Swisscom PWLAN hotspots in Autogrill and Coop restaurants

Swisscom continues to expand its network of PWLAN hotspots and will be supplying wireless Internet to over 150 Coop restaurants by the middle of this year. Guests will then be able to surf the web for up to 60 minutes free of charge. Autogrill is also providing its guests with free Internet access at Swiss motorway service stations. This brings the total number of WLAN hotspots operated by Swisscom throughout Switzerland to around 1,500.

High-speed mobile Internet access is becoming ever more important. In addition to its extensive mobile network, Swisscom already provides public WLAN networks which can be accessed by means of a code at over 1,350 locations. This is now being extended to include new locations. Autogrill offers convenient Internet access with speeds of up to 20 Mbps at all of its Swiss motorway service stations. In the coming months, 150 restaurants run by Switzerland’s major retailer, Coop are set to follow suit. This will make the public WLAN network available at over 1,500 locations. Both Autogrill and Coop offer their customers free Internet access. At WLAN hotspots in stations and public places customers can log in simply using their mobile phone number.
 

WLAN hotspots attract customers and businesses

It’s not only customers who benefit from WLAN hotspots. Restaurant owners can also increase the appeal of their establishments by offering Internet access to the public. Guests can connect their WLAN enabled phones to the Internet during their stay in order to get even more out of their breaks. Swisscom’s PWLAN solution offers Autogrill and Coop a high-speed, wireless WLAN network which is simple for guests to access. Swisscom takes care of operation and maintenance of the hotspots.

Coop is a major Swiss retailer, which operates 1,900 stores including 150 Coop restaurants. “By outsourcing the WLAN network to Swisscom, we’re putting our trust in a comprehensive and forward looking carefree package,” says Matthias Kunz, Head of Coop Restaurants. “At Coop restaurants, guests will receive an SMS on their mobile phones containing an access code which will allow them to surf the Internet from a laptop or smartphone really simply.” Because the access code is delivered in a paperless format, Coop saves time, effort and costs.

Autogrill is global market leader in the field of catering for travellers. “With its new PWLAN infrastructure, Swisscom offers outstanding Internet access at all Autogrill locations. Our guests will benefit from being able to get even more done during their breaks,” explains Daniel Stotz, Head of ICT at Autogrill. The decision in favour of Swisscom was easy: “We were quickly able to build up a close relationship with Swisscom which was based on trust and the attractive price-performance ratio completely won us over.” As well as setting up the PWLAN hotspots, Swisscom also won back Autogrill as a mobile and fixed-line customer.