Resort in Maldives implements Furukawa optical technology solution with focus on customer experience

The complex in the heart of the Indian Ocean offers high-speed comfort and connectivity through the Laserway solution

A small private paradise in the Maldives with high-speed connectivity during the 365 days of the year. This is a small portrait of a modern, elegant, and tropical resort in the Indian Ocean:  Fun Island Resort & Spa.

The complex, which is part of the renowned Villa Hotels group, focuses on the customer experience by delivering the best in relation to technological solutions for the implementation of a high-speed internet network. This is carefully thought to meet with excellence all the elegant villas of the complex, which welcomes tourists of all nationalities throughout the year.

The implementation of Furukawa’s Laserway optical technology – with high-speed connectivity – was important to ensure two fundamental pillars for Villa Hotels: customer experience and cost reduction.

“We have over 150 beach villas on Fun Island. A traditional LAN network would be unfeasible due to the high cost and lack of range over longer distances. That’s why we decided to opt for GPON technology,” says Mr. Ali Hammad, Chief Technology Officer of the Villa Hotels group. This solution, in addition to ensuring greater competitiveness in relation to implementation costs, prioritizes an even more satisfactory customer experience to the thousands of tourists who visit the complex annually.

“Technology has improved customer experiences as well as IT services. Now our guest can enjoy all your favorite shows in HD while staying with us.” Hammad reinforces. This is a paradigm shift for many who believe that by staying in isolated havens around the planet, they need to give up high-speed connectivity altogether.  In the Villa Hotels group complex, customers have access to the triple-play service – which guarantees phone, data, and multimedia in a single connectivity channel. This is made possible by the advantages of implementing Furukawa’s Laserway optical technology, “a cost-effective solution that can provide long-distance data transmission for more than 100 meters, unlike traditional LAN,” says the hotel group’s Chief Technology Officer.

Logistic and maintenance work was also fundamental for the decision to implement this technology, due to the natural difficulties imposed by the geographical isolation of the complex. This, because the Laserway solution is a network that will last more than 25 years, without the need for constant maintenance. That is: the solution offers a 5 times longer durability over copper solutions, which require cabling change every 5 or 7 years.  This factor also influenced the overall performance in the complex, mainly the connectivity one. “Since adapting to new technology, we have never had a major problem or any downtime. “says Hammad.

Although the IT team of the Villa Hotels group was already trained and accustomed to the GPON solution, Furukawa always ensures the implementation of Laserway technology in an agile, accurate and efficient manner, helping customers to make full use of the available resources. Therefore, all support is provided by our team of specialized engineers, at all stages of the project: from network design and product specification to the implementation and operation of the system. This includes Furukawa’s 24×7 Premium support service, which guarantees support of any kind, at any time, every day of the year. In addition to the benefits of connection and Premium support, Furukawa’s Laserway technology “is a scalable and future-ready solution aimed at expanding the Villa Hotels group in the coming years,” concludes Mr. Ali Hammad.