Sea Life Park announced Monday the completion of an eight-tower WiFi installation from Honolulu-based Sun Global Broadband (SGB) that will improve internet connectivity for park guests and international tourists, for an undisclosed sum.
The new system will allow visitors to the East Oahu marine park to quickly and easily share live video, post to social media, and, eventually to order food and drinks.
"We are glad to work with SGB to provide Wi-Fi to our guests, allowing them to share the special experience they have at Sea Life Park with their friends and families,” said COO John Reilly of Palace Entertainment, Sea Life Park’s corporate parent, in a statement. "Now guests can stream and share every part of the visit to Sea Life Park, from the stunning seaside setting to the amazing marine life that call this place home."
In the statement, Founder and CEO of SGB Edward Sun emphasized the enhanced visitor engagement this technology will deliver. "Fast seamless connectivity across the Park grounds will encourage social sharing and video streaming of the wide variety of the Park’s activities, whether it be interacting with the dolphins or exchanging marriage vows at Seaside Gardens.”
"This upgrade will also expand visitor knowledge of the park and allow follow-up communications to encourage return visits," Sun said in the statement. "It allows for live video conferencing and expanded event packages at the Wedding Chapel and Luau Venues at Sea Life Park."
In further conversation with PBN, Sun shared that guests now expect to carry their own digital ecosystem everywhere. “The role of communications has changed during the pandemic. People used to think of internet as just being bandwidth. But the internet now is a bridge between people from their bedroom, to their office, to their entertainment sources. Everything is linked and people are developing their own ecosystem.”
According to Sun, the SGB private network will allow certain international visitors to connect seamlessly through Wi-Fi to their home mobile carriers “The key thing for Japanese and other foreign tourists is to be able to bring their own digital ecosystem, so everything's in their own language and their own apps run OK. This is all readily available on our SGB network at Sea Life Park.”
As Sun looks to the future of SGB's work with the park, he sees opportunities for expanded pre- and post-trip engagement between visitors and the park. “Our goal is to work with Sea Life Park, not just as an operator for internet, but to help them as a strategic partner, to help them build a digital ecosystem visitors can bring to park and take home with them.”
Sea Life Park's corporate parent Palace Entertainment, headquartered in Pennsylania, operates theme parks, water parks, and entertainment centers throughout the United States. Palace Entertainment is itself a subsidiary of Spanish global theme park operator Parques Reunidos, which operates more than 60 parks in a dozen countries. Founded in 1964, Sea Life Park offers interactive programs, marine research, visitor education, and event spaces for weddings and luaus.
SGB is an eight year-old Honolulu company specializing in Wi-Fi networks and security systems, such as its 63-antenna Waikiki paid Wi-Fi network completed in 2017.
