September 25, 2024
JCDecaux and the Champs-Elysées Committee launch free Champs-Elysées Wi-Fi service
- Paris
The Champs-Elysées Committee, the association that promotes the Avenue des Champs-Elysées around the world, and JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, unveil today Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées, a free, unlimited high-speed Wi-Fi service on the famous Avenue.
On the eve of UEFA Euro 2016 and following a consultation by the Champs-Elysées Committee, JCDecaux is deploying an outdoor Wi-Fi network that will be available along the length of the avenue between the Place de l’Etoile and the Champs Elysées roundabout. Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées benefits from an optimal coverage resulting from the combined density of Wi-Fi access points in businesses (boutiques, cafés and restaurants) and the JCDecaux Morris columns®, ideally positioned along the Avenue.
The Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées will offer a user-friendly interface that provides a city guide (places of interest, shopping locations, restaurants) and an interactive map. This web and mobile Wi-Fi gateway will be available in 7 languages (French, English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and Japanese).
The first advertiser to sponsor the service from its launch is UnionPay International, co-branding with China Merchants Bank. Both advertisers will benefit from homepage branding and banners throughout the Wi-Fi access interface. In addition, JCDecaux will showcase the service and its sponsors on 341 outdoor advertising panels across Paris during the launch week.
Permanent informational signs in the window displays of the Champs-Elysées’s businesses will inform visitors of Wi-Fi availability, indicating the network SSID: “ _Champs-Elysees_freewifi.”
Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées will provide free and seamless high-speed internet access to the 100 million annual visitors of the Champs-Elysées, including 30 million tourists. This technology will pave the way for the development of new experiences such as making smooth video calls to family or friends across the world, browsing the web, making hotel reservations or checking in for a flight.
Jean-Noël Reinhardt, President of the Champs-Elysées Committee, said: “Providing Wi-Fi on the Avenue is an initiative the Champs-Elysées Committee has been planning for a long time in order to better serve our visitors whose expectations for connectivity are high. The Champs-Elysées Committee chose JCDecaux because we share the same ambition for the Champs-Elysées: to succeed in the digital transformation of the Avenue by offering a comprehensive service to visitors, brands and all business operating there. From the start, Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées was designed as a full service and not merely a technical access; for example, it will be possible to guide visitors along the Avenue, gain insights by enquiring about their perception of the Champs-Elysées, and also to encourage increased participation in the events taking place on the Avenue or introduce new interactions with brands.”
Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by the Champs-Elysées Committee, a historic partner of JCDecaux, to deploy, on the eve of UEFA Euro 2016, free Wi-Fi access on the most beautiful avenue in the world. This innovation once again demonstrates that the network of our street furniture, unique in city centres, offers an ideal platform to provide connected services and facilitate city life. JCDecaux already offers a free Wi-Fi network in Paris airports, bus shelters equipped with small cells in Amsterdam, and public Wi-Fi hotspots in Düsseldorf and Los Angeles. The deployment of free Wi-Fi on the Champs-Elysées strengthens our position as a leading partner in Smart City services sector. Our success rests on an ambitious Research and Development strategy and a unique ability to innovate thanks to “JCDecaux Link”, a division entirely dedicated to connectivity. The Avenue des Champs-Elysées is continuously reinventing itself and JCDecaux is proud to offer its expertise and the skills of its teams to one of the symbols of Paris and of France.”
Key figures
Champs-Elysées Committee
The Champs-Elysées Committee is a non-profit association which aims to promote the Avenue around the world, bringing together 180 brands, companies and cultural venues. Founded in 1916, it coordinates activities among partners of the Avenue and its district. The Committee has organised or initiated numerous promotional activities and events in connection with the City of Paris and the Police Prefecture. It has organised the installation of Christmas lights and decorations on the Avenue since 1980.
JCDecaux
UnionPay International / China Merchants Bank
UnionPay is an international bankcard association that ranks the world’s No.1 in terms of card issuance and No.2 in terms of transaction volume. It is also recognized as the fastest-growing payment brand. Presently, UnionPay’s acceptance network has expanded to 157 countries and regions, and more than 5.4 billion UnionPay cards have been issued accumulatively in over 40 countries and regions. Now, UnionPay cards are favored by an increasing number of global consumers.
As the leading brand of Chinese credit card industry, China Merchants Bank Credit Card (CMB) achieved a total overseas transaction volume of more than 13 billion EUR in 2015, presenting over 25% market share in Chinese overseas consumption market. Ranking the first place for eight consecutive years, CMB has become the market leader in China for credit cards overseas transactions.
Since 2013, UnionPay International partners with China Merchants Bank Credit Card in carrying out “Amazing Europe” program, offering UnionPay cardholders better travel payment experiences.
Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées is a registered trademark.
The Champs-Elysées Committee is a non-profit association which aims to promote the Avenue around the world, bringing together 180 brands, companies and cultural venues. Founded in 1916, it coordinates activities among partners of the Avenue and its district. The Committee has organised or initiated numerous promotional activities and events in connection with the City of Paris and the Police Prefecture. It has organised the installation of Christmas lights and decorations on the Avenue since 1980.
JCDecaux
- 2015 revenue: €3,208m
- JCDecaux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris and is part of the Euronext 100 index
- JCDecaux is part of the FTSE4Good index
- N°1 worldwide in street furniture (524,580 advertising panels)
- N°1 worldwide in transport advertising with more than 230 airports and 280 contracts in metros, buses, trains and tramways (395,770 advertising panels)
- N°1 in Europe for billboards (177,760 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Europe (731,390 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in the Asia-Pacific region (236,760 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Latin America (62,860 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Africa (32,840 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in the Middle-East (16,280 advertising panels)
- N°1 worldwide for self-service bicycle hire: pioneer in eco-friendly mobility
- 1,129,410 advertising panels in more than 75 countries
- Present in 4,435 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants
- Daily audience: more than 390 million people
- 12,850 employees
UnionPay International / China Merchants Bank
UnionPay is an international bankcard association that ranks the world’s No.1 in terms of card issuance and No.2 in terms of transaction volume. It is also recognized as the fastest-growing payment brand. Presently, UnionPay’s acceptance network has expanded to 157 countries and regions, and more than 5.4 billion UnionPay cards have been issued accumulatively in over 40 countries and regions. Now, UnionPay cards are favored by an increasing number of global consumers.
As the leading brand of Chinese credit card industry, China Merchants Bank Credit Card (CMB) achieved a total overseas transaction volume of more than 13 billion EUR in 2015, presenting over 25% market share in Chinese overseas consumption market. Ranking the first place for eight consecutive years, CMB has become the market leader in China for credit cards overseas transactions.
Since 2013, UnionPay International partners with China Merchants Bank Credit Card in carrying out “Amazing Europe” program, offering UnionPay cardholders better travel payment experiences.
Wi-Fi Champs-Elysées is a registered trademark.
