THOUSAND OAKS, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2015) - Xirrus, the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks, announced that Sands Expo Las Vegas has completed the upgrade of its Xirrus Wi-Fi 802.11n network to the faster 802.11ac standard. Covering 2.25 million square feet, Sands Expo's Xirrus network is now the largest 802.11ac convention center network west of the Mississippi. The upgrade to 802.11ac improves the experience for exhibitors and convention-goers by providing faster performance and support for tens of thousands of simultaneous connections.
Fastest Upgrade to 802.11ac
Sands Expo's upgrade to 802.11ac was the fastest network upgrade they ever achieved. Converting the 200 existing Xirrus 802.11n access points to 802.11ac took under 3 days. The speed of the upgrade is a result of its simplicity: rather than replacing the access points, Sands Expo simply popped in new radios, upgraded software, and then selected radios for high-speed 802.11ac operation with the click of a button in the management console. In addition to saving time, the modular upgrade saved Sands Expo the significant costs of purchasing and deploying all new access points.
"The Internet of Things has made high-density Wi-Fi very important for our customers," said Justin Herrman, executive director of information technology and Internet delivery services for Sands Expo. "They prefer to hold their events at a venue offering 802.11ac Wi-Fi because exhibitors and guests want the faster performance. Xirrus' modular Wi-Fi platform allowed us to quickly upgrade to the 802.11ac standard with a simple software setting. Our customers didn't have to wait for a lengthy upgrade, and we saved the cost of 200 new access points plus controllers."
3-Month Investment Payback for Original Xirrus Network
Sands Expo deployed its original Xirrus 802.11n network in 2012. Xirrus needed only 200 high density access points to provide coverage over the entire 2.25 million-square-foot facility, while other vendors quoted at least 1300 access points. The reason is that Xirrus access points can contain up to 16 radios, the most radios-per-access point in the industry. Building a high-density Wi-Fi network with a fraction of the access points significantly reduced Sands Expo's capital costs, cable plant, and ongoing operational expense.
The original Xirrus 802.11n network paid for itself in just three months from fee-based Wi-Fi services that Sands Expo offers to show owners and exhibitors. These services include displaying links to the exhibitor's literature when devices connect near the booth; audience polling during keynotes; mapping of pedestrian traffic patterns; and counting people who click through ads, attend programs, or stay on site for meals, for example.
Competitive Advantage
The largest convention center in the Western U.S., Sands Expo hosts over 60,000 trade shows and events annually. The high-density Xirrus 802.11ac network has become a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining customers such as Computer Electronics Show (CES) and VMworld. One reason is that the Xirrus network can support a massive number of simultaneous connections on show floors. At VMworld 2014 a record 38,000 wireless devices connected simultaneously.
"Conference centers represent one of the densest environments that tax a Wi-Fi network," said Bruce Miller, VP of product marketing of Xirrus. "The next generation of Xirrus 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi solutions delivers Sands Expo unmatched scalability and ease of deployment -- supporting tens of thousands of users at the same time."
About Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Las Vegas Sands (
Our properties include the five-diamond Venetian and Palazzo resorts and Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Sands Bethlehem in Eastern Pennsylvania, and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Through its majority ownership in Sands China Ltd. (
LVS is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, anchored by the core tenets of delivering a great working environment for nearly 50,000 employees worldwide, driving impact through its Sands Cares corporate citizenship program and leading innovation with the company's award-winning Sands ECO360 global sustainability program. To learn more, please visit www.sands.com.
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 optimized solutions -- access points, high-density 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 XR Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.