Etherlive – Event Technology Experts

Event IT, Technology

‘Robust Internet for Events’ was our topic of choice when I sat with Craig Mathie, MD of the Bournemouth Rugby Sevens event, a few weeks ago for an open forum at Event Tech Live in the Truman Brewery. Around 30 people joined us from a range of events to cover what many people think is the ‘boring’ side of internet at events, primarily because it should already be sorted, just like power and water, but in many cases it is not.

One thing that I love about events, but is also the most challenging, is that most of the time we are starting, in some respect, from scratch. The event team might know how to plan an event but it’s probably a new venue, or a new team in the venue, or a new green field site, or a new sponsor. Something is always changing and because of that, even on the ‘basics’ side it is critical to consider key elements.

From the discussion I have summarised some of the key points below;

What’s the best type of internet for my event?

Rather like what’s the best type of car for my family, it depends on what you are trying to do and by when. I went through some examples of venues which are well known for their events, so they have invested in high speed connectivity, such as a leased line which means that over three years the service is cheaper to the event delivering the best speeds. For a new site, or one with short notice, we tend to bring in internet wirelessly from another location, or using copper services (which are mostly for the consumer market but can work in a pinch) or satellite.

Does whole venue or site wide Wi-Fi work?

Yes. If you want site wide Wi-Fi it can be delivered no problem. It is technically difficult but hey – that’s why you work with Etherlive! Venue wise it’s generally simpler to install, outdoors can be a bit more complicated but still very achievable if planned appropriately.

Is contactless payment reliable?

Yes. There is no reason for any technical issues with deploying contactless systems. Reports of issues are generally related to the devices themselves rather than the connectivity.

Isn’t 5G going to remove the need for Wi-Fi on site?

No. 5G, like 4G and others before it are great technologies just with better and bigger marketing budgets. Cellular technology (of which 5G is the latest standard) is designed to provide high speed connections for large populations, like towns, so it’s not designed to handle a very high peak of people in a specific area. It also isn’t really ‘supported’ like events need (have you ever tried to phone a mobile phone operator, complain about service in an area, and get an engineer to attend?). One advantage when 5G is introduced will be devices having another network option to connect – this will free up some of the 4G (and 3G) service.

Making Event Magic Happen – A Career in Events?

02 May 2018

Education, Event IT, Technology

You can get a great buzz out of attending a good event, and if you organise it the buzz is even better. Every successful event requires a team of dedicated professionals with a range of skills but often the event industry isn’t considered as a career choice.

At the recent ESSA (Event Supplier and Services Association) AGM a fantastic video was shown about working in the events industry. It really speaks to how passionate those of us in the industry are about making event magic happen, mostly behind the scenes working with festivals, exhibitions, corporate launches, sporting events and one-off special events like a Royal Wedding!

We welcomed our 4^th full year intern last year, and this year we will be taking on two more to support our growing engineering teams in the field. For the first time this year we also have an apprentice, a great way to get exposure in the events world, so if you know anyone looking to take that first step don’t forget about the events industry.

Of course, those with more experience are just as welcome, our company like many others is built on the years of experience gaining from all quarters including large and small companies.

We do all have one thing in common, we are one team and we love events!

Event Organisers Cannot Afford to Ignore GDPR

21 Mar 2018

CCTV, Event, Exhibition, Festival, GDPR, Wi-Fi

Is this yet another GDPR article? Yes, but before you click on past, this article is a bit more specific, focussing on Event Organisers and a few important aspects relating to them.

If you have somehow managed to miss the basics here is a quick recap (otherwise skip the next two paragraphs). GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, comes into force on May 28^th 2018 and is as dull as the name suggests but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. GDPR is, in effect, a beefier version of the Data Protection Act and there are some significant aspects which have changed.

First off, the fines if you are found to be breaching the regulations could be huge – up to 4% of annual worldwide turnover (up to €20 million). Secondly, the onus with GDPR is focussed much more on how and why, with supporting documentation – no more simply ticking a box to say you comply. Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, with GDPR there is much more appetite to enforce, along with more resources to audit.

Nearly all of the material currently circulating is focussed around the more obvious areas of customer, supplier and employee data; everything from email addresses to bank accounts and the harvesting of information from websites, social media and direct mail campaigns. This is all valid and needs to be considered seriously, however, for events there are some additional areas which could too easily be overlooked.

