Canterbury Cathedral takes action following recent reports that public WiFi is being used to access explicit content and that 58% of venues worldwide currently have no content filtering in place.
February 20th, 2014: Purple WiFi, the cloud-based Social WiFi software company, has announced that Canterbury Cathedral has successfully implemented the Purple WiFi platform to deliver a secure and legal Social WiFi solution, whilst offering free WiFi to visitors of its new Cathedral Café.
Purple WiFi is cloud-based which means that it can work with practically any hardware and is scalable in terms of customer need and geographic location. It offers an alternative to existing WiFi services by putting the focus back on the business or venue. It does this by offering marketing tools and analytics to derive value from interactions with customers whilst providing a secure and independent channel for commercial use.
“We have been offering a WiFi service for our Cathedral Lodge clients and customers for a while, but this is an internally managed system,” explains David Tunbridge, IT Manager of Canterbury Cathedral.
“However, this system has never been made available to the public and although it works well for us, it requires a fair bit of administration, which is why we have been looking at alternatives for public WiFi access in our new Cathedral Café which opens on 20th February. Family-friendly access and legal compliance are very high on our list of priorities.”
Purple WiFi supports legal compliance as part of its free product, while content filtering is incorporated into its premium product.
Purple WiFi is also a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), and blocks all IWF blacklisted URLs. It also allows venues to block certain content – i.e. porn and illegal content, essential for public venues such as cathedrals, universities, hospitals and housing associations. To date, Purple WiFi has blocked up to 10% of URL requests for its content filtering customers, meaning this traffic is getting through at open content venues.
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, Purple WiFi comments: “People expect free online access at public venues and businesses wherever they are. But the industry has a responsibility to make sure that these venues are aware of legal compliance issues.
“At Purple WiFi, we make sure our venue customers can be safe in the knowledge that their WiFi is secure and meets industry best practice.”
Notes to editors
Purple WiFi’s free hotspot service can be set up in four simple steps:
1. Sign up online with Purple WiFi
2. Download software on to an existing wireless router
3. Follow the Purple Portal 3 step widget to customise settings
4. Tell customers they can access free, safe and secure WiFi, and generate Facebook “Likes” and Twitter “Follows” for your business
Purple WiFi provides its free service direct to customers and works with integration partners including Cisco Meraki and AirTight Networks to deliver its premium service. The company is growing internationally with offices in the U.S. and Asia to come, and is currently available in 1000+ venues.
About Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral has existed for over 1,400 years. It is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral is both a holy place and part of a World Heritage Site. For further information please see the website www.canterbury-cathedral.org.
For more information, please contact Christopher Robinson (PRO to Canterbury Cathedral) on 01227 862740 or 07759 215537, christopher.robinson@canterbury-cathedral.org
About Purple WiFi http://purplewifi.net
Purple WiFi provides a fast, secure, social WiFi solution to businesses wishing to offer free WiFi to visitors. The business is provided with valuable analytical data to enable more effective marketing.
Purple WiFi is cloud-based and works with any hardware, with native integrations with Cisco Meraki, AirTight Networks and Ruckus in place.
The company is a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), highlighting Purple WiFi’s commitment to content filtering and minimising access to abusive online content.
Press contacts:
Lloyd Gofton
lloyd@liberatemedia.com
Mobile: +44 (0)7919 353484
Jeremy Lloyd
Jeremy@liberatemedia.com
Mobile: +44 (0)7808 608416
Source: RealWire
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