Trade shows, conferences, festivals, and business meetings have undergone a transformation over the past ten years. Trade show booths focus on demo products, not printed brochures. Registration tables use QR codes, not clipboards. Payment terminals, lead forms, polling tools, and online demo stations require only that one factor, at least in theory, can be assumed: internet connectivity.
However, what many of the exhibitors soon find, sometimes to their regret, is that the network within a crowded venue is extremely different from the internet connection the companies use at home or in the office. A crowded WiFi connection, shared bandwidth, internet usage limits, and expensive venue costs can be problematic for brands that rely on remaining online during short and intense events.
The disparity created here between expectation and reality has led many exhibitors to challenge the underlying supposition that the internet provided by the venue is the safest connection.
Reality of Venue WiFi at Large Events
“High-speed internet” is advertised in convention centers and hotels, but be sure to read the details. The truth is that the average convention center internet service delivers shared access among thousands of devices. A keynote alone can introduce 5,000 smartphones into an environment simultaneously. Imagine additional devices for demo exhibits, video uploads by the media, and in-sync actions by hotel staff.
According to data from the Event Marketing Institute, when one considers phones, tablets, laptops, and wearable technology, the average number of devices per person at a major industry show can range from 3 to 7. In an event hosting 20,000 attendees, this can mean that there may be well over 100,000 simultaneous connections.
Venue WiFi also has its own set of practical limitations:
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Shared Throughput: The speed decreases as you add users.
Certain applications, VPNs, or streaming tools may be throttled or blocked.
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Cost: The cost of dedicated wired drops or private networks can be quite high.
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Limited support windows: Network problems cannot always be fixed promptly when the show takes place.
“As one independent network engineer who consults for large conventions:
“‘Venues design their networks to support all attendees well, rather than to support the mission-critical demo of one of the exhibitors.’”
What Happens When Connectivity Fails
Connectivity issues are more than a nuisance— they impact results. According to a survey conducted by Freeman Research, the following percentage of attendees reported technology-related connectivity issues as having a negative impact on the quality or quantity of leads:
Certain types of events involve an even greater level of risk:
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Medical and healthcare conferences: Live software demonstrations, cloud imaging solutions, and login security have to work properly.
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Retail and consumer exhibitions: Credit card transactions and real-time inventory management need constant connectivity.
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Startup expos: Investors look for functioning products, not presentations on why the demo is not working.
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Media-intensive events: Press event uploads, press interviews, and social media activity require reliable and sufficient upload speeds.
Such problems have raised several questions in the minds of exhibitors regarding whether internet is just like hardware that is imported and used during an exhibition and then disposed of.
Bringing Your Own Internet to an Event
The portable internet solution for events from companies like TradeShowInternet focus on the problem of unreliable event venue internet. Rather than relying on an existing network within the event space, the exhibitor brings their own portable solution to set up their own private internet connection within the booth or event space.
Modern portable systems rely predominantly on bonded cellular. The use of multiple carriers increases traffic distribution. The system will automatically switch if a certain carrier happens to slow down or drop.
Important Features for Exhibitor-owned Internet Architectures include:
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Dedicated Bandwidth: The use of bandwidth is limited to the devices of the exhibitor.
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Fast Deployment: Systems come pre-configured, requiring less effort to set them up.
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Versatile connectivity: Supports laptops, tablets, printers, and payment stations via WiFi and wired jacks.
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Mobility: They can be transferred from exhibition floors to the meeting room or to the hotel.
According to GSMA Intelligence, North America has over 500 million actively used cellular connections, 5G adoption of which is steadily growing within high-density regions that are home to large venues. This fosters cellular internet availability within large events.
Portable Internet in Various Event Environments
There is a need for independent connectivity that arises through various event forms:
Trade Shows & Expos
Major events such as CES in Las Vegas and HIMSS involve more than 100,000 people. Although such events take place in convention centers that are well connected, vendors make use of their own networks as well.
Meetings for Corporations & Sales Kickoffs
There are internal events that could happen in hotels that have optimized WiFi connections that cater to customers and not to the cloud applications used by hundreds of employees simultaneously. Portable solutions give event organizers full control over performance.
Outdoor Events and Festivals
Music festivals, food fairs, and pop-up markets rarely include infrastructure. Cellular internet supports the purchase of tickets, the use of the checkout, and staff communications.
Press Events and Product Launches
Events centered on the media need a stable upload speed. The news team cannot wait for the shared network to settle before they file their news or upload a video.
According to industry statistics provided by Allied Market Research, the worldwide event technology industry is set to break $40 billion by 2030, with network connectivity ranking among the first three infrastructure requirements.
How Portable Event Internet Operates in Reality
A standard mobile kit consists of business-grade cellular modems, antennas, a router, and secure WiFi access points packaged in a ruggedized case. It connects via standard power outlets and takes less than 15 minutes to set up.
Many exhibitors currently use these technologies for:
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Website and SaaS Demos
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Lead capture and synchronization with CRM
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Credit Card Processing
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Badge scanning and registration
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Networked Printers and Displays
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Temporary employee offices
One such benefit that is not always considered is the usage after the event. The exhibitors have the same set taken to their hotel rooms or for other meetings to avoid costs for connecting.
This approach is evident with TradeShowInternet, the provider of internet access at events, where the focus is on exhibitor-controlled and portable internet access at trade shows, meetings, and marketing events.
COST PREDICTABILITY AND CONTROL
One of the reasons booth owners think about choosing independent internet options would be due to budgetary clarity. The cost of internet at the venue will fluctuate depending on the venue and the events taking place there. Last-minute increases in bandwidth capacity will affect the
The portable solutions present fixed costs for rental services, along with predictable parameters for performance. The exhibitors also understand the exact number of devices they can handle, in addition to the expected throughput.
In the words of the procurement manager for a national retail chain:
“We budgeted the furniture, the graphics, the staff for our booth months in advance. The wild card was the Internet. Having our own removed the uncertainty.”
Security Considerations
Public and shared networks are prone to data risk. Portable systems enable the use of a personal WiFi network by the exhibitors, creating passwords, firewalls, and VPN capabilities. For business sectors dealing with customer data, as well as proprietary software, this feature becomes significant.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, risks of data interception escalate on open networks, especially those that lack network segmentation: This has remained a factor that affects IT policies at large institutions that attend events.
Planning Ahead for Reliable Connectivity
Exhibitors interested in portable internet need to plan keeping the following considerations in mind: Expected Number of Devices Bandwidth requirements for demo viewing or streaming Venue size and layout BACP Room Power availability Early planning enables the optimization of configurations and the alignment of carrier coverage at the event location.
