Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) has teamed up with the city’s Ocean Park amusement park to provide free Wi-Fi and location-based technologies for visitors.
The newly-launched Animal Discovery Fest aims to elevate visitors’ experiences at the park.. As a partner of this initiative, Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) is providing the backbone of the park’s Wi-Fi network, as well as its new mobile application.
High speed connection
One of Ocean Park’s major new offerings is to provide visitors unlimited free Wi-Fi service across the park, including the attractions, restaurants, retail stores and queuing areas. With the support from HKBN, 400 Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed, enabling more than 40,000 mobile devices online simultaneously. The network also supports the park’s staff areas, canteen and offices.
“The installation process has taken more than a year and is largely complete, putting us on the cusp of a significant transformation of the Ocean Park experience by providing guests with enhanced efficiency and convenience” said Leo Kung, chairman of Ocean Park.
According to Adrian Watt, director-carrier sales, enterprise solutions & co-owner at HKBN, a 160-kilometer optic fibre are laid throughout the park to provide high speed connectivity of up to 1Gbps. Apart from network development, HKBN will also provide real-time monitoring and technical support to enable service stability and reliability.
Watt added the major challenge of the project is to ensure the network facilities integrate with the park architecture. Access points (APs) must be placed at hidden areas, but with stable reception.
“A lot of fine tuning is required for APs at different locations to ensure reception, as many are being place in between rocks or plants and near to water,” added Watt. “But the Wi-Fi network is a significant infrastructure for the Ocean Park, as it provides not only connectivity for the visitors, but also plays a critical role for enabling other location-based experiences.”