EXATEL WLAN Webinar / Big Data in sales / spatial planning

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz, Product Manager at EXATEL
Paula Stoch, Business Development Manager EMEA

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

Welcome everyone to today’s webinar. Without going too much into technical details, today we will introduce you to what WLAN networks are and how, with the use of appropriate tools, you can try to monetize these networks.

I am Ewelina Hryszkiewicz and I am a Product Manager at EXATEL. I am responsible for the EXATEL WLAN service. With me is Paula Stoch, Business Development Manager, who represents our partner with whom we cooperate to offer interesting functionalities within the service I am presenting today.

For a better understanding of the topic, I will first discuss some definitions and general principles related to wireless networks. It seems to me that we don’t really need to explain the concept of wireless networks. They have been part of our lives for several decades and we understand them intuitively. However, the problem arises when we need to distinguish between WLANs and Wi-Fi networks.

To understand the concept of WLAN, it will certainly help to use its full name – the Wireless Local Area Network. This is the most common wireless network. Simply put, it is a wireless LAN, a group of devices connected together. Wireless local area networks are used in many homes, schools, businesses and public spaces. This is a handy solution, as it allows for a comfortable internet connection between devices, without the need to use any additional cables. Most often, these types of networks use microwaves and infrared and are designed to carry signals to other devices.

Wi-Fi is actually just a trademark. This name is used to designate devices that are based on some uniform standards that allow for use of wireless networks. Wi-Fi is a trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance, and it is their logo that can be found on wireless devices. In practice, we as users, rarely use the term WLAN. Imagine a situation that we go to a coffee shop and want to know whether we can connect to a wireless network. We would ask “Can I use your Wi-Fi?”, obviously. This term has become so ingrained in our consciousness that it’s hard to even think of using a different term. Wi-Fi Alliance had a really neat idea. You will certainly agree that wireless networks are no longer some kind of a bonus. They are one of the main elements of a modern network, which is supposed to work fast and without any interference.

More and more companies abandon traditional cable connections. We are supposed to provide our clients with easy and fast access to the Internet or corporate resources. Users are mobile and need to have access to the web at any time. At EXATEL, we know that in order to achieve this, you need to take a few basic steps. First, we need to know the requirements, such as what the coverage should be. We should determine whether the range should be in the entire building or only in selected areas, whether it should cover the outside area or only the inside of the building. Secondly, plans need to be made. Well-designed plans with all walls and obstacles marked allow for much better development of the wireless network architecture. The next step is the equipment selection. We must take into account whether the network should cover only the inside the building or outside area as well, and consider weather and environmental conditions. Other equipment will operate and work inside the building, while others will be designed to work outside. Once we have known the requirements, conducted research and prepared the architecture, we can then proceed to implementation.

With good advance planning, installation and setup is quick and fun. Finally, there is only the question of maintenance. There are many customers who tell us that they don’t want to manage and maintain their networks or that they don’t have the right resources or knowledge to do so, and they prefer their network provider to take care of it as a service. The last thing I wanted to point out is that there are two types of networks that can be run at a client’s site – an employee network and a guest network. When a Wi-Fi service is launched as a guest or public network, users need to authenticate themselves through a dedicated page, the so-called captive portal, to gain access to it.

Paula will now explain what a captive portal is and tell us about the tool that we use within the EXATEL WLAN service to create these portals, but it also has many other benefits.

Paula Stoch:

Good afternoon, my name is Paula Stoch and I am a Business Development Manager EMEA. Today I would like to tell you about Wi-Fi monetization thanks to the tool used within the EXATEL WLAN service.

By offering free Wi-Fi to users, organisations incur significant costs. The only benefit for these organizations is the users’ satisfaction. These days free Wi-Fi is already a certain standard that everyone expects, while the prices of Access Points – devices that allow us to connect to Wi-Fi – are often very high. Depending on the type of device, it may cost even 2 thousand zlotys. At some facilities there may be even a hundred or more such devices. As part of the EXATEL WLAN service, you can use our solution that will not only help you to get these costs recouped, but also to make a real profit. This service can be used for any purpose – marketing, information, analysis of the number of users or checking the traffic volume within the facility.

