Facts About Event WiFi
Have you ever been at an event where the WiFi is patchy? slow? non-existent?
That’s down to congestion – too many users sapping the bandwidth of a system that can’t cope with the demand. People today expect fast, reliable internet connections at business and trade conferences. The success of such events depend on it. But while most business venues have WiFi, there is no guarantee it will be strong and reliable enough. Here are some of the main factors to consider when planning on how best to get your event connected.
Pump up the Volume – Supply and Demand
People are increasingly likely to bring more than one device to an event. In fact, the average works out at two and a half devices per person, so if you’ve got 500 people coming to yours, the WiFi might have to cope with 1250 phones, tablets and computers demanding a signal. Different events place different demands on the network, too. At a festival 10% of the crowd typically go online at a time, but at a party or conference, the entire audience might be invited to log on at the same time. Volume of WiFi traffic is a key consideration at the planning stage.
Wall to Wall – Getting Optimum Coverage
Great WiFi can make a huge difference to your event but we believe it’s something that should be seen and not hears. When start talking about the WiFi it’s usually for all the wrong reasons. Trusting to a venue’s technology capability risks letting poor coverage overshadow your event. Forward planning is vital to ensure the venue’s main areas have a good, strong signal. Even then, most venues will have black spots that make it impossible to roam while online.
Twice as Good – WiFi Dual Band
It’s useful to understand some of the basic technology of WiFi when thinking about an event’s coverage. The WiFi found in most commercial venues runs on the original 2.4 GHz frequency, but this provides a signal that is often weak, susceptible to interference and increasingly congested.
The new standard is the superior 5 GHz WiFi which is supported by most new smartphones and is better at passing through walls. Event WiFi uses dual band technology – both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz – to deliver a more reliable WiFi experience and our technology is also fully compatible with the latest AC standard.
Directing Traffic – Shaping WiFi Usage
Restricting the amount of WiFi data is standard practice when putting on a conference, so that heavy use by a few individuals – streaming live video for example – doesn’t affect everyone else.
A quality WiFi connection will allow you to shape and control the traffic to suit your needs while allowing unrestricted access for you and your event team.
Need for Speed – Faster Connections
Above all, a successful business conference will have a super-fast WiFi connection that can cope with user demand. 10Mb per 100 users is our recommendation for a high usage crowd, while 2Mb per 100 users is standard for smaller events. You can test the internet speed at a venue with websites such at speedtest.net. When you run a test you are looking for a ‘ping speed’ of less that 30ms and an ‘internet speed’ of 2Mb per 100 users, so for 1,000 low usage users (checking emails and social media) 20Mb should be fine.
A poor WiFi connection is bad for business. Together we can ensure your WiFi connection is a fast and seamless experience for everyone. Get yourself connected today.
Want to find out more about the amazing things we can do to get your event connected?