In the second part of our myth busting we look at satellite, high density Wi-Fi and broadband speed.

Satellite is the best all round solution for quick event deployment – BUSTED

Over the last few years KA band satellite has become a cheap option for temporary internet access, it can be a great solution in certain cases but there are many cases where it is not suitable. Satellite suffers from a high latency due to the distance to the satellite and this means every piece of data takes around 600ms to cross space. That delay might not seem much but it is crippling to services such as VPN (Virtual Private Networks), VoIP, video calls, online gaming and any application which requires lots of rapid two-way data traffic. It is great however for large file uploads and video streaming, however, it is important to watch data usage as this can rack up significant additional costs.

Satellite is also a poor solution for wide-scale access such as public Wi-Fi, this is because of a technology it uses to try and boost speed, the downside of which limits the number of simultaneous users who can connect to one satellite service. Most KA satellite services also have high contention ratios which can reduce the advertised 18Mbps/6Mbps type speeds down to something considerably lower, a similar trick is used with home broadband services. Uncontended services are available but the cost is much higher and other than for short durations (it’s normally sold in 15 minute slots) it is not competitive with other solutions.

Satellite can absolutely be the right approach, and we deploy lots of satellite solutions, but understanding the user requirements and explaining what the user experience will be like are extremely important to avoid disappointment and frustration.

Better Wi-Fi just means using more Wi-Fi access points – BUSTED

One of the most common problems with Wi-Fi networks is too many Wi-Fi access points and a poor design. A typical response to a user complaining about Wi-Fi is for another Wi-Fi access point to be deployed to ‘improve coverage’, yet frequently this just makes matters worse. Large scale and high density Wi-Fi requires very careful design to avoid what is known as Co-Channel Interference (CCI) where multiple wireless access points are in effect shouting at each other and slowing the whole network down.

Using fewer high capacity managed wireless access points with a detailed radio spectrum design, often with focused antennas, can deliver much high capacity and a better user experience than a thick blanket of access points. Good Wi-Fi design is a technical art requiring some very detailed knowledge – the output though is pretty much invisible to the normal user until it doesn’t work!

20Mbps of broadband speed is always the same – BUSTED

It would be nice if the experience and speed of all broadband services were the same so that when you are told you have 20Mbps that’s what you get. Reality is somewhat different and more complex due to a number of factors:

• Contention Ratio – Nearly all providers contend their services, which effectively shares the capacity between multiple users, this can be as much as 50:1 whereby your 20Mbps is shared between 50 users! More normally 20:1 is seen, then 5:1 on more business (and expensive) orientated services, up to the perfect 1:1 (no contention).
• Asynchronous / Synchronous – ADSL and FTTC (known as BT Infinity but also sold under different names) services are asynchronous, this means that the download speed is not the same as the upload speed. The original principle was that people need more download than upload speed but with modern cloud services, video calls and general rich media this has changed considerably and a low upload speed can be more crippling than the download speed. For example, you may have an ‘20Mbps ADSL service’ but typically the upload is only 768kbps and if the upload is at capacity the download becomes throttled due to the way TCP/IP networks work. Services such as true optic fibre (also sometimes called leased lines) are synchronous.
• Connection Speed / Throughput Speed – This is primarily an issue for ADSL/FTTC but can be seen with other services too. The speed advertised by an ADSL modem when it connects is only the theoretical speed of the link between the modem and the local exchange. The real throughput or speed depends on the entire route from your computer to the location you are connecting to – this is a complex web of routers, fibre and ‘internet peering’. Different parts of that route may suffer congestion and reduce the overall speed of the connection. Choice of Internet Service Provider (ISP) is an important factor as the good ones have better peering and higher capacity links to reduce the risk of congestion and optimise routing.
• Latency – Every device, cable and piece of fibre on a network through which data has to pass introduces an element of latency or delay- that’s due to physics. The amount of delay depends on distance (hence why satellite is a problem), quality of links (a poor link needs to use more error correction which adds delay), utilisation of links (high utilisation adds delay) and the number of routers, switches, etc. in the path. Good services may only add a few milliseconds of latency, poor ones several hundred milliseconds and that can make a big difference to user experience.

That’s it for issue 2. Next time, does my microwave really break my Wi-Fi? How comes Wi-Fi works through walls but not though trees? And should you worry about network security.

Welcome to the event technology myth busters! Just like the popular American show (Mythbusters –  check it out!) we will be taking myths we hear about from customers and proving, once and for all, if they are true, busted or plausible!

