Czech Telecommunications Provider Gets State-of-the-Art Wi-Fi for Its New Offices -
Czech Republic
Founded in 1999, WIA is a leading provider of top wireless and optical connections, ADSL, voice services, and comprehensive VoIP solutions throughout the Czech Republic.
It currently serves tens of thousands of home and business clients and has installed hundreds of Wi-Fi networks—from small hotels all the way up to music festivals with thousands of attendees.
The Need
After moving into newly acquired offices in the summer of 2019, WIA needed to purchase network equipment that was affordable and could supply a Wi-Fi signal capable of speeds up to 1 Gbps.
The entire network further needed to be managed from one place anywhere in the world, offer clear analytics and statistics, and supply advanced options for Guest Wi-Fi—all at no additional charge.
WIA’s choice of technology was especially important since the company itself provides telecommunications solutions. The functionality of its own network had to be state-of-the-art.
Jiří Pleticha
Network Administrator, WIA
The Solution
WIA found that the EnGenius Cloud solution provides a controller with a user friendly interface that reveals network problems at a glance. It centrally manages all EnGenius access points and switches, optimizing network operations, and providing detailed analysis.
In addition, EnGenius Cloud allows temporary vouchers for guests, a configurable captive portal, and worry-free 99.99% guaranteed Cloud availability. The solution comes with powerful PoE+ switches and the latest Wi-Fi 6 access points, all with a limited lifetime warranty.
Specifically, the network needed to cover two floors with a large open space filled with glass partitions. WIA decided on the dual-band EnGenius ECW230 Wi-Fi 6 4×4 access point, which came with MU-MIMO support, a transmission speed of up to 3548 Mbps, a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, and full scalability.
Five access points were installed on each floor in the central corridor where the TX beamforming function could ensure a stable connection in all offices.
In all, EnGenius provided the following Wi-Fi devices:
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• Full power to APs with 420W PoE budget, 2.5G metallic interface, and 10G uplink ports
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• Cloud management account for the entire network
The Results
“We have been operating the network without outages for almost a year,” said Jiří Pleticha, WIA’s main network administrator.
There were also unexpected side benefits.
“We observe not only an increase in productivity, but also a decrease in………coffee consumption,” he quipped. “The downtime that arose during outages and the analysis of problems on the previous solution were unpleasant and demotivating, especially for employees. The problems complicated their work, and the financial quantification of their time played a significant role in the choice of technology.”
The cost savings were impressive too.
“In a direct comparison of the offers of other renowned Wi-Fi systems, we were able to save tens of thousands in acquisition costs,” said Pleticha. “Regardless of the licensing and operating costs that are eliminated with the EnGenius system—everything, including the Cloud, is already included in the price of the hardware.”
Compared to other solutions, EnGenius came out on top.
“We have a lot of experience with the usual market players both from the position of the customer and in the role of the supplier,” added Pleticha. “However, it was never an ideal solution. We either found a problem in operational reliability and customer satisfaction, or we did not have a business model. We were looking for a solution for the normal operation of a progressive society.”
WIA found the EnGenius Cloud solution more than capable of handling high data transfer coming from a high density of employee devices, simultaneous video conferencing, and large amounts of Cloud data.
Momchil Radomirski, general manager of system installer, Lynx Consult Ltd, wanted to emphasize yet another high density vertical that benefits from the EnGenius Cloud solution—healthcare.
“EnGenius devices are compatible with medical equipment, and the internet is stable from first configuration,” he said.
