Costa Rica’s free public WiFi is overhauled with Alepo’s cloud monetization solution

by Alepo PR Team | Nov 12, 2020

The consortium project led by PC Central is part of telecommunications regulator Sutel’s Zii WiFi initiative to help bridge the digital divide
The Zii WiFi site provides educational content, information on government procedures, access to entertainment material, and more
Users gain free internet access for four hours in exchange for filling in a survey
Alepo’s cloud WiFi SMP captures key user information and generates custom reports

Wednesday, November 11, 2020, SAN JOSE – Costa Rica’s PC Central has revamped their public WiFi offering using Alepo’s cloud WiFi Service Monetization Platform (SMP). Alepo’s platform enables the consortium, led by PC Central, to grant free internet access in exchange for completing a survey and uses an advanced reporting module to capture key user data.

PC Central and the consortium were assigned the contract for the deployment by the National Telecommunications Fund, Fonatel, as part of telecommunications regulator Sutel’s Zii WiFi initiative to provide connectivity to 515 digital zones, including parks, train stations, universities, and other public facilities. The initiative helps bridge the digital gap and provide internet access to urban as well as rural areas where broadband connectivity is low. As part of the initiative, the consortium deployed 70,000 meters of fiber optic cable, primarily in the cities of San José, Cartago, and Limón.

PC Central looked to Alepo after originally launching the WiFi network with another solution that could not meet the demands of the large user base and custom reports required by Sutel. Alepo was able to rapidly set up and migrate the traffic to its new cloud-based platform. Having gone live in October, the service is already making a significant impact, with over 25,000 new users signing on in the first week.

Casual users can access the service by filling in a survey through Alepo’s captive portal that asks for their age and work profile. On successful completion, they are granted four hours of free WiFi access. The captive portal redirects them to the Zii WiFi website, which provides educational content for all age groups, along with useful how-tos regarding government procedures that can be completed digitally. Users can also check their email, download apps, enjoy books, music, and videos. Returning customers are directly routed to the Zii WiFi site instead of the survey page.

In addition to the survey responses, Alepo’s advanced analytics and reporting module also captures key user information, including customized reports. This information is relayed to the site administrators, who intend to use the feedback to gain a deeper understanding of the demographic for future offerings.

Adriana Ramos, Project Head, PC Central, said, “We believe that communication is a public necessity, and we are committed to helping Sutel achieve its objective of making connectivity easily accessible to all. Alepo was our vendor of choice given its vast experience in deploying advanced cloud-based WiFi monetization solutions in the region, and it has helped bolster the capabilities of our service. We are pleased with the response we have received from users so far and are confident that the reporting and analytics capabilities of Alepo’s platform will enable us to continue improving our offerings.”

Juan Espinosa, Director LATAM, Alepo, said, “We are proud to partner with PC Central to help improve internet access across Costa Rica. Alepo’s WiFi Service Management Platform has replaced the legacy system to enable more advanced free journeys, with an improved data-gathering and analytics platform to generate custom reports requested by the service provider. We are confident that the newly revamped service will continue to gain popularity.”

About PC Central

PC Central is a leading solution integrator for information and communication technology solutions in Costa Rica. It is a Dell Technologies Titanium Partner.

For more information, please visit https://pccentralservicios.com/internet-empresarial/

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Cable & Wireless Seychelles launches public WiFi in Seychelles using Alepo’s monetization platform

by Alepo PR Team | Oct 22, 2020

Customers can access the service at a popular resort in Victoria, and it will soon be rolled out at other resorts and major public places
The service includes free and paid access options that customers can purchase from a self-service portal
The self-care portal also lets customers monitor their usage and view purchase history
As part of the next phase, CWS intends to introduce WiFi offload services to existing CWS broadband users

Wednesday, October 21, 2020, Victoria, Seychelles – Leading telecommunications provider Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) has launched public WiFi in the popular tourist destination of Seychelles. Digital enablement and revenue management software provider Alepo has deployed its WiFi Service Management Platform to facilitate the rollout and monetization of these services. Alepo has also included a self-care portal that lets consumers control and monitor their WiFi data usage.

Scheduled for a multi-phase release, the service is now live for casual users at a popular resort in the capital city of Victoria and will be rolled out to major resorts and other prominent public places. The second phase of the project will extend WiFi services to Cable & Wireless broadband and mobile subscribers with seamless WiFi offload.