CCTV

CCTV is not necessarily something that initially comes to mind when it comes to GDPR but it is very much part of it. The holding and releasing of CCTV footage is already well controlled but the new regulations go much further requiring information on camera placement, field of view and reasoning for coverage needed, coupled with proof of deployment and signage. This is a significant uplift for events compared to the current approach and will need to be factored into planning and deployment from the start.

It is also important to note that ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), drone and body-worn cameras will all need to be assessed too.

In practical terms, we are now expecting all temporary CCTV installations at events to undergo an audit during the build phase documenting the camera locations and reasoning for those locations. Field of view into public areas external to the event is especially important.

Agreement on how long footage is held for, the release process and who can receive the footage will also need to be under much tighter control.

Public Internet Access

Many events allow public access to the internet on an event Wi-Fi network after a ‘splash page’ which may capture details such as an email address to be used after the event to send marketing information. In the future this information is more controlled and must use explicit ‘opt-in’ clauses before the email address can be used.

Even the logging of an IP address (the identifier used when a device connects to the network) coupled with the user information is governed by GDPR, however, this information is required to be stored under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (aka the Snoopers’ Charter) so the way it is stored and who has access to it is very important.

For events which offer public internet access the method of access and what information is captured and stored will need to be reviewed, with likely changes to the Terms & Conditions and opt-in statements.

Supplier & Volunteer Registration Systems

Employee and customer data is called out in nearly all GDPR overviews but it is important to remember that GDPR covers all data including anything recorded for suppliers and volunteers. Any system (paper or electronic) which stores personal information must be assessed including aspects such as what information is stored, where it is stored, how it is stored, how it is used, how the owner can remove it and who has access.

Visitor/Attendee Information

Any personally identifiable information gathered on attendees, such as an email address falls under the same regulations – this could be via initial ticket purchase, attendee registration or at the event itself. Particular attention must be paid to any direct marketing as the attendee must explicitly opt in to any future communications and have means to update or remove their information.

Many of these areas are likely to require a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), this is a new tool and process which must be used when new technology is used or when there is high risk to individuals.

The new regulations also broaden the scope of ‘personal information’ to cover just about everything from a name, email or social information through to genetic, economic and cultural information. The holding of this information has to be shown to have positive, clear consent from the individual using ‘plain English’ type agreements.

An individual must be given the ability to view and update information, and importantly has the right ‘to be forgotten’, which means complete removal from all systems.

These changes may initially look very onerous, however, a lot can be covered by a sensible review and improvements to existing processes. The important thing is not to ignore it – the changes are coming and a lack of preparation will not be a defence if you are found to be in breach.

For events we work on we will be working closely with organisers to assist and make sure all aspects are covered, providing templates and guidance wherever possible. If you would like to discuss any aspect of GDPR impact on your event then please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Ten Years of Showmans

19 Oct 2017

Event IT, Exhibition, Festival, Showman's Show

October 18^th-19^th 2017 sees Etherlive exhibiting at the Showman’s Show for our 10th consecutive year, the only show we have exhibited at every year since our formation. Its’ been a journey so we thought we would take a look back through our archives.

2008 – New Kids on the Block

We still have some of the 2008 mugs we had made as a giveaway in daily use at the office!

Amazing what you can squeeze onto a 3m x 2m stand

Less than a year after forming Etherlive we exhibited at the Showman’s Show for the first time in October 2008. We focused on a message of enabling events with good connectivity, reliable Wi-Fi, VoIP & CCTV.

Much has changed over the last ten years but that message is still just as important today, if not more so. We believed demand was going to grow hugely but I don’t think even we expected to move from the norm of a few ADSL lines to multi-gigabit fibre so rapidly on event sites.

2009 – Innovation in Tower Lights

In conjunction with Ace Plant & TCP we launched the Ecolite P+ at Showman’s 2009. The Ecolite P+ was a more eco-friendly tower light using metal halide discharge lamps coupled with CCTV, Wi-Fi and a PA system. The light was palletised so that more units could be transported on a trailer and had a generator which could run for several days on its internal fuel tank.

The fleet of Ecolites remained operational until 2017 when they were retired, replaced by newer units in which the technology has evolved requiring less customisation. Tower lights with CCTV and Wi-Fi remain a popular option for certain locations on event sites and construction sites.

2010 – Integrated Comms

Back in 2010 access to high capacity services was still relatively limited so often multiple services needed to be aggregated, such as ADSL, satellite and 3G. Intelligent routing, balancing and bonding across these services became a key factor.Today everyone has at least a backup 4G unit and balanced or bonded 4G is commonplace for smaller pop-up style events. It is not the solution for critical services but it has its place and it won’t be long before we are demonstrating 5G solutions.

