TORONTO and HAMILTON – Fans of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats will now be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi access during home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium, thanks to a new agreement with Vex Canada.
The Canadian arm of Vex Corporation, which offers Wi-Fi in 35 countries plus franchise restaurants McDonalds and Starbucks, will offer stadium attendees free Wi-Fi to access the Internet using smart phones and laptops without incurring data charges, via a stadium-wide HotSpot.
Following the HotSpot installation, the Hamilton facility will be among the first sporting stadiums in North America to provide free Wi-Fi access to spectators during games.
“We are excited about today’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats announcement as it so greatly exemplifies our mission in Canada – to bring free Wi-Fi to unexpected locations,” said country manager Asif R. Khan, in the announcement. “Canadians have an appetite for free Wi-Fi access. As more and more Canadians shift their usage away from laptops and towards Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices, they’re hit even harder with data charges, which are very costly in this country. We see this as a great opportunity for advertisers to sponsor Wi-Fi and bring their message to consumers.”
Vex Canada also announced a new advertising program designed to join a single HotSpot provider – such as a coffee shop franchise – with a like-minded advertiser looking to connect with a similar demographic. The model has the advertiser fund the Wi-Fi service through on-line ads, and receive in-store branding at the HotSpot’s location.
“This is definitely an innovative and interesting approach to extending the availability of free Wi-Fi through an advertising-supported model,” said Mark Evans, Principal with ME Consulting, in the release. “It’s exciting to see new advertising vehicles and strategies emerge, and I look forward to seeing Vex Canada make Wi-Fi access easier and more available across Canada.”