GPRS (mobile phone) PDQ systems are unreliable at events – TRUE

GPRS payment terminals are designed to connect to the same technology as your mobile phone so it stands to reason if your mobile phone is working it will, right? Right. Generally, GPRS networks operate really well and the unit works all over the place. The exception to this, unfortunately for those in the events industry, is that when the mobile phone network suffers from overload the terminals will have the same issue as you making a call. The majority of the mobile phone network is designed for large scale coverage area, not high density (such as 30,000 people in a field). If you are going to try and use a PDQ terminal in this type of situation it is much better to hire a cabled or Wi-Fi terminal as part of the event provision at the same time as you request services such as power.

Optic Fibre internet is always expensive – BUSTED

Optic fibre internet (sometimes called leased lines) is the best type of connectivity. It’s dedicated (just for you), has a fast support process and is generally very reliable. If your home broadband is like a B Road (narrow, busy and sometimes blocked unexpectedly) then optic fibre is the three lane motorway. Getting a motorway to your door can be expensive but for many locations it is now cost effective, especially over 3 or 5 years. Tricks to keeping the costs down? Order early, order from the right supplier and plan for the future, for example order a link with the highest capacity possible, just run it at a slower speed until you need more.

You can generate good revenue from charging for use of public Wi-Fi networks – BUSTED

It seems so obvious – deploy a public Wi-Fi network at an event and attendees will flock to it and pay to get a good service when the mobile networks become overloaded. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case as attendees are cautious about public Wi-Fi and do not like paying for it. This should not be a surprise considering most other public Wi-Fi in cafes, shopping centres, etc. is free at point of use or users get free access via an existing account such BT or Vodafone. Then add in the fact that at most events the attendee is paying to enter the event and you can see why they are reluctant to pay again.

Recovering the cost of deploying public Wi-Fi has to be a lot more creative – it is all about the content and the usage data. Lots of platforms out there now quickly and effectively collect marketing information from those using the service, such as email addresses, social media information, sites visited, etc. All of which can either be used for your own or other activations. Those using the networks need to agree, but many do once they appreciate the service has to be paid for in some way!

That’s it for this issue! More to come over the next few weeks including; Do all venues have sufficient internet access? Can wireless networks be customised with logos and text? Does streaming always suffer from site unless it has its own connection? Is satellite internet a good option for all events?

For event organisers life on the road, in and out of venues, holed up in damp cabins and questionable hotels means the technology they carry and the software tools they use are critical to their day to day job. It’s an ever changing landscape and, to some degree, a personal preference but there are a few key items to think about to ensure the teams stay productive at a sensible cost.

The Laptop – Personal & Critical

Although smartphones and tablets are the most talked about items of the last few years it is still the trusty laptop that is at the core of the road warrior armoury. It is the item not to skimp on, buying too cheaply will cost more in the longer term but at the same time there is no sense in buying at the top end – the best value is in middle.

Choosing a proper business laptop rather than the cheaper consumer models is a wise move – they survive better on the road and focus on the things that make a difference for an intensive user – battery life, keyboard feel, screen quality, lighter weight, etc. Size is important – there is no need for a massive 17” screen, you are better off sticking with a smaller screen and using an external monitor when you really need the extra screen area, the saving in weight and the fact you can then use your laptop on a train or plane is a much better benefit. Be wary of ultra-high resolutions on smaller displays as these often frustrate users as they can be so hard to read.

Hard drive failure just before an event is not something you want. To minimise the risk select an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of a traditional hard drive – SSDs are not immune to failure but they are a lot more tolerant of being bashed about in an event world and they are much faster.

In terms of performance the marketing always suggests the latest, fastest and most expensive processor is the way to go, however, overall laptop performance is down to the sum of the parts so there is no point in buying one with a high end processor which is then crippled by a slow hard drive, limited memory and weak graphics. These days’ processors are so good that unless you have some very specific needs you are better off buying a mid-range processor with plenty of memory, an SSD, decent graphics and good build quality. For example in the Intel processor range you should avoid the low end Core i3, instead picking a Core i5. Unless you have a specific, very demanding usage case there is little point in the extra cost of a Core i7.

Ultrabooks (extra thin and lightweight laptops) are worth the expense for the highly mobile but be careful on selection as many no longer have a physical network connector built in – they rely purely on wireless connections. The workaround is typically an external adapter. Similarly, many Ultrabooks have dropped some of the older generation connectors such as VGA in favour of HDMI and mini-HDMI – this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but you need to think ahead when presenting!

The type of wireless the laptop supports is very important and it is almost essential that you choose one which supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. The 2.4GHz range is typically so crowded on event sites that it is often unusable, whereas 5GHz has more capacity and provides a much better experience.

