Cisco Delivers One of the World's Largest Wi-Fi Networks at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2014

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 12, 2014) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced it worked with Fira de Barcelona and the GSMA to successfully provide one of the world's largest carrier-grade Wi-Fi networks at the GSMA's recent Mobile World Congress 2014 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

During the event, more than 80,000 attendees had access to free Wi-Fi at Fira Gran Via and over the four days nearly 81,000 Internet-connected devices generated a total of 19.1 terabytes of traffic.

A preliminary breakdown of the unprecedented volume of data exchanged revealed a 300 per cent year on year increase in the amount of traffic at the event, reflecting the performance and reliability of the high-density Wi-Fi network enabled by Cisco.

Attendees predominantly used the Wi-Fi network to enable productivity and to stay in touch with their social networks; 33 percent of the traffic was used for highly-secure connections to business services such as email, closely followed by web browsing, Skype, Google Services and Facebook. 

Fast Facts on the Cisco-based Mobile World Congress Wi-Fi network

• 80,880 Internet-enabled devices were connected, doubling the number from the 2013 Mobile World Congress;
  
  
• 1.2 gigabytes per second of peak Internet traffic;
  
  
• 19.1 terabytes of data -- offloading 3G/4G traffic from mobile networks to provide an improved, integrated mobile experience for attendees;
  
  
• Five gigahertz (GHz) to 2.4 GHz ratio was 58 percent to 42 percent -- indicating a shift to higher adoption of five GHz devices;
  
  
• 280 gigabytes uploaded and transmitted via a single access point in the Mobile World Congress Media Village on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014; and
  
  
• By 10:00 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2014, the number of connections had surpassed the total number of connections on last year's network, ultimately reaching 22,126 peak-concurrent connections.
  
  

Key Highlights

• Cisco worked with Fira de Barcelona to install a permanent Wi-Fi network covering 240,000 square meters of the Fira's Gran Via venue, the site of the annual Mobile World Congress.
  
  
• The Cisco Service Provider Wi-Fi solution allowed the GSMA to offer free high-speed Wi-Fi service to Mobile World Congress attendees at Fira Gran Via and allowed Fira to offer exhibitors Wi-Fi services in the eight exhibit halls.