San Jose McEnery Convention Center, a public assembly venue consisting of 550,000 square feet of flexible space, now features free Wi-Fi throughout, according to Team San Jose and City of San Jose officials.
This now extends the city’s popular Wickedly Fast Free Wi-Fi already offered at the Mineta San Jose International Airport and within downtown San Jose—delivering reliable, fast, free Wi-Fi connectivity to millions of data-starved business travelers and conference attendees coming to the capital of Silicon Valley.
“Convention center visitors, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, have come to expect access to the best technology experience possible,” said Karolyn Kirchgesler, CEO, Team San Jose. “With new technology infrastructure created by leading Silicon Valley technology companies, we are offering a world-class technology experience. Convention attendees can stream video, stay connected and keep up to date on all of their devices and do so for free.”
The new in-house Wi-Fi service approach offers significantly more bandwidth and more affordable solutions than competitors. Team San Jose estimates saving clients up to 10 percent in technology services. The industry leading wireless technology is designed to support multiple devices per attendee, allowing thousands of attendees the ability to stream uninterrupted.
“Our innovative public/partnership with the City of San Jose, Ruckus Wireless and SmartWAVE Technologies is ensuring our destination stays competitive and ahead of other destinations as a result of today’s constantly evolving technology,” said Kirchgesler. “We’re changing this model by offering free and fast Wi-Fi service that leverages city assets and partnerships, and it’s exciting to be the first to do so.”
With a $1.5 million technology investment, as of July 1, San Jose’s convention center will be offering a tailored, seamless, in-house approach to IT services. The technology package will include a ‘white glove service’ geared toward small, medium or large-sized groups who need wired and custom wireless solutions, and a ‘bring your own geek service’ for groups with their own technical staff who need to build a private network and extend their network to the convention center. These technology options are available to fit the needs of different types of meetings, increase flexibility and reduce costs to meeting planners.
“The San Jose Convention Center welcomes over a million visitors annually, and now as a result of the partnership between the City of San Jose, Team San Jose, Ruckus Wireless and SmartWAVE Technologies, all visitors to the convention center can experience some of the best technology you’d expect from the tech capital of the world,” said Vijay Sammeta, chief information officer, City of San Jose. “We expect the convention center to be more competitive and drive more business as a result of offering what we believe is truly the best customer experience.”
“The City of San Jose remains a harbinger of how smarter Wi-Fi is being used to deliver smarter services using what we believe is the most advanced Wi-Fi technology on the planet,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO, Ruckus Wireless. “With San Jose and SmartWAVE, we’ve now put into place what is a best-in-class wireless infrastructure that delivers a best-in-class user experience and one that can now meet the high density demands of the city’s convention center traffic.”
“Nowhere else in the nation are visitors able to get off a plane, drive four miles to downtown restaurants and hotels, and walk into the convention center all while being connected to the most reliable, fastest and free Wi-Fi available,” said Al Brown, CEO, SmartWAVE Technologies.
