New Mobile App Delivers Valuable Airport
Services, Turn-by-Turn Navigation and Information to 125,000
Visitors Daily
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) today announced that Orlando
International Airport (MCO), one of the busiest airports in the
United States, is delivering free Wi-Fi and a new mobile engagement
app to airport travelers using Aruba Networks’ wireless
infrastructure and Mobile Engagement solution.
Orlando International Airport's new Aruba
wireless infrastructure enables more efficient baggage
reconciliation. (Photo: Business Wire)
The combination of the Wi-Fi network and new mobile app allows
travelers to easily locate their ticket counter, terminal or gate,
check their flight information, find restaurants and shops, and
even locate the correct baggage claim upon arrival. The app is the
first in the air transportation industry to feature a “blue dot”
experience, similar to GPS navigation, to indicate a traveler’s
position and provide them with a path to a selected point of
interest in all terminals of the airport.
Managed by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA),
Orlando International hosts a mix of approximately 125,000 business
and leisure travelers daily. Orlando is the number one family
destination in the U.S. and boasts the country’s second largest
convention center.
With a reputation for technological innovation, GOAA, which had
already deployed an Aruba wireless LAN for guest Wi-Fi and airport
operations, wanted to ensure that travelers could not only use the
airport’s free Wi-Fi to check email and access the Internet, but
could obtain valuable information and services via an airport
mobile app. GOAA selected the Aruba Mobile Engagement solution,
which consists of Aruba Wi-Fi, indoor location-based services
powered by Aruba Beacons and Aruba Meridian Mobile App Platform.
Working with Aruba partner, Faith Group, GOAA developed a robust
mobile app designed to deliver critical airport, flight and
navigation information for travelers, as well as airport tenants
and vendors.
“We’re really in a constant state of change driven by our
airport passengers and visitors, as well as our own operations,”
said John Newsome, Director of Information Technology for GOAA.
“The traveling public has come to expect reliable, high-performing
Wi-Fi wherever they are in the airport and with the number of
devices we’ve seen connecting to our network – as many as 14,000 in
one day and at peak times, 3,000 devices connecting simultaneously
– we knew the underlying infrastructure was critical to
success.”
Newsome noted that the airport intends to upgrade its Aruba
wireless LAN to support 802.11ac for higher bandwidth and
performance across the airport, but also wanted to offer travelers
a mobile app that could deliver value-added services and
information.
“We saw approximately 2,600 downloads of the app in the first
three weeks of launching,” Newsome said. “The app is already
getting great reviews and we are paying close attention to feedback
so we can continue improving it.”
In addition to offering Wi-Fi and the mobile app to its visitors
and airport tenants, Orlando International also relies on the
wireless network for its own operations. Airport personnel use
Wi-Fi connected tablets and smartphones for duties like reporting
conditions on the airfield and support of maintenance activities as
well as baggage reconciliation on the ramps, and to check-in
passengers. Passengers have free access to the Internet in all
areas of the airport including airline club rooms and gate hold
rooms.
The airport’s deployment currently consists of more than 1,000
Aruba access points, Aruba Mobility Controllers, AirWave network
management, approximately 1,000 Aruba Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE)
beacons and the Meridian-powered application.
GOAA plans to upgrade its wireless infrastructure with all APs
converted to 802.11ac by the end of 2016. Newsome expects that GOAA
will double the amount of beacons deployed and continue to add
features to the mobile app. The airport is also building intermodal
transportation facilities and a large garage to the south of the
terminals, as well as an automated people-mover to connect those
facilities to the current terminals. These combined projects will
allow the introduction of rail systems, add additional parking
capacity and will become critical components of the overall
infrastructure and, according to Newsome, will make the mobile app
even more useful.
“The expectation is that passengers moving from the station and
associated parking garage can check-in there and navigate to their
desired locations in the airport,” he said.
“Orlando International Airport is leading the way in
demonstrating how large public venues like airports can use
wireless and mobile technology to enhance and improve operations
while meeting the ever-increasing demands of the traveling public,”
said Bobby Conway, Operations Director, Aruba Networks. “We’re
seeing more airports like Orlando International using Aruba
wireless infrastructure and Mobile Engagement to move beyond free
Wi-Fi and give their customers powerful tools like a mobile app
that make travel easier and more pleasurable.”
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network
access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs and
delivers Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and
#GenMobile, a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their
mobile devices for every aspect of work and personal communication.
To create a mobility experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely
upon, Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide
performance optimization and trigger security actions that used to
require manual IT intervention. The results are dramatically
improved productivity and lower operational costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in
Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn
more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com. For real-time
news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook, and for the
latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products visit
Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2015 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include
Aruba Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized), Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®,
People Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®,
RFProtect®, Green Island®, ETips®, ClientMatchTM, Virtual Intranet
AccessTM, ClearPass Access Management SystemsTM, Aruba InstantTM,
ArubaOSTM, xSecTM, ServiceEdgeTM, Aruba ClearPass Access Management
SystemTM, AirmeshTM, AirWaveTM, Aruba CentralTM, and ARUBA@WORKTM.
All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150428005032/en/
Aruba Networks, Inc.Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294Director of
Corporate Communicationspradda@arubanetworks.comorLSH
Communications for Aruba NetworksLori Hultin, Principal,
+1-818-879-4651lhultin@arubanetworks.com