Should you buy an Apple Mac or a Microsoft Windows based laptop? In my view it doesn’t really matter – they both share the same core components and each suffers from similar types of failures and security issues. It is more about what sort of user experience you want and if you are already used to one or the other do not underestimate the initial loss in productivity if you switch!

Productivity Tools – Too Many to Choose From

The emergence of cloud services has led to an explosion in productivity tools, particularly ones that work well across distributed teams. Dropbox, Box, Office 365, Google Drive, Evernote, Google Docs, Microsoft One Drive, Skype, WhatsApp – the list goes on and on. They all have pros and cons and most will meet the needs of the majority of users. It’s not so much about which tools you choose, but about how many and how you manage them.

With a distributed team, especially one that includes freelancers, it is far too easy for everyone to do their own thing and productivity drops because no one knows where anything is or which version is the current one. It is really important to agree the tools and stick to them – less is more!

Offerings such as Office 365 where email, office applications and project sites can all be delivered as a single SaaS (Software as a Service), allow rapid scaling and shrinking of licences which is very effective for dynamic teams. There are additional benefits too since they are hosted in the cloud there are no VPN (Virtual Private Network) complexities for users connecting back to a central office whilst on an event site.

The downside of the modern cloud services is they require connectivity, not an issue when you are in the office but on event sites the impact is a lot more significant. The background synchronisation that takes place from your laptop, phone and tablet all consume bandwidth and this has increased the connectivity demand from event sites significantly which must be factored into event plans.

Security – Ignore at Your Peril

Distributed teams, a need to share lots of information, contractors, freelancers and a just get it done driver provide a mix which is an IT security nightmare. Information access, control and protection gets more complex every day and sadly the leakage of sensitive information and hacking are very real problems.

It all starts with the humble login and password, still the way that nearly all systems are accessed. We all hate them and we all get lazy with them. A few golden rules to start with:

• Never use ‘shared’ logins – the moment you use shared credentials you lose all ability to audit and control. If you suffer a breach you will not be able to trace it and the only way to stop it involves impacting everyone.
• Do not use the same password on multiple accounts – People hate this one but it is increasingly important. The reason is simple – the majority of systems use your email address as the login id so if one system gets hacked (which is all too common) and login details are compromised the hacker knows that using the same login id / password combination on other systems is more than likely to work. What starts as an annoying but manageable breach on a harmless website becomes an exposure to financial data, banking, customer information etc.
• Strong passwords – It’s incredible that the most popular password is still 123456 and the second most popular is password. In a business environment that should be treated as irresponsible and a possible disciplinary offence. Password hacking methods have moved way beyond the old ‘brute force’ attacks which means even fairly complex passwords are cracked surprisingly quickly. If you can remember your password easily then it is probably too simple!

The last two points above are at the core of the issue which blights confidence in computer security – realistically no human can manage dozens and dozens of different, complex passwords so the weak ones persist and play straight into the hacker’s hands.

At first the solution seems counter-intuitive – password managers. These utilities such as Lastpass and 1Password manage all of your passwords allowing you to have unique, complex passwords for every system you use. You then just have one password to remember to access the password manager.

Surely this is a bigger risk as that one password gets access to everything? Potentially yes, but there are reasons why this risk is smaller than the risk of not using a password manager.

Firstly, you are far more likely to remember one complex password than lots of them. Secondly the password manager (or at least the good ones) is local to your devices so to try and hack the password the hacker needs access to your actual device, not an on-line website so this adds another layer of defence. A password manager is infinitely more secure than yellow sticky notes stuck to your screen.

To go a step further, particularly for a password manager, using ‘two factor authentication’ is wise. Two factor authentication provides an additional layer of security in a similar way to the card readers used by many banks for on-line banking but instead of a card reader they use an application on your computer or smartphone. Products such as Google Authenticator are now supported on many password managers and also directly on other on-line services.

Passwords are a key part of security but there are a few other aspects which need to be watched carefully. Most security breaches are still caused by employees or contractors – both intentionally and unintentionally. With documents and information bouncing between people and systems at an alarming rate knowing who has access to information and where information is stored is crucial.

Thankfully the majority of staff and contractors are trustworthy but it only takes one. Using unique logins for all staff as mentioned above makes the process of closing down access much more straightforward when it is no longer required and provides traceability. Most systems now provide a granular access control so that not everyone gets access to everything. A clearly owned ‘leaver process’ is also important to make sure logins are removed and content deleted from sharing locations.

Effective technology usage can make a big difference to productivity but it is too easy to overcomplicate. We now have an amazing array of systems with which to share content and communicate but when the pressure is on ‘old fashioned’ email still comes out on top as it is simple and dependable. The same thought should hold true for the other aspects; event road warriors require simple and dependable solutions that do not distract them from what they need to do – run events!