ITlogin Builds Wi-Fi 7 Network for APEC Summit

ITlogin, a cybersecurity and network specialist led by CEO Kim Tae-hyun, built a Cisco Wi-Fi 7-based network system for major venues of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju in October. The deployment sites were HICO, the Hwabaek Convention Center, and the International Media Center, which is operated to support domestic and foreign reporters.

As Gyeongju City moved ahead with preparations for the APEC Summit, it reviewed Wi-Fi 7 solutions based on the latest technology, aiming to configure a network that could provide stable, high-capacity services even in high-density environments with heavy traffic. In response, ITlogin presented the city with a network proposal centered on AI-based monitoring technology and including Cisco's cloud wireless network system Meraki. The applied technology is Cisco Meraki-based Wi-Fi 7.

ITlogin's proposal also included integration with Cisco Spaces. The integration targets were environmental sensors at the APEC Summit venues and wireless and collaboration environment operation solutions, and the plan was to use Cisco Spaces to check environmental variables such as temperature and humidity and link that information to the Cisco Webex board display. Among the systems, Meraki received high marks for stability and speed in the test environment.

Gyeongju City made stability its top priority and set securing high-capacity bandwidth in dense environments as its second priority. Accordingly, setting a minimum guaranteed speed per user emerged as a key issue, and after discussions and testing, the benchmark speed was set at a minimum of 400 Mbps. Based on this benchmark, the network maintained speeds even in a high-density access environment with up to 140 users connected to a single AP during the APEC Summit, delivering a minimum of 350 Mbps and an average of 400 Mbps, with zero network issues reported during the event.

The significance of this deployment lies in its being the first domestic application of AI-based RRM (Radio Resource Management) functionality. The AI-based RRM function automatically optimized wireless LAN signal, bandwidth, and output, and Cisco implemented AI-based monitoring in a Wi-Fi 7 environment to manage all environmental changes across the venue. This monitoring made it possible to move beyond the existing top-down approach, and the time required for AI-based monitoring work was also reduced from 1 hour a day to 10 minutes.

At the APEC Summit, security was treated as the top priority, but applying high-level WPA3 raised concerns about interoperability issues with heterogeneous devices. Such compatibility problems could also have led to confusion among staff members and media personnel from different countries. ITlogin therefore worked closely with Gyeongju City to implement an optimal encryption method centered on compatibility based on WPA3, thereby satisfying both security and universality at the same time.

ITlogin and Cisco have secured a range of know-how based on their experience building Wi-Fi 7 networks and are using the APEC Summit case. CEO Kim Tae-hyun said the experience of successfully building a Wi-Fi 7 network that incorporated Cisco's latest technologies at the APEC Summit would greatly benefit the future business of ITlogin and Cisco. He added that they achieved results without disruption at an event where stability, speed, and security were important.

CEO Kim Tae-hyun said many customers in government and public institutions, education, hospitals, and companies are considering adopting Wi-Fi 7. He also said the company plans to concentrate all its capabilities on leading the market. In addition, it is known to be coordinating projects with several universities and hospitals in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions.

Source: IT DAILY · Kim Ho
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=242189

References

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