First, I would like to explain what a captive portal is. I will give you an example of its use that each of you encountered in your everyday life. I am pretty sure you encountered a captive portal in a shopping mall, an airport or a restaurant. When you enter an organisation’s building or are in a public space and want to connect to the free Wi-Fi, you first see a window where you are asked, for example, to enter your e-mail address, name or date of birth. Sometimes you can log in using social media, such as Facebook or Google account. After completing all the mandatory fields and accepting the terms and conditions, you are granted access to Wi-Fi. Captive portal is therefore a tool for collecting data while giving users access to Wi-Fi. Depending on the needs, thanks to this solution we can obtain information about for example, the users’ gender and age, we can ask them for their e-mail address, phone number, name or surname, and all this depending on what we need for further activities.

What are the benefits of using this tool from an organisation’s perspective? First, of course, is the collection of verified data. Why verified? When we ask a user to provide their e-mail address or phone number, that user receives an e-mail or text message with a verification code. Therefore, we are sure that the data is verified. If, on the other hand, that user logs in using their Google or Facebook account, we can also assume that their data is verified. The cost of acquiring such records – depending, of course, on whether data is verified or not – can be up to PLN 100 per record. The next undoubted benefit is that captive portal space can be used for advertising, information or marketing. Another benefit is certainly the use of data that we can download and analyse to find the information we need. In addition, of course, the traffic at the facility is constantly monitored in real time. We can also create marketing or outreach campaigns tailored to our needs. We usually collect the data such as name, family name or gender in order to create a marketing campaign and tailor it to a specific target group. Thanks to localisation we can lead the user to the place they are looking for, which also increases our prestige as an organisation. We can also determine how many users are foreigners, which allows us to prepare a marketing strategy. When it comes to traffic monitoring, here are two examples – we have a real photo of the organisation (building map) and these dots we can see are of course transmitted in real time, they are constantly moving. This is how traffic monitoring is done. We can also check the language that our users speak. With the help of the chart we can also check their country of origin, which can help us to create a specific marketing strategy in a given language.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

When you say organisations, do you mean wireless network owners?

Paula Stoch:

Exactly. These can include shopping malls, airports, restaurant chains, stores or public spaces.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

On the slide, you showed us that there’s a way to track user traffic in real time. Do we also have access to historical statistics?

Paula Stoch:

Yes, of course. The historical data is not deleted and you can check the traffic of a given day, week or month at any time and compare the data with each other.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

By having access to this information and statistics, you can create some kind of marketing strategy and, for example, in places most frequently visited by the users, launch some kind of promotional action, put a hostess or someone with flyers.

Paula Stoch:

That’s correct. This allows you to study traffic volume and not only at specific times, but also at specific days and locations. This allows you to develop a specific marketing strategy. You can check in which place will be the most beneficial to place a hostess promoting given products, where we can send a person with flyers, as well as check which place will be the best to organise a promotional event. This is often the case in shopping malls and various public spaces. This can also have some financial benefits, because by knowing which spaces are most popular, we can, for example, determine the rent for tenants of shops or some other spaces.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

Is it difficult to create a captive portal? Not every organisation employs technical specialists, and even if they do, those employees may not have necessary knowledge or adequate time resources. What does creating a captive portal look like from the organization’s side?

Paula Stoch:

Creating a captive portal requires a great deal of imagination and creativity. It is in no way conditioned by technical knowledge. With a few interesting graphics, an idea how it should look, what information we want to provide or get from users, we can create a captive portal. No technical knowledge is required. With just a brief training on how it works, you can create captive portal login paths.

