Portmeirion: A Guest Public WiFi Service For A National Treasure.
Criccieth TV offer a wide range of business and domestic services including Television Sales, Repair & Service, Domestic & Commercial Aerial & Satellite Systems and Domestic & Commercial CCTV Systems. Criccieth TV is also an Internet Service Provider, approved and accredited to supply and install Satellite Broadband. They are CAI Approved Systems Installers which means that not only are they qualified to complete work on large distribution systems, but also that all of their installations have to meet the required standard. As a consequence, they only use CAI Approved Equipment so you can be assured of quality. All of their Engineers are fully trained and certified for Working at Heights. With this background Criccieth TV was the perfect choice for the site-wide WiFi solution at Portmeirion Village and hotel resort; a popular visitor attraction located on the coast of Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, North Wales.
Portmeirion is one of Wales' premier visitor attractions, welcoming 250,000 visitors every year. Portmeirion was built to show how you could develop a naturally beautiful setting without spoiling it and that with sufficient skill and care architectural good manners can actually enhance the natural environment.
Portmeirion is one large network running both the WiFi system and the TV System through it. The network gives blanket coverage to Castell Deudraeth Hotel, Portmeirion Hotel, Portmeirion Village Outdoor for day visitors / guests, and 72 rooms in the village including cottages.
Every single cable is hidden as the site is all Grade II listed! WiFi Access Point’s on the outside of building are mounted flat with the EnGenius Neutron dual-band managed units painted the same colours as the buildings they are mounted to. A discreet but usable WiFi system is extremely important in terms of meeting customers’ expectations for the wireless access but still being mindful of the historical importance of Portmeirion Village. There is even an access point hidden in the top of the tower!
All guest cottages have their own ‘mini hotspot’ which is named after the cottage making it simple for guests to log on to the WiFi system. For guest WiFi access there is a Guest Internet Solutions hotspot which is designed specifically for use in venues where there are a large amount of users.
For a WiFi system of this size reliability is key. With this in mind everything is monitored with email notifications keeping network administrators in touch 24/7. In addition to the network management features that are standard with any of the Neutron Series Controllers, the networking interface included with each gives the network administrator the visibility they need to monitor, manage and quickly adjust the settings or performance of the network in real time. The WiFi Neutron Controller is located in Castell Deudraeth.
The Portmeirion solution was installed and is managed by Criccieth TV. The EnGenius and Guest Internet Solutions hardware was supplied by Solwise Ltd.
The EnGenius Neutron Series of wireless management products can be mixed and matched to create ideal wireless connectivity solutions for hotels, resorts, high schools, universities, corporate campuses, sports stadiums and arenas and for other companies and organisations.
This is a scalable solution for operations that occupy large properties and that need to deploy, monitor, and manage numerous EnGenius Neutron Series Wireless Access Points from one simple and accessible browser-based software platform. Neutron Series Switches can support any small number of Neutron Series Wireless Access Points to several hundred depending on the
number of Neutron Series Switches in the network.
Whilst the Neutron Solution offers a Captive Portal Hotspot built-in Criccieth TV took the decision to use the R80 Guest Internet Solutions hotspot in this particular installation as it gives the additional functionality of multiple levels of user access, Facebook login for users and Paypal and credit card billing services.
Dylan Evans, IT Manager for Portmeirion commented “Portmeirion has worked with Criccieth TV for a number of years and are reassuringly reliable and understanding of our requirements.
Our partnership has developed as the demand for WIFI has exploded. I have total faith in their services and their support is second to none. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to look after anyone’s WIFI infrastructure.”
