Discovering, Understanding, and Harnessing the World’s Wi-Fi: Devicescape

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Devicescape enables brands and service providers to auto-connect customers to high-quality Wi-Fi and deliver targeted proximity engagement messages at numerous popular consumer destinations.

As a connectivity resource, Devicescape offers a unique combination of coverage, simplicity, and cost-efficiency - the perfect complement to cellular, and a powerful standalone asset. The company has already crowd-sourced and categorized more than 300 million Wi-Fi access points worldwide to create its Curated Virtual Network. At the heart of the Devicescape solution is the Curated Virtual Network;

Devicescape scale and effectiveness as a proximity engagement platform is amazing! It enables the delivery of highly targeted, location-specific engagement messages to consumers’ Smartphones wherever there is Wi-Fi.

Curated Virtual Network

One network, millions of locations, limitless opportunities to connect and engage

In the CVN, more than 300 million Wi-Fi access points worldwide combine to form a single, software-based network. A network that enables Brands, Apps, Merchants and Operators to deliver valuable connectivity and engagement services to customers. A single resource which can be customized and segmented to order.

The Curated Virtual Network is crowd sourced; every access point is discovered by one of millions of Devicescape-enabled Smartphones. Devicescape’s crowd continuously reports on the availability and quality of the Wi-Fi in the CVN, so it always knows what to use and when to use it and because the crowd discovers new Wi-Fi every day, the company’s network is always growing. Devicescape is building an ecosystem of app developers, product brands, mobile operators, device manufacturers, and venue owners to maximize and extract value from its network — and to share that value with consumers.

It contains top retail and hospitality brands like: Applebees, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Target
Tesco, Topshop, Wahaca, Walmart, Wendy’s, Marks & Spencer, Marston’s, McDonald’s, KFC
Kohl’s, Kroger, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell and many more.

Solutions Overview

For Brands: In-Store Engagement at Scale

Deliver in-store messages to consumers at numerous high-footfall retail and hospitality locations. Devicescape Engage replicates the proximity beacon experience using existing in-store Wi-Fi. Its solution is retailer-independent and delivers ubiquity today, with no need for new hardware. Messages are delivered at the right time, in the right place, at the points of greatest influence within the shopper journey.

For Apps: High-Value, Low-Cost Connectivity for Apps

Boost app’s performance with automated access to Devicescape’s huge, award-winning Wi-Fi network — at low or no cost. Connect your customers automatically to high quality Wi-Fi at numerous popular retail, service, hospitality, and leisure locations. Costs are minimized by revenues from low-volume, high-relevance advertising served at these locations.

For Merchants: Make your Wi-Fi Work for You

In-store Wi-Fi should be more than just a free service for customers. With Devicescape your existing Wi-Fi installation can drive significant benefits for your business.

For Operators: Improved Service. Enhanced Revenue

Boost connectivity service with Devicescape’s Curated Virtual Network of shared Wi-Fi — the perfect complement to cellular. Use its network to drive incremental revenue from high value, low-volume proximity-based mobile advertising.

Meet the Wits

Dave Fraser, CEO: Dave Fraser has been designing, building, marketing, and managing software for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in the development of the Curated Virtual Network — which sits at the heart of Devicescape’s multi-service Wi-Fi platform — and in its positioning for the delivery of enhanced connectivity, engagement and insight services to the telecom, mobile application, and retail verticals. Prior to joining Devicescape, Dave worked for Wind River (acquired by Intel), holding a variety of executive positions including chief marketing officer, and senior VP product business. He previously held senior roles at Convergent Technologies and Hewlett-Packard.

John Gordon, CTO: As CTO, John Gordon is responsible for making sure that the entire suite of Devicescape products fits together at a technical level, particularly the patented client-server hotspot login service, which he designed, and its associated device-based application. As the architect of that system, he spends much of his time online in cafes, restaurants, and shops testing new algorithms and Wi-Fi gadgets. John has over 20 years’ experience in embedding software in complex devices ranging from naval EW systems to consumer electronics.  He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent.

Cedar Milazzo, VP- Engineering: Cedar Milazzo has over 20 years of executive and senior engineering management experience with cloud-based software organizations and in the telecommunications industry, at both established companies and innovative start-ups. At Devicescape, he leads engineering strategy, architecture, and technical development of the company’s Wi-Fi network platform and services. Cedar began his career creating mapping products for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Planetary Data System, including online mapping services for Mars and the moon. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and computer engineering from Northern Arizona University.

Owen Geddes, VP- Market Development: Owen Geddes is responsible for the Devicescape Engage proposition, turning Devicescape’s Curated Virtual Network into the world’s largest proximity engagement platform. He has over 25 years’ experience at the forefront of innovation in mobile internet and proximity marketing. Owen has been instrumental in the development of the proximity marketing sector, working on projects with Google, Weve, Tesco, M&S, Lionsgate, and eOne.

“We believe that, by enabling Wi-Fi everywhere to function as part of a single network, it is possible to create a resource far greater than the sum of its parts.”