Now, I’d like to mention benefits of using a captive portal and our tool in general. First and foremost is Wi-Fi access. This is especially useful abroad, because in our home country most of us have unlimited Internet access on our phones. Overseas, on the other hand, this access can be very useful. As I mentioned before, it did become a standard and users expect to have it. Secondly, it is obtaining information about facilities and financial benefits. Captive portals often have a marketing function, for example in exchange for giving your e-mail address, phone number or any other data that is needed by the organisation, your customers can receive a discount code, information about sales or promotions. Thanks to captive portals, your customers have access to information on transportation, various attractions and events. Thanks to localisation, you can navigate around the facility. Earlier, when I talked about the benefits to the organisation, I mentioned that you can navigate the user to a specific place. This benefit is quite mutual, depending on which party benefits from it. The owner of the organisation is aware of the fact that it increases the prestige of their business and the satisfaction of the user, and the user can be led to a particular place, which is certainly convenient. Another issue is that captive portals display targeted ads that can be interesting to the user. Some ads can be annoying if they are not well-tailored. The last, but still one of the most important points on this list, is a unique user journey and user experience. Depending on how the organisation uses captive portals and the whole tool, it helps to assess the user’s feelings about the given business.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

You mentioned transfer of personal data – we know that this data is sensitive and we need to take great care of it. What is the approach towards its security?

Paula Stoch:

Of course, this depends on what information the organisation needs from us. If the captive portal looks similar to the one in the slide, which does not require entering any data, security is not an issue at all. However, if an organisation asks users to provide data, then, of course, the terms and conditions and all consents are placed on the captive portal first, and the user, by entering their data, accepts all of them. Everything is, of course, compliant with the provisions of the GDPR.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

In the slide I see an example of a captive portal from the train station. I can imagine a situation in which I am, for example, at the train station in Kraków and suddenly it turns out that I have another business meeting scheduled for the next day. I need to find a hotel, a place to eat and I see that this captive portal instantly gives this information to me.

Paula Stoch:

I think we all have been in a situation like this at some point of our lives. When you are in another city for a business meeting, it is worth taking full advantage of this time and meet with every possible client or partner. The question of possible accommodation comes to us first. Here you can see an example that you can look for premises for rent, but of course you can also look for hotels and other accommodation. You just click on it and you can book a desired place to stay. The second problem to solve is the issue of transportation. If you come by car, there’s no problem at all – you just activate your GPS and get to the place. If you arrive by train, bus or plane, it is always worth checking various timetables, or information about taxis to get to the place. It may turn out that the place you’re looking for is within walking distance. So you have the place booked, you already know how to get there, but you still have two hours until you can check in. At this time you can check out some interesting restaurants to have lunch or relax. So, we can say that captive portal in this case solved all the problems for us at just one click. However, it is also possible that your phone dies and you have a hard time calling and booking anything. Captive portals are not only found on mobile devices – you can also use them on a laptop without having to call, search, etc. We can deal with all these issues at one go.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

So does the content displayed to the user in a captive portal depend on what the network owner wants to post on it?

Paula Stoch:

Exactly. The network owner has complete discretion in this matter.

I would like to present several use cases showing how the tool – provided as part of the EXATEL WLAN service – was used at the airport in Johannesburg, in one of Lausanne’s districts, and at a shopping mall in Hong Kong.

I will now tell you what we learned about the traffic at this airport during the last few days of December. It turned out that domestic travel generated more traffic than the international terminal at that time. Between December 27 and January 3 most of the local residents travelled across the country. Most local tourists chose to fly during the day – which is surprising, since daytime flights are more expensive than late afternoon or evening flights. On the basis of data gathered at this airport, we can measure the total number of passengers traveling within those December days, which can facilitate smarter operational planning in the future. These plans can include personnel and shift management, ensuring that security is reinforced during periods of higher activity. In addition to this, data from guest Wi-Fi can be shared with airport outlets. Insights into the number of guests, their age and destinations, can help retailers prepare the right inventory and generate more sales. With data gathered by the captive portal, the airport receives information such as name, e-mail address and phone number, which it can then use for both marketing and information purposes.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

So here is a good example of how to use the tool to plan, for example, the number of employees so that they can serve customers more efficiently.

