LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Mar 13, 2014) - The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in British horseracing, has this week launched one of the country's most advanced Wi-Fi networks at Cheltenham Racecourse, in partnership with eircom Business.
Following a competitive tender process, eircom secured a contract to deliver a bespoke, high performance Xirrus Wi-Fi solution for this year's Cheltenham Festival (11th-14th March). Over 235,000 racegoers attend the four day festival and will benefit from free wireless access with a simple sign-up process.
The new Wi-Fi network deployed at Cheltenham Racecourse is set to transform the way The Jockey Club can now use technology to more effectively engage with racegoers, members, staff, sponsors, media, business partners and even the jockeys themselves. The installation of the eircom-managed Wi-Fi solution based on Xirrus technology, a world leader in high-performance, high-density Wi-Fi within the sporting and events sector, now equips Cheltenham Racecourse with proven technology to deliver high speed, reliable, wireless Internet access to thousands of mobile phone and tablet users in and around the venue.
The Xirrus-based wireless network will provide The Jockey Club with a number of dedicated wireless secure networks for guests, internal corporate users and sponsors. The solution is delivered on a fully managed Wi-Fi network that allows for growth and additional services to be provided to existing visitors and new customers.
Commenting on the launch of the Wi-Fi network at Cheltenham Racecourse, Ian Renton, Regional Director of the South West region of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: "Every year at Cheltenham we look to enhance the experience we offer our racegoers. Being able to provide free Wi-Fi is a fantastic innovation for our customers and we're delighted to partner with eircom on this project."
Speaking on behalf of eircom Business, Enda Doyle, Director, Cloud and Managed Services, said, "We are delighted to play such a central role in supporting The Jockey Club in the transformation of the visitor experience at Cheltenham Racecourse. As an iconic destination known and loved within the horse-racing community, Cheltenham represents a highly visible and attractive location for eircom to announce the continued expansion of our Managed Wi-Fi services into the UK. The evolution of Wi-Fi networks is bringing exciting opportunities to well-attended and popular venues such as Cheltenham Racecourse. Not only can Wi-Fi help streamline costs while delivering a better customer experience, it can also be used to generate new revenue streams; by using Wi-Fi as a marketing tool to reach customers, or by using it to collect customer data in order to target visitors more effectively."
Jennifer Capewell, International Marketing Manager, Xirrus, commented: "At Xirrus, we pride ourselves on being able to deliver high-performance in the most demanding environments. We're delighted to be part of this project to provide a Wi-Fi network that will enable The Jockey Club to maximise fan engagement through providing an immersive experience to bandwidth-hungry visitors."
eircom Business has undertaken a number of similar Wi-Fi network installations to date for clients such as Croke Park, Dublin Airport and The Convention Centre Dublin.
NOTES TO EDITOR
About eircom
eircom is the principal provider of fixed-line and mobile telecommunications services in Ireland with approximately 2 million customers. eircom has the most extensive telecommunications network in Ireland both in terms of capacity and geographic reach. eircom Business provides a comprehensive range of advanced voice, mobile, data, broadband, Data Centre, ICT and Cloud services to the SME, Corporate and Government markets in Ireland and the UK.
For further information, please visit: www.eircom.ie/business
About Cheltenham Racecourse
Cheltenham Racecourse is situated in Prestbury on the outskirts of the historic spa town of Cheltenham. The Home of Jump Racing, Cheltenham Racecourse is the venue for the world's pre-eminent Jump Racing meeting, The Festival, which takes place in March every year. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Cotswolds, Cheltenham Racecourse is a stunning natural amphitheatre and offers the highest-quality action throughout the Jump season. Cheltenham has been voted Britain's Racecourse of the Year for the last 10 years by members of the Racegoers Club. Please find more details at www.cheltenham.co.uk and through Twitter (@CheltenhamRaces) and Facebook www.facebook.com/thehomeofjumpracing
About The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial group in British horseracing, with assets including Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom Downs and Newmarket racecourses. Governed by Royal Charter, all profits are invested back into the UK's second biggest spectator sport. With a 263-year heritage at the heart of British racing, today The Jockey Club focuses its resources, influence and assets on ensuring the sport remains the best in the world, as its leading investor and innovator.
The Jockey Club owns 15 leading racecourses, including Aintree, home of the John Smith's Grand National; Cheltenham, stage for the prestigious Cheltenham Festival; Epsom Downs, home to the Investec Derby; and Newmarket's Rowley Mile and July Course, considered Flat racing's global HQ.
About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Xirrus solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances, offering consistent "wired-like" performance with superior coverage and security. The Xirrus suite of Wi-Fi optimised solutions -- Arrays, access points, cloud services, and wired switches -- provide seamless connectivity and unified management across the network. Xirrus provides a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications. With tens of thousands of customer solutions deployed globally, Xirrus maintains operations and partnerships across the globe. Xirrus is a privately held company and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA. For more information please visit: www.xirrus.com and follow us on Twitter: @Xirrus.
Xirrus and XMS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.
