One of the most cumbersome operations for event organizers is probably to be able to make sure that all the event attendees have a stable internet connection. Social media sharing is becoming more and more popular day by day and attendees along with PR specialists want to live blog the speeches, product demos and the like to increase the interaction on their websites, blogs, social media profiles etc. with fresh information for their followers.
The common problem with large events is to allow everyone to be able to connect to a Wi-Fi connection. It is like nowadays Wi-Fi is a standard requirement for any event to be successful. However, its easy to speak but hard to achieve. Everyone must remember product demo failures that even Steve Jobs experienced during Apple events due to everyone trying to get online at the same time. It was so annoying that Jobs himself had to ask everyone to disconnect from the Wi-Fi during the event for him to be able to continue the live product demo.
The benefits of internet connection at your even cannot be downplayed. It will attract more attendees and also provide you with an opportunity to market your brand.
So, what do you need to get started and not face such issues during an event?
There are numerous companies today that can provide your event with a wireless connection. However, you need to go with a company that has experience with large events and event venues that might have dead spots, interference issues etc. Each venue needs to be studied by the event Wi-Fi providing the company to make sure that the event will continue without any internet hiccups. One of the companies is Trade Show Internet with their wifi offerings at their official website. They are internet service providers for events of all sizes and types.
From gaming events to large conferences, each event has specific needs. For instance, the bandwidth per user requirement at gaming events tend to skyrocket, due to the nature of these tournaments/events where the “lag”, which defines the response time a user needs to achieve to have a stable gameplay experience, is crucial. Therefore, gaming tournaments, etc. are handled with expert third-party providers like trade show internet with extreme caution on these metrics to ensure that not only fair play is achieved for gamers, but also to create an amazing experience for the event attendees, who will be not only watching the streaming live on platforms like Twitch, etc, which requires high bandwidth, but also the live event venue attendees who will be tweeting, posting photos/videos on Instagram, YouTube etc.
For conferences and the like, one of the other important topics that come to mind is the videos that get displayed during the events. Most companies put at least one video into their presentation, which tends to get crippled without proper internet connectivity if tried to stream online.
And finally, the last important party that comes to mind, who event organizers need to make sure that they leave the event empty is the sponsors and exhibitors. At exhibition desks, they need to be able to present their solutions to the attendees that may require high bandwidth to the people that stop by at their presentation/demo desks. Also, people will need to potentially RDP into their machines at their workplace and need to pull up files, email etc. during the events, since business life cannot stop.
You need to start planning for Wi-Fi more than a month before your event starts, due to many things that are involved, such as site wireless survey, signing of contracts, finding the right vendor, and many more.
Event space’s Wi-Fi requirements and rules you should observe include:
- Protecting end-users Wi-Fi freedom of choice
- Set up a high-density wireless internet connection
- Create Wi-Fi captive portal and landing pages
- Provide temporary event Wi-Fi
- Provider Wi-Fi controlling and usage reports.
For an outdoor event, the requirements are not that complicated.
- Allow roaming
- Strong signals
- Deploy access points
- It should allow attendees to easily access and use it
Mistakes to avoid when planning for an event Wi-Fi
To be able to provide your attendees with maximum Wi-Fi experience, there are few mistakes you should avoid.
For example, don’t deploy a single stationary router to a large event because it will not be able to provide the necessary coverage. Many event venues today will have dead spots, and if careful planning doesn’t take place, you will leave a percentage of your event attendees unhappy, which may result in an unsuccessful event.
How to set up a reliable Wi-Fi for your event
The first step is contacting a Wi-Fi event provider. Trade Show Internet team are leading providers of event Wi-Fi and will help you set up your event Wi-Fi connection from start to finish. A free analysis of the event venue and planning of the required bandwidth per user is offered based on a questionnaire that will be done prior to the actual proposal and this way, you can prevent surprises that may occur during an event. A proper buffer can be put into place if you think that the attendee number may slightly change during the last few days prior to your event.
The company supplies event Wi-Fi across the United States including cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. So regardless of your location within the United States, you will be covered with the necessary event Wi-Fi solution to make sure that your event will not have any hiccups.
Event types include:
- Automotive Events
- Corporate events
- Exhibits
- Festivals
- Trade shows
You can always refer to the TSI’s blog to read more about the necessary steps, how to decide on the proper solution and potential things that could go wrong during events along with information about wireless site surveys.