Paula Stoch:

That’s correct. Both parties benefit from it. Thanks to the fact that the organisation knows at what times the highest traffic is generated, it can provide more staff at any given time. First of all, the users benefit from the reduced queues. The organisation will benefit from it too – the staff can serve more customers and therefore, queues are reduced. This of course translates into financial benefits.

The second example is the Le Flon district in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is a very good example of the use of public Wi-Fi. Le Fon, a former warehouse district, has now become a vibrant area full of restaurants, bars, clubs, cinemas, boutiques, bowling alleys and exhibition spaces. What valuable insights can be gleaned from guests who visit this corner of the world and log on to guest Wi-Fi networks? Well, for example that on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there was a surge in foot traffic. This was obviously related to nightlife attractions. We noticed that traffic fluctuations stabilized around 7 p.m. – which is most likely due to people arriving and entering nightclubs to spend the evening – while most nightclub regulars left just before midnight to celebrate the start of the New Year outside. We noticed another change in traffic after people moved back to the nightclubs. Traffic quieted down completely when guests returned to their homes after the celebration. We also noticed that very little traffic occurs on New Year’s Day, which is probably because people are sleeping off, resting after a night out. With localisation, this data can be used to create events that attract larger audiences. Knowing the age of visitors and where they spent most of their time during the visit can help nightclubs create events that are more tailored to that target group, and knowing the number of guests, in turn, can be helpful to emergency services that in turn can better prepare for potential safety and security situations right there in the venue. You can’t forget about this aspect because, in a way, by organising certain events you take responsibility for your guests’ life and health. This is another benefit for both organisations and users – they can feel safe, knowing that in case of an emergency, emergency services (and others) are ready and able to help.

An example of this is the Amoy Plaza Shopping Centre in Hong Kong. Hang Lung is one of Hong Kong’s largest developers and owner of this luxury shopping mall. With over 300 stores, Amoy Plaza is designed to provide customers with a one-stop shopping experience. In addition to the shopping itself, customers can also dine or enjoy themselves there, always assured of the high quality of service that this centre provides. Running this place is a great responsibility, which is why Amoy Plaza needed a robust set of Wi-Fi value-added services that could handle the traffic. Hang Lung has access to a wide range of information about its customers. This includes such simple statistics as the number of visitors and the ratio of new customers to returning ones. We can say that this is practically the only way to find out whether a given user is a returning customer or a new one, and this is crucial information in terms of localisation data, because it allows for creation of a dedicated strategy. For example, if you have a lot of returning customers, but few new ones and you would like to change it, you can prepare a specific strategy aimed at these new users to attract their attention and encourage them to visit your place. More complex data can also be collected, such as customer demographics, where visitors come from, what language they speak, etc. This tool also helps owners manage Wi-Fi access more effectively. With regular logging in, they were able to determine the terms of access to the Internet, as each user had to accept all consents before they could log into the shopping centre network. These consents were then stored in a secure manner, in accordance local laws regarding personal data. Moreover, Hang Lung could effectively impose bandwidth limitations on Wi-Fi users. This means that guests cannot exceed a pre-set download or upload speed. With a large number of customers, the lack of limitations can result in a slower network, but it can also have a negative effect on the user experience.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

Here we also have an example which we discussed earlier – the possibility of using localisation for some promotional or marketing campaigns. We also can use demographic data. Thanks to it we can prepare, for example, some flyers and materials in a language other than our own.

Paula Stoch:

Exactly. This will certainly increase our chances of success. Nowadays most of us know at least one language other than our native one, although this is not required anywhere. I think it’s also nice in terms of user experience that the customer feels taken care of. When I go somewhere on holiday and someone greets me in Polish, I always feel good about it. So, in my opinion, flyers or advertisements can positively influence the given organisation’s image.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

Thank you, Paula, for bringing up these three fascinating examples and ways in which others can use our tool that is available as part of our service. You can see that it provides a lot of possibilities and benefits. How you decide to use it is only limited by your own creativity.