Today everyone has at least a backup 4G unit and balanced or bonded 4G is commonplace for smaller pop-up style events. It is not the solution for critical services but it has its place and it won’t be long before we are demonstrating 5G solutions.

2011 – Look to the Sky

The launch of Ka band satellite internet access in 2011 radically changed the use of satellite at events. Previously satellite internet was a relatively costly and difficult proposition which didn’t give a good user experience. The Ka band internet service was designed for broadband services, rather than broadcasters, using smaller dishes and allowing multiple users to share bandwidth to keep costs down. It has proved hugely popular and is now a common sight at events. It still suffers the important limitation of all satellite services – high latency – so can only be used for certain services and is a very different user experience to other types of connectivity.

2011 also saw us demonstrate a beta version of an outdoor femtocell which provided mobile coverage from an internet connection, sadly the units where never brought the unit to production. A high-end DECT based phone system was also on display offering wireless roaming across an event site. This was used heavily in our deployment for the London Media Centre in 2012 and is still in use at events today.

2012 – The Holy Grail of Cashless & RFID

Since 2010 we had been working on RFID solutions with a crew catering system and later an accreditation/management system. In 2012 we worked with Intelligent Venue Solutions to bring a number of RFID related activities under one umbrella at a spin-out stand at Showmans.

Cost remained a barrier to wide-scale adoption and with the rapid rise of open-loop contact-less payments, over time we have moved into an enabling function for other providers. Today, for example, we deploy thousands of contact-less payment terminals and support ticket/wristband scanning for all the main providers.

2013 – Live Event Footfall Analytics

In 2012 we introduced a people counting solution which we refined and extended into Live Event Footfall Analytics (LEFA) for Showman’s 2013. Structured counting, for example in well-contained routes such as exhibitions, is now well established, whereas unstructured crowd density analysis is still an evolving area but shows great potential longer term for helping manage crowd flows and density.

2013 also saw us demonstrate 4G solutions and a Teenage Registration system designed for WOMAD to assist with the identification of under-18s and their associated responsible adults. Our first use of HD-CCTV cameras was also during 2013 with demonstrations at Showmans. We are now moving some cameras to QHD and testing 360 degree cameras.

2014 – The Intelligent Event

With more and more technology being deployed at events the next logical step is the integration of technology and communication between all aspects providing a rich level of event intelligence. From HD-CCTV, ticket scanning information and device location information, through to geo-tagged social media posts, a picture can be built up of what is happening on site and fed live into event control.

2015 – Meeting the Increasing Demands

Ever increasing requirements, demand for higher speeds and more capacity had driven a rise in the amount of fibre deployed around sites. Bigger sites were typically run with a fully routed design providing improved redundancy, increased speeds and better isolation between areas. This was often coupled with multiple gigabit internet connections which were diversely routed for redundancy.

2015 also saw deployment of latest generation 802.11ac wireless access points providing more speed and capacity to wireless clients.

2016 – Monitoring & Management

Extending on from the Intelligent Event additional components were demonstrated including Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and the Etherlive Monitoring Unit (EMU). The EMU is a type of IoT (Internet of Things) device which can be used to monitor a variety of things. It is particularly useful for monitoring power giving us early warning of power issues across a large event site.

In partnership with AirBox Systems, we demonstrated an incident management system, developed initially for the emergency services but just as applicable to event sites.

And so to 2017…

A light-hearted surfing theme for 2017

In a way it is ‘more of all of the above’, demand and complexity continues to increase, more and more devices are becoming network enabled and the broader event eco-system drives new requirements. The importance of reliable networking, Wi-Fi, CCTV, VoIP, ticket scanning and payment systems is now recognised as one of the keys to event success.

The Election Connection

28 Apr 2017

Connectivity, Election, June 8th, Media Centre, Polling, Press, Wi-Fi

With a snap general election called and the current political landscape in flux I wouldn’t be prepared to make any predictions on the outcome but it is safe to say that come election day town halls, sports halls and conference centres across the country will be buzzing with activity. A stream of reporters, candidates and supporters will be desperately trying to send and receive information through every media channel available.

The demand for good connectivity at election counts and associated events has mushroomed over the last ten years. We were first involved in a general election in 2010, providing services for the first televised leader debates, events which demonstrated the power and reach of Twitter in politics for the first time. Since then things have moved on with 140-character messages supplemented by live video services in the form of Periscope and Facebook Live.

