This week sees our 4^th consecutive year exhibiting at the Showman’s Show. The show, at Newbury Showground on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th October, in a way marks a transition from the 2011 outdoor event season to the start of the 2012 season, although these days we see a variety of outdoor events year-round.

Etherlive prepares for its 4th Showmans Show

2012 in the UK is of course a bit of a one off with the Olympics and Paralympics occurring right at the peak of the outdoor event season. We are providing a number of services for Olympic related activity, such as all the IT, communications and broadcast provision for the London Media Centre, but we have been very careful to ensure this has no impact on our existing customers and their events.

What is important though is booking and planning for 2012, especially in London and other locations that will see Olympic activity. Provision of connectivity such as fibre and broadband services will see longer lead times due to sheer demand (we are ordering many services already so that they are provisioned very early next year). Transportation is another area which is impacted with requirements on suppliers to submit transport plans for London well in advance of events if they occur during the broad Olympic period. These aspects and others are all good topics for discussion at Showman’s if you are planning an event in 2012.

This year we are on Stand 71 of the indoor hall where we will be demonstrating a new generation of mobile VoIP handsets – allowing the freedom of a mobile phone with the cost advantages of VoIP. These units also couple up with an alarm and monitoring system providing a new level of integrated service for event organisers.

We will also be launching our latest innovation; Event Band, a suite of tools using RFID technology facilitating payment systems, loyalty services, accreditation and crew management. This technology will sit alongside the latest generation wireless chip & pin PDQs providing reliable payment methods for bars, merchants, exhibitors and ticketing.

The latest networked noise monitoring support offered by Etherlive will be on display, along with a demonstration of next generation satellite broadband, offering internet anywhere from the new KA band with higher internet speeds.

Alongside all the new products we will also have our core network, communications and CCTV technologies on display, solutions that have been used time and time again across a wide range of events connecting thousands of users. Outside we will also have one of our communications tower lights offering CCTV, Wi-Fi and public address as well as an economical lighting system. This can be found on the Aceplant stand (169) at the end of Avenue G.

Recently we announced that Etherlive has joined ESSA (Event Supplier and Services Association), alongside ongoing membership of the AIF (Association of Independent Festivals) and the ASAO (Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations). As well as actively participating in these organisations we also offer special services to fellow members.

We will have plenty of staff on hand to discuss event requirements and provide cost effective solutions to a broad range of connectivity, communications and other event IT needs.

A number of the Etherlive team enjoyed another great year exhibiting at the Showman’s Show. The weather was bright and sunny but cold, no pouring rain at the end like last year! The Show was relatively busy throughout but did die off very quickly on Thursday afternoon. We demonstrated some of the new innovations we will be bringing to the market including a crew accreditation system, to which customer response has been fantastic. A number of further enhancements are in the pipeline based on feedback from this year’s pilots.

Also on display at the indoor stand were our flight case communication systems, designed to deploy a network quickly connecting to whatever Internet connectivity is needed (satellite, leased lines, ADSL. 3G). We also demonstrated our VoIP handsets and Wi-Fi PDQ machines which can be configured for any merchant. Outside at the chilly (but dry and sunny) end of Avenue G our Mobile Command Centre (MCC) acted as the centre for the outdoor stand, complete with 17m pneumatic mast and flag. The MCC is used for large events, providing connectivity, hosting, network management and a support base for several engineers. The MCC is often coupled with our communications tower light which is specially designed to support Wi-Fi, wired network access, CCTV and public address along with being a much more environmentally friendly tower light. The outdoor stand was shared with one of partners, Aceplant, who were demonstrating their range of plant equipment for use at events.

Our ‘Venue IT powered by Etherlive’ brand was also on display at the show. The Venue IT brand will be increasingly used for permanent installation such as Showgrounds and for customers looking for a partner with which to discuss straightforward event communications.

If you didn’t get a chance to see us at Showman’s then we will be at the Event Production Show on 2nd and 3rd February 2011 at Olympia, London or you can get in contact to setup a visit any time.