Paula Stoch:

I would just like to add that the tool is very flexible. The way you want to use it depends maybe not so much on our imagination, but on creativity and needs.

Ewelina Hryszkiewicz:

Moving on to the conclusion, I came across a report from the Dell’Oro Group analysts yesterday, according to which in the first quarter of 2021 a significant boom on the wireless WLAN market could be observed. Analysts pointed out that the increased interest is related, among other things, to the needs of users and their requirements for new applications, such as localisation and navigation services. So, I think it fits in what we discussed earlier. The EXATEL WLAN service has been developed for customers looking for a stable and secure wireless network and a modern marketing tool. This service is extremely flexible – it is possible to roam between LAN and WLAN, use the Internet and various business systems without having to connect to the network via cables, and is simple – I mean the possibility of wireless expansion; we can quickly connect additional devices – and traffic control – i.e. we can set various authorisation rules for users, access rights or transmission speed.

Paula Stoch:

I, for my part, would also like to add a few words. The business intelligence itself is certainly worth mentioning first, as you can easily gather information about traffic at your location, customer churn and demographic profiles, as well as other data that allows us to optimise and improve our facility and business. Besides, you have great marketing opportunities as you can promote the best offers on the login page and landing pages, and use these opportunities to run automated and personalized campaigns. Thanks to the data you gather from users, you can be sure that ads or campaigns are tailored to a specific target group, which increases your chances of success. The last point is additional income – you can sell advertising space online and based on traffic information, you can find the perfect place to put offers or suggest the best locations to your tenants.

Q&A

Ewelina: How to use EXATEL WLAN in back office business?

Paula: There are many possibilities, and it depends on what you want to achieve and what information (data) you need. You would need to take a more industry (site) specific approach because, for example, not every shopping centre uses this tool in the same way. You need to think about what is important to you and what you want to achieve. There are many possibilities, and the tool does not impose anything on you, so you can set specific strategies according to what you need. So, I would ask the question differently – “how would you like to use our tool, what information is valuable to you, what information would you like to provide to users”. It all depends on the specifics of the place and organisation.

Ewelina: Each client has different requirements and these can be defined more clearly during individual discussions.

Ewelina: How much does it cost?

It depends because we need to know your requirements and verify them. At the moment we are unable to say what the cost is, as it all depends on your requirements and needs.

Paula: You can customize the tool to adjust it to your needs and then we can discuss the cost. The costs is not a fixed amount in every option. Everyone has different needs. Price and all conditions of cooperation, packages – all this is to be determined individually depending on what the organisation requires.

Ewelina: If you want, we can discuss your requirements and find an adjust our offer to perfectly match your needs. We approach each request individually and flexibly.

Ewelina: How to respond to the client’s argument that “At my shopping centre only 2% of visitors use this service, and most of them are very young”?

