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As our digital world advances, people expect more technology to be included in events. Whether it’s engaging with their friends on social media, or buying food and drinks, a lot of the experience relies on a reliable internet connection.
With this in mind, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to help event organizers get a reliable temporary WiFi connection for their event.
What is your event? Event planners deal with many logistical challenges. This is true whether you’re organizing a small event at a local high school gym or a large gathering in a park.
One of the first factors to consider is how far ahead you need to plan. This will likely depend on your size, and the complexity of your event. Some of the challenges event planners need to worry about are putting together a site map, estimating the number of attendees, food and beverage, vendors, musical acts, and more!
To understand your event internet needs, you need to understand the crucial parts of your event that require an internet connection.
You have a good idea of what your event is, now it’s time to determine your event internet needs. Are you hosting a lot of vendors or selling food and beverage? You’ll need an internet connection to run point-of-sale machines.
Is your event ticketed? You may need an internet connection for digital ticket readers. You also will want to consider aspects like attendee WiFi, live streaming, and production needs.
Once you’ve understood your event internet needs, it’s important to weigh the costs and benefits of temporary WiFi. It’s essential for event planners to understand what you risk losing without a consistent, reliable internet solution. You may gain a reputation for bad attendee experience, upset vendors, technical malfunctions, and more.
You also need to consider what costs you’re willing to pay for internet connections and budget your event accordingly. Depending on the internet solution you need, the cost could vary significantly.
Depending on your event internet needs, different services may be best for you. Not all events are the same and this is also true for event WiFi needs. Below are a few event internet service options.
4G/5G Wireless internet relies on cellular towers to get internet connection.
So long as you have power and are in range of a cellular tower your 4G/5G device can get a connection. These devices can be shipped and plugged in with limited need for professional installation.
However, significant limitations exist with these devices. Data caps and throttling can exist depending on how much data you want to use. This makes it best for limited purposes and small, low-bandwidth events like weddings, grand openings, and other similar events.
Fixed Wireless is a highly useful technology for event internet. Fixed wireless can be set up quickly, sometimes within two weeks. Fixed wireless also provides a dedicated internet connection. This means your experience isn’t impacted by the usage of people around you.
Fixed wireless can be used in any location within range and line of sight of a company’s points of presence (PoPs) without the need for existing internet infrastructure. The range of a PoP is typically about 20 miles.
Wired connections aren’t great for temporary events. While fiber internet is the fastest internet currently available, it requires long installation times and isn’t as flexible as wireless internet. This is especially true with access points on your site map, and temporary availability in public places like parks.
Unless you are an event venue that has existing fiber connection, fiber isn’t your best bet for temporary WiFi.
Depending on the right technology fit for your event, your choices may be limited. Some providers may only be willing to provide wired connections, and others may be limited in how they work with event organizers. For example, many internet companies only provide service on 12-month contracts. This wouldn’t make sense for event organizers who only need the connection for one to three days.
EarthLink Business can operate as a temporary ISP giving flexible contracts that allow for events to have service for days rather than months.
Now that you’ve found the right internet partner for you it’s time to put your plan into action. Below are the steps EarthLink Business uses with event organizers to help make their event a success.
Knowing the jargon when hiring an internet company to provide internet for your event is vitally important. It makes you more knowledgeable and able to speak their language. With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most important terms to understand when getting wireless internet for events.
Wireless internet for events allows you to spread your internet connection over wide areas like parks. This allows you to have the internet connection you need at key parts of your site map.
Event organizers are juggling a lot of different needs for their team, vendors, and attendees. Event WiFi can address many needs like point-of-sale machines, team communication, attendee social media posting, and more!
Fixed wireless is an internet service that allows for dedicated temporary WiFi. Fixed wireless uses microwave technology to deliver internet service from a PoP to a customer’s location.
Getting a reliable high-speed internet connection for your event can be confusing. We hope that reading this guide helps you feel confident about acquiring internet for your event . If you’d looking for a reliable, dedicated, high-speed internet connection for your event, contact our team at 844-797-1035 to get started today!
980 Hammond Drive, Ste 400
Atlanta, GA 30328
