Free Public WiFi for 191 Stores in Business Bay

Bay Avenue is a retail destination inside one of Dubai's densest districts — 170,000 square feet across two levels, 191 shops and restaurants, serving a community of more than 25,000 people living and working in the Executive Towers of Business Bay. Dubai Retail wanted a single, free public WiFi service across the whole of it, indoors and out, with a branded experience the destination could put its own name to.

The hard part was the radio environment. With 191 outlets, almost every shop runs its own private WiFi hotspot — 191 competing networks all radiating in the same building. A free public network had to sit on top of all of that: readily available everywhere, without interfering with the tenants' networks, and without being drowned out by them.

Then there was where the coverage had to reach. Extending WiFi to the outdoor walkways meant installing access points on the building façade — which meant work permits, strict timing windows set by the destination's management, and coordination on a live site. And the whole project ran during the height of COVID-19, with the safety measures that demanded, right through to completion.

• 191 tenant private networks all competing in the same building
• Public WiFi that must coexist with those networks, not fight them
• Outdoor façade installation to cover the walkways — permits and strict timing
• A branded, public-facing experience for the destination
• Delivered through COVID-19, under full safety controls

The work began with a detailed site survey — a full analysis of the wireless environment, the existing IT infrastructure and the architecture of Bay Avenue. That survey confirmed the real problem up front: the competing tenant networks throughout the building, and exactly where public coverage could be placed to work with them rather than against them.

From there we deployed 46 access points in two roles. Thirty-two ceiling-mounted indoor units cover the retail levels; fourteen outdoor units, mounted on the façade, extend coverage across the external walkways. Managed PoE+ switches and a wireless gateway and controller sit behind them, with channel and power planned around the tenant networks so the public service stays clear and available.

On top runs a branded captive portal — the destination's own look, capturing consented visitor interests and contact details so Dubai Retail can reach shoppers with offers and announcements. The whole service is managed and supported by EZELINK's 24/7 help desk, and after go-live the team ran post-installation audits, optimisation testing and rectification to tune it in place.

• Detailed RF and infrastructure survey before any install
• 32 ceiling-mounted indoor access points across the retail levels
• 14 façade-mounted outdoor access points covering the walkways
• Managed PoE+ switching, gateway and controller, planned around tenant networks
• Branded captive portal with consented data capture for offers and announcements
• Post-install audits, optimisation testing and 24/7 NOC support

Bay Avenue now runs a single free public WiFi service across all 170,000 square feet — the retail levels, the F&B terraces and the outdoor walkways — coexisting cleanly with the 191 tenant networks it shares the building with. The branded portal gives Dubai Retail a direct channel to visitors for offers and announcements, and a consented view of who is using the destination.

It was delivered on a short turnaround at one of the most difficult times to run a live installation, and tuned after go-live rather than left as-installed. For the community around it, the result is simple: connectivity that follows them from the shops to the walkways to the F&B, without a login that fails or a signal that drops at the door.

• 170,000+ sq ft covered, indoors and across the outdoor walkways
• Clean coexistence with 191 competing tenant networks
• Branded portal giving the destination a direct line to visitors
• Delivered on a short turnaround through COVID-19 restrictions
• Audited and optimised after go-live, not just installed