30 January 2014

As a Grade II listed building, Alexandra Palace needed a solution that not only provided flawless performance but could be installed in adherence with strict construction guidelines.

Alexandra Palace in North London has been the centre of music, sport and events for more than 130 years. Built as the ‘People’s Palace’ in 1873, the iconic venue sits in 196 acres of parkland and offers 10,873 square metres of events space.

Prior to summer 2012, Alexandra Palace had no permanent wireless network infrastructure in place with Wi-Fi only provided on a case by case installation. However, after the successful deployment of a Xirrus temporary Wi-Fi system during the 2012 Dutch Olympic team’s Holland Heineken House hospitality event, it decided to retain and extend the wireless network. The venue has now deployed 100 Xirrus Wireless Arrays across its entire event space to support high bandwidth for up to 11,000 concurrent users.

As a Grade II listed building, Alexandra Palace needed a solution that not only provided flawless performance in a challenging architectural environment but could be installed in adherence with strict construction guidelines. Due to its experience of delivering sympathetic installations in historic buildings, Xirrus ensured its Arrays were in accordance with the venue’s aesthetics, and claims they caused minimal disruption and required less networking infrastructure than other vendors.

IT consultancy Technica worked with Alexandra Palace on the initial Xirrus implementation and permanent rollout. Company owner Jason Ozin says that Technica  had looked at wireless in the past for Alexandra Palace, but its complex design and layout had caused connectivity issues. But he says that the Xirrus Arrays solved the problem.

“The Palace was the only venue during the Olympic Games that didn’t experience wireless issues thanks to Xirrus’ robust solution. Its unique design means you can cover high densities of bandwidth-hungry users, across vast indoor areas. It also gave us the right level of flexibility and manageability.”

Xirrus Management Software is used to configure the Arrays remotely. Ozin says that this allows Technica’s team to see exactly who is using the network and how, and helps address any issues in real-time. “The Xirrus wireless network is unique as it gives us real granularity dependent on location, meaning we can offer visitors, exhibitors and production teams tailored Wi-Fi access all from the same Arrays.”

Emma Dagnes, commercial director at Alexandra Palace, says: “In today’s market, it is imperative for venues such as us to remain competitive, and having the ability to provide clients with a reliable and integrated wireless service will ensure our iconic venue continues to attract world-class live events and premier exhibitions.

“We also know that by providing a fast and reliable network service to our clients, they will be able to engage in new communication channels, promote their services, and take advantage of additional advertising and revenue generating opportunities such as branded Wi-Fi portals linking directly to their websites.”