equipment without disconnecting the network. "The easy installation of Cisco’s technology contributed greatly to the progress of MetrôRio Wi-Fi project," said Jonas Trunk, Linktel’s president.
The MetrôRio Wi-Fi is also employed by commercial establishments within the stations. Linktel has a sales team that provides the service in a shared link to the stores, which then use the wireless Internet in the day-to-day operations. The registration of users is utilized by MetrôRio to optimize their communications, using the database to send targeted information via SMS or email (like maintenance schedules and adjusted fares, among others).
“Today it is impossible to imagine not having access to Wi-Fi technology, particularly in areas with large flow of people, such as the MetrôRio," said Junot Pitanga, regional manager of Cisco's Service Provider segment. "But only the availability of wireless Internet is not enough. It is necessary that the system is easy to implement and manage, adding value to the customer's business. We are pleased that Cisco technology has provided it to MetrôRio," explained the executive.
The concessionaire intends to implement free Wi-Fi in all 36 stations of its two lines by the end of this year (today there are 17 stations with this type of service).
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