Cable & Wireless has made WiFi available through both free and paid journeys. Customers can purchase volume, time, and speed-based offers and vouchers, as well as control and monitor their usage, from the self-care portal. When logged in to the portal, customers can also see the network of WiFi hotspots, special promotions from CWS, and their purchase history.

Shoaib Khan, Chief Technology Officer at CWS, said, “We’ve observed a growing level of digital sophistication of consumers. Both residents and tourists have high connectivity demands that can best be serviced by WiFi, and the ability to control their data usage through the self-care portal further augments the customer experience.”

“We are increasingly seeing that consumer engagement and loyalty depend on the quality of digital interaction with the operator. To that end, our advanced self-management portal for WiFi offers a consistent and complete engagement platform for CWS’s customers,” said Vishal Mathur, VP – Solution Integration, Alepo.

Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands and home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, relies heavily on tourism from European countries like Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Switzerland, as well as India and the UAE.

About Cable & Wireless Seychelles

Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) is the leading telecommunications company in the country, having started by establishing the first connection from Seychelles to the rest of the world in 1983, to now being Seychelles’ provider of choice. CWS connects businesses, homes, and individuals with revolutionary state-of-the-art solutions delivered on the fastest LTE 4G+ network, the only 5G network in Seychelles, and an advanced fiber-optic link.

As the first and only quad-play provider in Seychelles, they offer a full range of communications and entertainment services such as IPTV, broadband internet, telephony, and mobile for residential and business customers.

Being a 100% Seychellois-owned company, they are dedicated to delivering the best telecommunication services, reliable connections, and the best customer service experience to Seychelles.

For more information on their products and services, please visit www.cwseychelles.com

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m:tel launches new public WiFi plans in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Alepo’s WiFi SMP

by Anju Gulati | Jul 2, 2019

Customers can access the internet using a range of free and paid options: watching a promotional video, logging in with social media credentials, purchasing vouchers, subscribing to plans
Hotspots have been installed at prime locations in Banja Luka, including a prominent hospital and popular hotel, with more locations to be added
The project soft-launched in February, with casual plans added in May
Existing m:tel’s mobile subscribers who opt for the WiFi service enjoy seamless and transparent login
Alepo’s WiFi Service Management Platform enables m:tel to earn direct revenue through advertisements and analytics

Tuesday, July 02, 2019, Banja Luka – The leading telecommunications operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, joint stock company Mtel a.d. Banja Luka, trading as m:tel, has introduced a range of free and paid WiFi plans. To facilitate the rollout, m:tel has employed digital enablement and revenue management software provider Alepo’s WiFi Service Management Platform (SMP). The project has progressed in phases since February, with hotspots installed at prime locations in Banja Luka, including a prominent hospital and popular hotel, with many more locations to be added soon. Thousands of subscribers have already signed in, giving an insight into the project’s potential once the full-scale rollout is complete. Plans for existing subscribers of m:tel have been introduced, with both prepaid and postpaid customers able to access the hotspots. Casual subscribers can watch a promo or log in with their social media credentials for free access. Paid offers include vouchers and subscriptions, including fixed-validity unlimited data plans. Subscriber authentication is integrated with m:tel’s core network, so existing m:tel mobile customers can seamlessly connect to WiFi once they have purchased the add-on. Prepaid users can use their mobile balance to purchase WiFi offers, while post-paid users see it reflected in their monthly invoices. WiFi access is granted through location-specific multilingual captive portals. Alepo’s WiFi SMP enables m:tel affiliates to create captive portals and location-based offers, allowing these affiliates to create their own hotspots using flexible revenue-sharing arrangements. Affiliates can, for instance, create video advertisements and share revenue with m:tel based on the number of views. An integrated analytics tool provides customizable granular reports for specific locations and usage patterns. “As a tier-1 carrier, the security, robustness, and integration capabilities Alepo offers are essential to us. The ease with which we can use the platform to create new offerings helps us stay ahead of the competition. We are pleased with the response we’ve received from our customers so far, and are confident we can efficiently monetize our growing WiFi network with Alepo’s WiFi SMP,” said Srđan Bundalo, Head ICT at m:tel. Vishal Mathur, VP-Solution Integration of Alepo, said, “Our solution enables m:tel to create offerings that go beyond charging for access, giving them a range of possibilities for organic growth via affiliates, cross-promotion with traditional mobile plans, and data monetization. We are happy with their success so far and look forward to seeing how they will leverage the system over time.” About m:tel As the leading telecom operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joint Stock Company Mtel a.d. Banja Luka offers unique communication solutions unified under the m:tel corporate brand. In the more and more dynamic BiH market, m:tel offers the latest telecommunication services in the field of telephony, landline network, internet, data, and IPTV. With a constant following of the world trends and the latest technological achievements in the field of telecommunications, m:tel also recognizes its customers’ needs and wishes. Aware of the fact that today, people need more than just simple communication, m:tel provides a wide range of additional services. The company offers business customers integrated business solutions with calls and data within both mobile and landline networks, which form the basis for creating sound conditions for a successful business. Besides high-quality services and application of the newest information technologies, m:tel invests a lot in sports, culture, education and humanitarian projects, and by conducting business in a socially responsible way it influences the development of true values in its environment. The company has achieved outstanding business results, evidenced by a record number of over 1.6 million users of all services. For more information, please visit www.mtel.ba