Come June 8^th social media channels will be pumping vast amounts of data around the UK and beyond, the difference this time is that with such short notice it will be all too easy for venues to get caught out and provide frustratingly inadequate connectivity.

For anyone tasked with running an event, be it a count, press and media centre, or political party gathering it is critical to act now and ensure you have the right communications infrastructure in place. For anything above the smallest of gatherings relying on data connections from normal mobile phone operators is a risky strategy as they are not designed to deal with the surge in demand and load at a media-centric event.

Some venues may well have an element of existing Wi-Fi infrastructure but does it have the capacity in terms of ability to support an increased number of users? Does it have the internet backhaul to support the high data volumes and video streams which today’s press and media demand? These aspects can be assessed quickly and used to drive requirements which may include additional Wi-Fi capacity and associated internet access.

Other ‘pop-up’ locations may have no existing service and require a full temporary provision. The trickiest part of this is normally the internet backhaul, which with short notice may have to be provided by satellite (not as expensive as people tend to think) or a wireless link from another location.

It is sometimes possible to provision additional ADSL and FTTC (BT Infinity) internet services at quite short notice depending on the location but these services need to be booked as soon as possible. Fibre optic services take at least three months so new services are not feasible in this scenario, however, existing services may be capable of a ‘burst’, temporarily increasing speed for a short period.

With campaigning well under way smaller pop-up gatherings often also require some additional support which may be in the form of specialised 3G/4G bonding units which can provide localised Wi-Fi coverage whilst on the road in the campaign bus.

For larger events, especially those with a big broadcast media presence, there are additional challenges in the form of interference disrupting Wi-Fi due to people bringing their own Mi-Fi devices or other broadcasting equipment. These events need centralised spectrum management, or preferably a single central provider, to ensure everyone co-exists harmoniously when it comes to connectivity.

Even with the connectivity there are other factors – security being a key one. Understanding how to control and manage a network is essential to avoid any embarrassing information leaks. Additional phones may be required which can be deployed quickly using VoIP telephony rather than traditional copper lines. It may also be important to have some printing capability available.

In the modern social media driven political landscape, ensuring the connectivity & IT works flawlessly is just as important as the tables, chairs, tea, coffee, campaign bus and printed propaganda.

Power Up : IoT in Events

17 Mar 2017

Comments: 1

Event IT, Festival, IoT, Monitoring, Power, Technology

Tucked away in the corner of a bustling Christmas market is one of fifteen, non-descript little grey boxes. Like most IT equipment it’s pretty drab on the outside, the clever bit is hiding inside. We call it an EMU – an Etherlive Monitoring Unit – and it is in effect part of the emerging world of the ‘internet of things’ but with an events twist.

The EMU only measures 4cm x 6cm x 3cm but inside it is packed with an array of features. At the Christmas market it is busy monitoring the power being delivered from the generators, tracking the voltage, frequency and, critically, the amount of run-time available from the uninterruptible power supply if the generator should fail for any reason. It monitors this information in real-time and relays it back across the on-site network to the central management system. If a problem is detected the system generates alerts, sending out emails and SMS messages to key contacts as well as displaying information on a management console.

It can even assist with detecting wiring issues, noticing for example when a fault causes a floating neutral situation which results in dangerously high voltages being delivered to power outlets, protecting both equipment from damage and people from potential injury.

With real-time monitoring of power the risk of outages in systems which rely on power, such as the core IT infrastructure delivering phones, CCTV, ticket scanning and payment systems, can be minimised, which is critical on a busy event site.

The EMU though can do a lot more than just watch the power, it is a general-purpose monitoring tool capable of taking inputs from a range of sensors – these can be heat, smoke, fluid, sound, light or in fact pretty much anything that can be monitored via a sensor capable of producing an analogue or digital output. The fact that when the EMU powers up it connects to the site network, identifies its location and checks into the central management system, makes it simple to deploy.

Increasingly we are deploying EMUs across event sites as part of our ‘Intelligent Event’ strategy combined with other data sources such as CCTV, mobile device heat mapping, access control, crowd analytics and even social media data. As the number of data sources increases a detailed real-time picture of the event can be seen in event control speeding up decision making and enabling pro-active management of aspects such as water reserves, fuel levels and area capacities. The intelligent event system can also help identify cost savings and optimisation opportunities on site.

The ‘internet of things’ can sometimes be seen as marketing hype but go beyond the fluff and with the right components and approach, it can help solve real problems very effectively.

Cash Only – No Credit Cards

19 Jan 2017