European Commission Seeks to Provide Free Wi-Fi in All Public Spaces -
Jablonov nad Turňou, Slovakia
The village of Jablonov nad Turňou lies in the valley of the Slovak Karst under the saddle of Soroška. Municipal leaders recently signed up for a European program that allows it to obtain a subsidy of 15,000 euros for the construction of improved Wi-Fi coverage for its citizens.
One interested internet service provider, VEGAnet, was looking for the right hardware for this project. The EU requirements were simple—the equipment must meet certain standards, and the price must not exceed 15,000 euros.
There were only two manufacturers on the market who met equipment requirements. However, both significantly exceeded the budget limit. Fortunately, EnGenius had just completed the certification of its selected devices with the Hotspot 2.0 standard, which was its only obstacle to meeting equipment standards. Because of its license-free solution, it became the clear choice.
The Slovak company VEGAnet is a local ISP providing wireless connection, TV, and camera systems in eastern Slovakia—especially in the vicinity of Rožnava. It also provides technical support for UPC Broadband Slovakia for eastern Slovakia.
The Need
The Slovakian village of Jablonov nad Turňou was given a subsidy to have city-wide Wi-Fi installed in all public places. Specifically, they needed equipment that met the conditions for the grant under the WiFi4EU Project to build free Wi-Fi coverage in municipalities such as theirs.
They also needed a solution that would fit the budget while providing a good profit for the installation company.
Mr. Gallo
VEGAnet, ISP
The Solution
Thanks to great pricing without license and support fees, VEGAnet was able to offer a solution that met all requirements and win the village project. EnGenius also gave them a free SkyKey controller, which further reduced the overall cost.
A total of 8 outdoor and 4 indoor access points were used in the project to cover two squares, a bus station, a collection yard, and a school. Specifically, the indoor Wi-Fi 6 access point EWS357AP was used and the outdoor ENH1350EXT access point, with the possibility of connecting sector antennas. Six outdoor APs were installed on street lighting poles and the other two on buildings. Indoor APs were installed on the walls in the library.
The existing network, on which the camera system of the municipality is already running, was used to connect the localities. In places where the network did not reach, the installation company used PtP connections in the 5 GHz band.
The technical specs of the EnGenius system were a key selling point for VEGAnet:
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• 4 Indoor WiFi 6 APs: the latest Wi-Fi 6, 2 × 2: 2 MU-MIMO standard, beamforming, 2.5G Eth interface
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• 8 Outdoor Wi-Fi 5 Wave 2 AP: dual-band access point with a transfer rate of up to 1267 Mbps, 2 × 2: 2 MU-MIMO, TX beamforming and patented mesh technology
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• 1 SkyKey controller: On-premises network controller with Cloud management that is plug-n-play, compact, efficient, and secure
The Results
“We had to manage the whole installation in a short 14 days,” said VEGAnet’s Mr. Gallo. “Thanks to the absolutely simple plug-n-play configuration using the SkyKey controller, this was not an absolute problem, more or less it was just a matter of deploying the APs in the appropriate places.”
“In addition, the support from the distributor worked well, and if we needed help with anything during the configuration, the relevant product manager was on the phone and advised us,” added Gallo. “The only minor flaw in the beauty could be the standard missing PoE adapter in the internal AP, when the power supply is assumed from the system PoE switch. However, we were able to operatively solve this from our own stocks with classic af/at PoE.”
VEGAnet will be signing up for even more projects after their success with EnGenius.
“We are clear about the choice of technology,” said Gallo. “Absolute satisfaction for us and we are happy to recommend further!”