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Partnering with Alepo, m:tel to launch cellular offload and public WiFi plans in Bosnia and Herzegovina

by Anju Gulati | Oct 23, 2018

Customers will be able to access the internet using multiple free as well as paid options like watching a promo, social media login, purchasing vouchers, or signing up to monthly plans
Alepo’s WiFi Service Management Platform will enable m:tel to earn direct revenue through advertisements and analytics
3G/LTE subscribers of m:tel will be able to seamlessly offload to the WiFi network, improving mobile capacity and coverage
The service is expected to kick off in December 2018

Tuesday, October 23, 2018, AUSTIN, TX, USA- The leading telecommunications operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, joint stock company Mtel a.d. Banja Luka, trading as m:tel, is set to roll out a new range of free and paid WiFi plans in December 2018. To enable the new capabilities, m:tel is upgrading their WiFi core with network and software solutions provider Alepo’s WiFi Service Management Platform (SMP). Casual users will benefit from new ways of connecting to m:tel’s WiFi hotspots, including free options. Paid offerings will also be available with the addition of voucher-based offers and subscriptions. Prepaid users of m:tel will be able to use their mobile balance to purchase WiFi offers, while post-paid users will see it reflected in their monthly invoices. Alepo’s solution will support a growing number of locations, affiliates, and additional monetization capabilities as well as offering offload for 3G/LTE subscribers. An integrated analytics tool will provide customizable granular reports for specific locations and usage patterns. The Alepo WiFi SMP will give m:tel the ability to create captive portals and location-based offers while extending the same capability to affiliates, who will also be able to create their own hotspots with flexible revenue-share arrangements. Affiliates can, for instance, create video advertisements and compensate m:tel based on the number of views. Further, offloading 3G/LTE customers to the WiFi network will help improve mobile capacity and coverage. As part of the solution, Alepo’s convergent and flexible AAA affords a seamless experience to subscribers, who do not need to manually authenticate on the WiFi network. “We chose Alepo because their software and services tick all the boxes. As a tier-1 carrier, the security, robustness, and integration capabilities they offer are essential to us. They also provide the reliability we were after, while still giving us the flexibility to decide how we can best leverage our growing WiFi network,” said Srđan Bundalo, Head ICT at m:tel. “Successful WiFi monetization by operators requires a multi-pronged approach. ROI can’t be just about charging for access, it relies on organic growth via affiliates, cross-promotion with traditional mobile plans, and data monetization. Our solution has the necessary characteristics of a carrier solution, while also offering enough flexibility to support m:tel’s use cases,” says Vishal Mathur, VP-Solution Integration of Alepo. Alepo has a growing list of successful WiFi deployments across the world, joining the already established list of its BSS deployments globally. About m:tel As the leading telecom operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joint Stock Company Mtel a.d. Banja Luka (www.mtel.ba) offers unique communication solutions unified under the m:tel corporate brand. In the more and more dynamic BiH market, m:tel offers the latest telecommunication services in the field of telephony, landline network, internet, data, and IPTV. With a constant following of the world trends and the latest technological achievements in the field of telecommunications, m:tel also recognizes its customers’ needs and wishes. Being aware of the fact that today people need more than just a simple communication, m:tel provides a wide range of additional services. The company offers business customers the integrated business solutions with calls and data within both mobile and landline networks, which form the basis for creating sound conditions for a successful business. Besides high-quality services and application of the newest information technologies, m:tel invests a lot in sports, culture, education and humanitarian projects, and by conducting business in a socially responsible way it influences the development of true values in its environment. The company has achieved outstanding business results, evidenced by a record number of over 1.6 million users of all services.