We are now in the final stages of planning for the Showman’s Show 2010 and looking forward with meeting new and existing customers around the marquees and stands. This year our indoor stand (in the warm, number 68 ) is right on the main row whilst our outdoor stand (171) is at the end of avenue G. Whatever the weather it would be great to see you there.  

If you haven’t had the chance to make your way over to the Newbury show ground before, The Showman’s Show is the trade show of choice for the events industry. An eclectic mix of everything from portable toilets, stages, marquees, lighting companies and of course event technology suppliers (us!)  

The Showman's Show - Etherlive will be at stands 68 & 171

A little taster of some of the things we will be exhibiting:  

Reliable Connectivity – We’ll continue to talk about our passion delivering temporary connectivity – wired and wireless for any size and shape of event, from media centres to entire festivals.  

An Overview of Connectivity Options - From a phone line and broadband to high capacity fixed line and satellite services. We have a range of options to meet all needs.  

Mobile Phone Data Offload – Fed up with smartphone apps not working at events? Find out what we have been doing to resolve this problem.  

RFID Solutions – After successful trials in 2010 we will be demonstrating our Smartcard system for crew catering (no more paper vouchers!) and other authorisation aspects.  

That’s just a few of the things we will be talking about, along with some old favourites like the Communications Tower Light, CCTV, VoIP, network management & monitoring, flight-case based network hubs and more. Drop in for a chat, a coffee or a bottle of the finest Etherlive water.  

The Showman’s Show, Newbury Showground is open 20th and 21st October 9:30am – 4pm.

Typically the Showman’s Show, which Etherlive exhibited at in October 2009, is a rather rainy old affair bringing together the leading outdoor and indoor event suppliers at the Newbury Showground. This year the dark clouds held long enough to give exhibitors and visitors a chance to see the latest market innovations in some British October sunshine.

We exhibited in both the outside and inside areas. The outdoor space meant that we could demonstrate to customers the new Ecolite P Plus tower light, combining lighting, CCTV, public address and network (Wi-Fi & Wired) access in one palletized unit. The revolutionary unit received very positive reviews especially around its efficiency and simplicity. Also on display outside was the Mobile Command Centre (MCC), the network centre which keeps the largest events up and running with server racks, high speed networking, real-time monitoring and working space for operational teams.

Indoors we demonstrated the latest POD units which have been providing connectivity for many of the UKs leading outdoor and indoor events this year. The current generation includes a solar panel, part of a focus from Etherlive to provide event customers with the most environmentally conscious solutions on the market. With the panel, combined with the existing battery, the unit will run non-stop for several weeks even with UK weather conditions!

Also on display inside was one of our portable flight case communications units which provides a network brain for indoor and smaller events. The unit can support up to 20 VoIP handsets and 5 Wi-Fi PODS making it perfect for press or PR launch events.

The response to the two stands was fantastic; customers were keen to see the latest innovations and understand how their event can reduce costs by taking advantage of the latest technology.

If you missed the Showman’s Show then Etherlive will also be exhibiting at the Event Production Show 2nd and 3rd February 2010 at Olympia, London or you can get in contact to setup a personal demonstration at any time.

The Etherlive outdoor stand with the Ecolite P Plus and Mobile Command Centre (MCC)

Elements of the media may be determined to drive everyone into recession but this year’s Showman’s Show took no notice, growing in size and having an upbeat feel to it. Etherlive were both exhibiting at the show and providing services to Fonix LED. Over a highly ‘congested’ site in terms of radio spectrum use, including numerous ad-hoc Wi-Fi hotspots and a site mesh network, we ran multiple video streams, three CCTV cameras, a VoIP service and localised web hosting. This all builds on our approach of ‘business class wireless’, using extensive knowledge and experience to deliver high quality, high capacity services.

The show was a great success for us, with lots of interest in our newer services such as real-time location tracking, video streaming and event portals on handheld devices. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand for a chat and if you couldn’t make the show check out our website for further information on our latest services.

Etherlive will be demonstrating some of it’s cutting edge technology at the showman’s show this year which can significantly reduce infrastructure costs whilst also supporting sponsorship and other new revenue streams

Expect more information in the upcoming weeks (we don’t want to spoil all the surprise)

See you at the show!

Showmans’s show Etherlive stand details