Hong Kong City-wide Wi-Fi Network Planned by Cyberport and Cisco




IT Flagship Community to Experience Future Digital Lifestyle Through a Cisco-enabled WLAN

HONG KONG, -/March 6, 2007 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Hong Kong Cyberport, Hong Kong's IT flagship, and Cisco? today announced the creation of a pioneering model at Cyberport for a city-wide Wi-Fi network empowered by a Cisco wireless local area network (WLAN).

The opening up of the WLAN for public access at the Cyberport during the past month has enabled Cyberport tenants to launch several innovative applications. The state-of-the-art Cisco wireless networking infrastructure enables pervasive coverage of the open and public areas in the venue, with waterfront coverage already planned.

Designed to improve the operation of businesses and enrich the quality of life for the community, Cyberport applications include facilities management, restaurant reservations, hotel guest room bookings, movie ticketing, next-generation games and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These can be readily deployed city-wide when a municipal Wi-Fi network is implemented throughout Hong Kong.

This will reinforce the role of the Internet and information technology (IT) as an integral part of people's lives, while real-time data access and video surveillance across the wired and wireless infrastructure will enhance Hong Kong's responsiveness, efficiency and safety.

"Staying true to our core identity as Hong Kong's leading IT showcase, the open WLAN at Cyberport provides a platform for the public to experience the new and unique applications launched by our tenants in the IncuTrain Centre. This Cisco-powered and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-ready WLAN sets up a blueprint for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to implement a city-wide Wi-Fi network," said Mr. David Chung, Senior Manager, Information Technology Operations, Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited.

This groundbreaking model for a city-wide Wi-Fi network in Hong Kong is powered by the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Module (WLC), the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS), the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance and Cisco Aironet? 1200 Access Points.

The backbone infrastructure comprises 280 Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points, which simultaneously support both 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radio frequencies, single- and dual-band configuration, and IEEE 802.11a/b/g technologies. The Cisco WLC provides unparalleled security, mobility, and ease of use for business-critical WLANs, delivering the most secure enterprise-class wireless system available. With the Cisco WCS, network administrators have a single solution for radio frequency (RF) prediction, policy provisioning, network optimization, troubleshooting, asset tracking, location-based services, security monitoring, and wireless LAN systems management. The location-based applications are also supported by the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance, which simultaneously tracks thousands of Wi-Fi devices in a particular WLAN infrastructure to within a few meters.

In addition to this advanced networking technology, Cisco also provides a range of valuable services in terms of WLAN health-checking and review and advice on measures to help ensure security and optimal performance of the model for Hong Kong's digital future. This testifies to Cisco's commitment both to developing Cyberport as a working model for a city-wide Wi-Fi network and to developing the Internet as "the fourth utility" for Hong Kong.

"Cisco is delighted to collaborate with Cyberport in pioneering this model community and helping to demonstrate the benefits that Hong Kong residents and visitors will enjoy with a municipal Wi-Fi network. This is encouragement for the HKSAR Government to take further action in providing citizens with free access to a Wi-Fi network in government venues. This will also complement the Government's IT development strategies like Digital 21 and e-government, helping to maintain Hong Kong's leading position in the global technology landscape and enhancing its competitiveness overall," noted Mr. Charleston Sin, Cisco's general manager for Hong Kong and Macao.

About Cyberport
Cyberport - Hong Kong's IT flagship - is a US$2 billion (HK $15.8 billion) landmark project managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and wholly owned by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The project is being developed on a 24-hectare site at Telegraph Bay in the southern district of Hong Kong Island. It comprises four office buildings, a five-star hotel, a retail entertainment complex and a deluxe residential development, aiming at creating an interactive environment that will be home to a strategic cluster of about 100 IT companies and 10,000 IT professionals.

Cyberport won the internationally acclaimed Intelligent Building of the Year Award 2004 in New York City on 11 June 2004, which is given to commercial buildings that have used broadband and information systems technology to add demonstrable value in the form of advanced services and merits to its tenants.

For more information, please visit http://www.cyberport.hk.

About Cisco Systems
Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com.