Paula: That’s a really good question and I’m glad you asked it. I agree in 100% that when it comes to the captive portal service itself and the like, it’s usually a small percentage of visitors that use it. In this webinar we’ve mainly focused on captive portals, and as I mentioned depending on what situation you’re in, where you’re from, what you need, keep in mind that in addition to those typical aspects of managing guest networks, it’s also worth focusing on other things, such like localisation. Let me go back to the previous slides to illustrate this issue. When it comes to data collection, logging is required. However, when it comes to localisation, users do not have to log in. The dots we see here do not necessarily have to be users logged into the network. Then, under what condition can you see these people here? Well, each of them has a smartphone or some other device with them that connects to Wi-Fi. Every single one of them has its unique MAC address by which you are able to track their owners on the map. So, if for some reason you can’t gather information about a person and their personal data, and we can’t direct a marketing campaign to them, then that person still provides you with something – not with data but with information. Thanks to such a person – even if they don’t do anything, but have their phone somewhere in their pocket and are just walking around the shopping centre – you collect valuable data that is needed for traffic monitoring, for data retrieval and analysis, for localisation and real-time tracking of users. So even if this person doesn’t even log in and doesn’t really do anything, you still gain valuable information with which we can determine rents for tenants, which places are most frequently visited and where to place people with flyers and hostesses, just to name a few. We also know which places are most frequently visited and when the shopping centre has the highest traffic, and thanks to this data we can discuss implementing strategies such as, for example, in which hours and days the stores should ensure more staff to reduce the queues. So even if that person doesn’t do anything, doesn’t log in, we still have information about them. As for who will benefit from it, I think the incentive is more on the organisation’s side and depends on what information they put out. If the organisation gives some useful information, discount codes, or any information that is important or beneficial to the users, it increases the chances of customers using it. Please also keep in mind that there is added value, that Wi-Fi connection is a standard, while it is not something everyone offers at this point.

Ewelina: If service providers such as T-Mobile, Orange, etc. want to share traffic information at a facility, do they have to have users’ permission for localisation? Does an organisation need to have users’ permission to track MAC addresses?

Paula: The MAC address is not considered personal data and no user consent is needed to track it. It’s enough that the phone is switched on. The way someone is moving around is not proprietary in any way, especially since we have no information about that person, we don’t know their gender, their name or their age.

Ewelina: Is it possible to use the app without installing it?

Paula: First of all, I would prefer not to use the word “app” because it is not an app. It is a tool, a system. The user does not need to install or download anything. Nor does the owner of the organisation in question have to do so. How to get this service up and running? It is enough to configure Access Points, the devices that give us access to Wi-Fi, in a specific way. It is certainly not necessary to configure each of these devices one by one, as there are sometimes dozens or hundreds of them. Such Access Points are managed by controllers, so the configuration of the controllers is enough to make the system work. In conclusion – you don’t have to install anything, or buy additional hardware, or in any way improve the hardware you already have. You just need to define the configuration. The service and creation of such portals is done through creating an account and there in the user panel you can manage the system.

Ewelina: Exactly. You gain access to a panel where you create your own path, which is then displayed on the captive portal. The portal is very simple, intuitive and its operation does not require any technical knowledge. You just need a short training to be able to create captive portals and post various information yourself.

Paula: You can also get information this way, as captive portals are not a determining factor in any way – you can gather information also with the use of different ways. There are lots of different statistics and data. You can see at what times and days there is the most traffic. You can see the number of returning customers and even the amount of time they have spent in a particular location. You can check historical and current data, compare and download it. Creating captive portals itself is one thing, but you should not forget about other important issues.

Ewelina: What does the price depend on?

Well, it depends on the requirements. EXATEL can provide comprehensive WLAN service, including the elements I have mentioned, i.e. design, selection of devices, full management and maintenance of the service, as well as a tool to create captive portals and collect all this information which can be later appropriately processed and used for contact and verification of various advertising and marketing campaigns. It all depends on your requirements. We didn’t want to do a technical meeting but focus on the aspects related to the possibilities and benefits of the tool used properly, and how to monetise Wi-Fi networks to get more out of them.

Paula: I think monetisation is a key word here. Making Wi-Fi network available to your clients is now a standard procedure and most organisations that do not use this kind of tools incur significant costs. User satisfaction is important, but the question is: what is our clients’ satisfaction level when we provide free Wi-Fi, if that has just become a standard for them by now. You have to think about the added value here, that’s one thing, and secondly, why shouldn’t we use this for financial purposes. Why shouldn’t we benefit from this when we can use the data collected to plan a proper marketing strategy. This carries a lot of possibilities depending on the industry and location. I can’t think of that many industries that wouldn’t benefit from the use of that tool. And I am using the word “benefit” on purpose, because that it would be “useful” is quite obvious. This tool would be useful for any industry and I cannot imagine any organisation that might be advised against using it.