How we set up Internet access at the exhibition
Automated lockers keep gaining popularity, and the organizers of the WorldFood 2014 exhibition trusted us to cover the entire venue with Internet access. We installed two access points using professional UniFi equipment, aiming to cover the signal across the main areas where visitors gathered.
This way, we managed to provide reliable Internet coverage at the two entrance areas. Inside the main hall where the exhibition took place, the signal was excellent when the access points first went live. But because of the large number of receiving and transmitting devices, mainly visitors' mobile phones, the situation changed over the course of the day.
The challenges we ran into
The data transmission airwaves turned out to be heavily congested, and we weren't able to keep a stable, high-quality Internet connection across the whole exhibition. Honestly, we weren't prepared for this: that kind of connection density in an indoor space is rare in practice. Our team drew the right conclusions and now knows that getting a good data signal in crowded venues requires more access points and switching to a different frequency, one less loaded by nearby devices.
What we took away from this project
Once we got back home, all the shortcomings were noted, and we adjusted our approach to setting up networks for similar events. That same experience later proved useful at other high-traffic locations, including beaches and festivals, where the number of connections tends to be just as demanding.
In the end, the largest share of revenue at the exhibition came from selling Internet access itself. People really are willing to pay for a good connection, and that alone can be the foundation of a profitable business that even a single person can run without any special technical background. We apply the same monetization principle in our complexes for shopping centers, where alongside storage, customers are offered internet access and charging through phone charging terminals.
