Event season is rapidly approaching and we are getting some great questions from our clients about designing the right wifi solution for their event. One of the most important things to consider when planning event wifi is … who will be using event wifi, and for what? Let’s dive in to this a little deeper.
Determine up front who needs wifi
Know your audience, advance your brand. It’s a pretty simple concept that we’ve all heard, but do you apply the same thinking to how you plan the wifi for your events? Chances are you know you need wifi, but there are so many other priorities that you’re busy with that wifi can become one of those “oh right – we need to plan for that” moments, sometimes late in the planning process.
If you want to provide the best possible experience, consider first who you’re serving:
• Attendees
• Presenters
• Demos
• Exhibitors
• Press
• Production
• VIPs
• Interactive experiences
How will these groups use wifi?
Now we know who will be using the WiFi, but what will they be doing? We’ve done 200 person events that maxed out a 250 Mbps circuit, and 200 person events where we could get away with 5 Mbps. That could mean a difference of thousands – or even tens of thousands of dollars – to your budget.
Here are some common ways event participants consume event wifi:
• Light Internet surfing
• Email
• Streaming videos
• Live access to content
• Social media
• Audience participation
• Enabling interactive technologies (IOT, digital signage, wayfinding, heat maps, plus all the stuff we don’t even know exists yet)
Here is an example.
We did an event at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City where the production team and presenters needed a secure and fully managed wifi connection, as well as a no-fail connection for the photobooth for guests to use. There was no attendee wifi, which was factored into the network design and adjusted for in the budget. Brown Pelican WiFi designed a solution to bring in bandwidth to the iconic 30 Rock, and also assisted our client with the management of the in-house wifi provider at Radio City Music Hall. See more about the YouTube/Google Brandcast event here.
Want to do an event at Rockefeller Plaza? We have your bandwidth!
If you are planning an event in Midtown Manhattan, consider Rockefeller Plaza. Brown Pelican WiFi has bandwidth available there at a great price through December 2018. Learn more and contact us here!
Start planning your event wifi asap.
A WiFi Checklist can help you determine your wifi needs right away to get the best solution designed for your event.. We start with this brief form to help you thinking about what you’ll need. Fill out the WiFi Needs form below, and get your event wifi checked off the list.
Wonder How Much Bandwidth You Need For Your Event?
Use our Bandwidth Calculator Tool to help figure out your bandwidth needs.
CLICK HERE TO START CALCULATING