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Meraki, the
leader in Cloud
Networking,
has been
selected to deploy Meraki’s
wireless LAN
solution
throughout
Bryant Park in
Manhattan.
Bryant Park
Corporation’s
deployed the Meraki
Mesh solution to provide free
WiFi throughout
the 9.6-acre
park for all
visitors.
The
award-winning
Bryant Park,
located on 6th
Avenue between
40th and 42nd,
includes the
longest expanse
of grass in
Manhattan south
of Central Park
and is a prime
New York City
destination for
locals and
tourists alike.
Daily attendance
counts often
exceed 800
people per acre,
making it the
most densely
occupied urban
park in the
world.
Bryant Park
has offered free
WiFi since 2002.
But the
explosion of
demand for
wireless
Internet access
caused by the
proliferation of
tablets,
smartphones, and
laptops
necessitated an
upgrade. Bryant
Park Corporation
selected Meraki
for a more
robust solution
that would
support heavy
usage and
provide better
management and
reporting.
“Bryant Park
was one of the
first to offer
free WiFi in the
city,” explained
Henry Quintin,
CEO of
Sky-Packets.
“Their 2002
network set a
standard for
WiFi at the
time, and many
people took
advantage of the
free service. As
new WiFi devices
became popular
and the demand
for the network
escalated, it
was clear that
the existing
infrastructure
needed a change.
By implementing
a Meraki
wireless mesh
solution, we
have been able
to increase
coverage,
capacity, and
throughput
throughout the
Park. Bryant
Park has once
again set the
standard for
free public
Wi-Fi access.”
George
Townley,
Director of
Information
Systems for
Bryant Park
Corporation,
confirmed that
new mobile
devices are
having a huge
impact.
“We used to
see a lot of
laptops in the
park, but now it
has shifted to
smart phones and
iPads,” he said.
“Usage is going
up
astronomically.”
Since the
Meraki
deployment, the
Bryant Park
network averages
over 20,000
distinct clients
per month.
Monday night
movie nights are
particularly
crowded, with
nearly 2000
users on the
network. During
such busy
periods, Townley
utilizes
Meraki’s
built-in layer
seven
application
traffic shaping
to maintain
quality of
service for
everyone.
“The very
fact that we
have that level
of control with
Meraki is
great,” Townley
said.
DNA Info
recently named
Bryant Park one
of the best
hotspots in the
city, and
Townley says
users are
delighted with
the new network.
“We follow
the Twitter
feeds, and in
the past we
would only see
comments if the
WiFi was down or
slow,” he said.
“But since we
put in Meraki,
all the feedback
seems to be
positive.”
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