Free Wi-Fi Everywhere

Managed Hotspot Services at the Technology Park Adlershof

The abl social federation GmbH is currently moving but their new offices in Adlershof are still quite empty. This will change very soon. As the prime contractor of the project “Free Wifi for Berlin”, the start-up, which was founded in 2013, is now responsible for equipping municipal buildings, schools and other public facilities with wi-fi by the Berlin Senate. This is not the first major order for the start-up team.

The floors in the corridor are lined with cable ducts and empty offices are filled with boxes. The move to the Centre for Information Technology and Media in Adlershof is well underway. Benjamin Akinci still finds some time to talk to us. The founder and head of abl social federation GmbH invites us into the spartan kitchen, breathes deeply – and is instantly focused.

The company was founded in 2013 and employs 43 people, who have installed 6,000 free wi-fi hotspots and temporary wi-fi networks at the G7 summit in Munich, the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg and the Formula One race in Abu Dhabi. It is also the prime contractor for upgrading public wi-fi in Berlin as well as Baden-Württemberg. These are only a few highlights of the busy initial years. The company has subsidiaries in Dubai, Singapore, Vietnam, and Switzerland and cooperates closely with global players the likes of eBay, Cisco, IBM Analytics and audible, an Amazon spin-off.

How did it get so successful? Akinci doesn’t need to think twice: “We never viewed ourselves as a start-up. When we started out, we had a lawyer and an accountant on our management board so to create maximum legal certainty for our customers and for ourselves,” he explains. This is a good example of the team’s philosophy: always be a few steps ahead, be alert and flexible, and, first and foremost, think business from the customer’s perspective.

This is especially true of the company’s core business. Abl social federation doesn’t stop at installing hotspots. They perceive free wi-fi as a vital component of the smart cities of the future and add some enhancements. Big data technologies analyse access numbers and user behavior. This data is used by hotspot providers for targeted marketing on the personalised landing websites where users log into the free wi-fi.

The analysis systems in the background are smart. With time, they provide more and more exact forecasting of number, age, demands, and interests of the passers-by and visitors who use the hotspot. Digital tour guides in public spaces and buildings are also available. Integrating so-called beacon modules enables users to send coupons and exclusive offers to their smartphones. “Linking this information with, for example, storage data enables shops and restaurants to optimize their order management and roll out targeted discount campaigns if they can anticipate being left sitting on perishable goods. Additional modules for face recognition can optimize these offers in terms of gender and age. However, these systems merely derive basic information from facial data and do not store them. The team has a marketing portal showcasing all these added value services to their customers. Customers call up only those services they deem beneficial.

Many new customers are standing in line. “We started out in 2013 with the clear aim of building wi-fi all over Germany,” says Akinci, “because right now we are on the wi-fi level of a developing country.” In only four years, they have created 6,000 free wi-fi hotspots. The team has procured seven-digit venture capital from a global player, who prefers to stay unnamed. The user data, however, are anonymized and remain in the high-security data centre in Germany.

The scaffolding stands. Now all signs point to growth. “We are looking for committed programmers and system administrators also in Berlin” says Akinci. The deserted offices of the new branch in Berlin must be filled with life, so the company can go forward with bringing pedestrian zones, public building, events, factories and offices online.

By Peter Trechow for Adlershof Journal

www.social-federation.com