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Emirates Stadium selects The Cloud and O2 to deliver high speed WiFi access
Wednesday, 25 October 2006
London, 24th October, 2006 – The Cloud, Europe’s leading WiFi network operator, today announced that it has partnered with O2 to bring WiFi access to Arsenal’s flagship Emirates Stadium in London.
The Cloud and O2 will provide WiFi access throughout the stadium, media centre, 150 executive boxes and conference facilities for up to 600 delegates with pitch views. This not only makes the stadium an ideal venue for conferences where delegates need secure, reliable internet access, it also ensures press and photographers can submit copy and images quickly and directly. Furthermore, as handheld wireless devices become more popular among fans, it will allow access from the stands.
“Emirates Stadium prides itself on providing a wide range of value-added services to visitors so deploying a wireless network was a priority for us,” explains Paul Farmer, Head of IT at Arsenal.
The Cloud is also able to offer low-cost pay as you go usage packages as well as bespoke access packages for the press. Moreover, as a neutral and open service provider, it enables access to the broadest range of online experiences - from internet access to wireless gaming to mobile VoIP.
“The Cloud is delighted to bring WiFi to Arsenal’s new home,” adds Bobby Sarin, COO, The Cloud. “With experience of similar deployments at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and White Hart Lane, we were able to draw on our expertise to put together the best solution for Emirates Stadium and its visitors.”
“We are already making use of The Cloud’s network by equipping bar staff with wireless barcode scanners,” concludes Russ Shaw, Capability and Innovation Director O2 UK. “When fans enter our ‘Free pints on match day competition’ they receive a barcode by SMS which we can then easily scan to determine whether they have won.”
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About The Cloud:
The Cloud offers sophisticated national wireless LAN coverage in hotspot and hotzone locations throughout the UK, Sweden and Germany. The Cloud's infrastructure is a multi-service provider platform, which allows providers such as ISPs, mobile operators, gaming, VOIP and broadband companies to offer a fully branded wireless LAN experience to their customers. With The Cloud, site owners maximise their revenue potential by supporting all major service providers at their location and customers enjoy the best possible experience and maximum ease of use. Launched in mid 2003, The Cloud actively partners with Vonage, O2, BT, Vodafone, Skype, iPass, Nintendo and Intel, among others, to facilitate the growth of wireless broadband services across Europe. The Cloud's investors include 3i IT Provider and Accel Partners, Europe. The Cloud was recently nominated as a Technology Pioneer at The World Economic Forum and as a Red Herring Top 100 Company.
For further information please contact:
Matt Campbell
Mantra PR for The Cloud
Tel : +44 20 7907 7828
mcampbell@mantra-pr.com
About O2:
O2 is a leading provider of mobile services to consumers and businesses in the UK. It is the leader in non-voice services, including text, media messaging, games, music and video, as well as always on data connections via GPRS, 3G and WLAN. Every month, O2’s 16 million customers send well over a billion text messages. O2 (UK) is a subsidiary of O2 which also owns O2 branded mobile operators in Ireland and Germany as well as the O2 Airwave emergency services network in the UK.
For further information please contact:
Nicola Green
O2 UK
07976 957810
nicola.green@o2.com