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6 Ways to Monetize Free WiFi Using a Captive Portal

by Anju Gulati | Jan 18, 2017

6 Ways to Monetize Free WiFi Using a Captive Portal

17th of January 2017

In recent years, WiFi has evolved from a luxury to a basic necessity. This change is driven by the following ingredients of success—it is free (most of the time), it is widely available, and it connects us to the world. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say that WiFi should now be included in the bottom layer of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, right next to food, water, and shelter.

For service providers, this proliferation has been a bitter-sweet experience. On one hand, WiFi provides a means to ease network congestion caused by heavy data users (or as it is commonly called, WiFi offload). On the other hand, it becomes difficult to attach a monetary value to this widely-available benefit. As a CSP, you have to not only maintain QoE for your users but also compete for market share against unsecured public WiFi and other low-cost service providers. To top it off, most people expect WiFi to be a free service. This leaves very few methods to monetize WiFi, making it difficult to incorporate into your business strategy.

To combat the monetization challenge, one of the most underrated but reliable solutions is the WiFi captive portal. The captive portal is the face of your brand, interacting with your customers before they authenticate and connect. It’s not just a tactical pit-stop in the WiFi service route, but also a window of opportunity. All you have to do is think of the possibilities beyond free WiFi.

Here are 6 ways to make the best use of a captive portal in a way that both captivates customers’ attention and achieves business excellence, at no cost to the end user.

Watch recording: webinar on transforming CX with zero-touch networks.

How to Monetize Free WiFi with a Captive Portal

Fill out a survey

Surveys are a great way to collect user data, like email addresses, as well as a way to solicit feedback related to their experience with your brand. Through a captive portal, you can gather required data to drive email marketing campaigns and derive value from the survey results.

Verify SMS to connect

Asking for a user’s phone number gives you one more way to capitalize on your free WiFi hotspot access. You get verified phone numbers of prospects which can be fed into your marketing pipeline to develop them into customers.

Advertisements

Most users are willing to see an advertisement in exchange for free WiFi access. By putting advertisements in the form of banners and other static ads on the captive portal, the user must view these before they can gain access to WiFi. By showcasing your own brand’s ads, you can boost brand knowledge and support. Or, you can monetize by charging a per view fee for other companies’ advertisements.

Video Advertisements

Video advertisements take monetizing on ad revenue to another level, yielding a much higher per-view rate. Requiring users to watch a 20 second video ad, before they can access WiFi, stimulates user engagement and can generate higher ad revenue.

Capture data using social login

For almost all mobile apps, social sign-on is a norm these days. It has become a habit for the customer and you can exploit this to gain access to some useful data about the user. Later, you can use this data to run analytics and targeted campaigns targeting any particular segment.

Connect with an existing account

Whether you are an internet service provider or a mobile network operator running a WiFi network, you can allow your existing customers to log into your public WiFi hotspot network with the same credentials they use for their home broadband connection or mobile account. Easy WiFi access = happy customers = loyal customers!

The WiFi Captive Portal is not just powerful and appealing, it is also quite simple to create. Alepo WiFi Service Management Platform (SMP) can help you design a captive portal that works best for you with our modular, highly scalable platform, which has proven IOTs with many top vendors. The Alepo WiFi SMP is the best option to get your WiFi services up and running in minutes while adding value to your brand.

Learn more about the Alepo WiFi Service Management Platform

Cable & Wireless Seychelles launches public WiFi in Seychelles using Alepo’s monetization platform

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m:tel launches new public WiFi plans in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Alepo’s WiFi SMP

About Alepo

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Partnering with Alepo, m:tel to launch cellular offload and public WiFi plans in Bosnia and Herzegovina

About Alepo

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6 Ways to Monetize Free WiFi Using a Captive Portal

6 Ways to Monetize Free WiFi Using a Captive Portal

How to Monetize Free WiFi with a Captive Portal

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