Media Releases

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Whistler welcomes free WiFi

Whistler, B.C. –The public will now have access to free WiFi in Whistler Village, thanks to a partnership between Tourism Whistler and the Resort Municipality of Whistler.

The project will be implemented in stages over a two-year period, with the first install now live at Whistler Olympic Plaza.

The addition of free WiFi in key locations throughout Whistler Village is an important service to provide to guests, explains Barrett Fisher, Tourism Whistler’s President & CEO.

“We hear time and time again, through our visitor surveys, that free WiFi is not only a priority for our guests, but it’s really an expectation,” explains Fisher, who notes that the new service is a win-win for all involved.

“Not only is the addition of free WiFi good news for our guests, it also means that they’ll be able to share their Whistler photos and help to spread that positive word-of-mouth messaging that we know is so vital in today’s competitive landscape.”

The first location Whistler Olympic Plaza, now provides free WiFi for the plaza and within its immediate vicinity.

Whistler Olympic Plaza, a legacy of the 2010 Winter Games, is a state-of-the-art outdoor performance facility and community space with a park and playground, which hosts concerts and events during the summer and fall months and the outdoor skating rink and Family Après during the winter. It is located in the heart of Whistler Village, bordered by the Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos, and is a hub of local activity. During the 2010 Winter Games, it was the site for nightly medal ceremonies.

“Whistler Village WiFi provides a great service to guests and community members alike,” said Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden. “The need for free resort WiFi was first raised through customer feedback from Tourism Whistler’s annual research surveys and, as a result, was tabled at the resort’s Economic Partnership Initiative planning meeting as a priority,” she explained. “Coming out of the EPI, a resort-wide Technology Advisory Committee was then struck, at which time the RMOW and Tourism Whistler moved this initiative forward.”

There are three primary components involved when building a WiFi network, explains Tourism Whistler’s Senior Manager of Information and Web Technology, Tim Bonnell: access points, the network backbone (in this case, fibre optics) and an Internet connection.

Whistler’s existing fibre optic infrastructure – a legacy of the 2010 Winter Games – made the project viable, explains Bonnell. The fibre optic cabling in the resort links all performance areas at Whistler Olympic Plaza and connects to the network that runs through Whistler Village. The cable links the plaza to other Village gathering spaces that will ultimately become access points for the free WiFi network.

The installation will be a joint effort between Tourism Whistler and the RMOW, along with local contractors. The support and maintenance will be co-managed between the IT teams at Tourism Whistler and the RMOW.

Once the project is complete, there could be up to 30 WiFi access points powering 10 hotspots in key gathering locations throughout Whistler Village, allowing visitors to connect to the Internet at no cost.

In 2018, the locations will include:

• Whistler Olympic Plaza
• Whistler Conference Centre
• Village Square

 In 2019, access points will be added at the following locations:

• Mountain Square
• Town Plaza
• Village Common
• Skiers’ Plaza

Accessing the free WiFi network will be simple: users can select ‘Whistler WiFi’ from their device, where they will then be taken to a splash page and asked to accept the terms and conditions. To ensure the availability of Whistler WiFi to all users, bandwidth speed will be capped at 1Mbps (megabits/second) for each client. Not ideal to stream movies but more than enough connectivity to post pictures, view maps, send email and check your digital pages.” While no personal information is required to access the free WiFi network, there will be an option to sign up to receive Tourism Whistler’s Whistler Insider newsletter.

“We are really pleased to be partnering with the RMOW on this project, and to be able to offer this service to our visitors from around the world,” said Fisher. “Free Whistler WiFi is now a reality in the Village, thanks to this partnership and to the ongoing support of the RMOW.” 

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Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.944.7853 and whistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Media can visit whistler.com/media for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality profiles and access to images and B-roll.

Broadcasters: Whistler now has the capability to take you live with our enhanced fibre network. The significantly expanded network of more than 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling throughout the resort allows instant transmission of HD signals to any location at any time. Details on how to access, and book the fibre are available on our media site.

Media Contact

Michelle Fernandes
Coordinator, Communications
T: 604.938.2726
E: mfernandes@tourismwhistler.com

Patricia Westerholm
Senior Manager, Corporate and Member Communications
T: 604.938.2748
E: pwesterholm@tourismwhistler.com

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