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4 Thoughts on 4G for Events

24 Nov 2011
EtherBlog
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What does it say about society that a report on two UK 4G trials hits prime time nine o’clock news on the BBC? Probably that everyone still can’t get their heads around billions of Euros being thrown about and is looking for a little good news or at worse a new topic.

I thought the report, which had to address a rather wide 9pm audience, was good. In summary, 4G is coming and the speed and performance look great. A quick Google search finds that Gizmo has been using the O2 London-based trial for a week and is giving it rave reviews.

So with that good news ringing in our ears, we may think the battle of mobile data is done, but unfortunately wars are never that straight forward.

I would highlight to the event world that, whilst 4G will help tremendously with getting data access where we want it, it won’t address the primary challenges.

The march of progress: when 3G was starting to hit the market in 2003, it was to be the fastest, most reliable service in the world. At that time, most people in the UK used GPRS services on their devices, which delivered a speed of 9 kbps (pioneers at the time were using data cards with their laptops); compared to that, the theoretical throughput speed jump of 3G (2048 kbps) was immense. 3G was released and what happened? Firstly, deployment was slow and the real world speeds were much slower than the hype. Nearly 10 years on, coverage is still patchy and performance erratic.

Then we all got smartphones. So now not only do we want access to web sites, but we also want to watch iPlayer. We don’t make calls any more: we want to use face time. You get the picture (no pun intended). These developments are brilliant and make us more productive, keep us in touch with our families, etc. but what we continue to do is increase our data demand exponentially. That demand will not stop; 4G will just catch up, arguably to behind the demand curve when it eventually comes to market.

All mobile networks end with a cable somewhere

All mobile networks end with a cable somewhere

Law and order; OFCOM controls all licenced wireless broadcasts in the UK. For any UK carrier to broadcast on a 4G frequency and therefore offer services they must buy the licence. The sales of those licences has just been pushed back until the back end of 2012. So first not only do the carriers have to buy the licence (a massive investment which even for the largest carriers is a significant spend) but then they have to actually start to pay to upgrade their base stations to 4G just like they have with 3G. Have they finished upgrading all base stations with 3G yet? Ah. Good point.

The density spike; a key point for our event customers. 4G fundamentally operates in the same way as all GSM technologies in that it’s designed to be broadcast from several central points to cover a town. The design relies on relatively consistent demand. Throughput is constrained by the amount of spectrum each company has purchased from OFCOM and not solely on the amount of hardware deployed. Therefore when that bandwidth is fully utilised during abnormal spikes of activity there is not much that can be done to improve service. You can’t deploy 30 base stations around a site however much you wanted as you can’t service any more customers than you can with say 4. Service can be cleverly deployed using the topography of the site but in reality you are designing around the limitations of the way the system is designed. Here Wi-Fi has the edge since each ‘cell’ is much smaller and can be deployed all over an event site.

The cost; as always this is the million pound question. The carriers learnt from a lot of mistakes when they deployed 3G – and we should all sympathise. They purchased the licence from OFCOM for billions (Vodafone paid £5.9 billion for the rights to some 3G spectrum in 2000) and then tried to charge per MB but no one bought it because they found themselves operating in a world where customers want unlimited tariffs just like their home internet. Now they have to pay again for 4G licences. How will the charging model work? People want data ‘free’ but there is a huge infrastructure cost at a time when chargeable call volumes are dropping.

Just a little food for thought, it will be interesting to see how the trial in Cornwall, which is looking at how 4G can be used to help get internet access to remote locations (a great application) goes over the next few months and how manufactures start to line up devices for us to enjoy this need for speed with.

Free Wi-Fi – End of the story? Right?

07 Oct 2011
EtherBlog
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Few things in life are as cut and dry as Sinatra vs Gaga or Apple vs Microsoft. The recent industry activity campaigning for free Wi-Fi at venues is a good example of something which should be straight forward, but is in fact a little more complicated.

The ABPCO (Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) recently announced securing more than 100 signatures for its campaign to bring free Wi-Fi to major event venues across the UK. This is a great campaign and should help focus the minds of venues who overcharge for basic access to the internet. Whilst I support the movement I find myself sympathetic to the venues who now find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

The hard place is the overwhelming demand for internet (of any type!). It’s exploding and will continue to do so; from smartphones, tablets and good old laptops, people need to be connected. What are they doing? Quickly replying to that email to keep momentum up in a project, sending photos and video to the office for those that can’t attend the event, using QR codes to look up data on stands, checking their mapping application to plan around the traffic…the list goes on and on and on.

I was enjoying meeting customers at Square Meal just the other week and found myself sitting on the benches outside clearing email, eating a baguette chatting with several others doing the same thing. We were hanging onto a weak 3G signal (hence sitting outside!) instead of paying for access inside. If you needed another data point, apart from thinking how many times today you probably already used the smartphone in your pocket, a few months ago we provided a 300 acre Wi-Fi hotspot over the WOMAD festival and this year internet usage by attendees increased in excess of 250%.

The glow of internet demand

The glow of internet demand, image courtesy of Google

The rock is the cost. Of course nothing is free and installing hundreds of access points across a large venue isn’t cheap, let alone the cost of having significant internet access behind the scenes. If you try to do it on the cheap it will only come back to bite you.

I can see both arguments. Why give something away for free when people will pay for it? Especially when installing a quality venue wide Wi-Fi solution isn’t cheap. Infrastructure requires proper management, not to mention the cost of providing considerable internet backhaul.

Unfortunately venues have few people to blame. Like several other industries they fail to realise new revenue opportunities from their infrastructure, instead opting to continue the ‘pay by hour, day or week’ just as they have done for many years. Customer understanding is also an issue – why at home is their broadband £12 per month and in a venue £10 per day? Whilst some of this is opportunistic pricing by the venue, there are real differences in infrastructure and cost to deliver a quality solution to a venue that works for all users. However this is probably the core of the issue – consistency. Sometimes you get good free Wi-Fi, sometimes you pay £10 and get poor Wi-Fi. This inconsistency leads to frustration, a lack of confidence and drives a feeling as to why anyone needs to pay for it at all.

To me the answer is likely to be a middle ground. Firstly conferences and venues should be investing in greater levels of visibility to what people are doing with their network – for example why can’t the customers be metered against a range of price plans? Risky for the event if it’s simple pay as you go as this could rack up extensive charges, but price points could be negotiated. Secondly it’s setting the right expectations for the network that is in place. By all means offer a free network which is limited to X speed for X time with advertising and then, if you want, pay for more significant access.

The second aspect is that we need to get to a point where venue Wi-Fi is certified or approved in some way so that potential users and organisers have some confidence and guarantee that they will get the service promised.

The final point I would make is that venues should take a leaf from Facebook’s business model (or Google’s). We use their services every day – but have you ever paid for it? Of course they advertise abundantly but actually the most valuable element for them is your data – this could very simply be collected at venues and sold back to the event or other parties. It’s a contentious area but it is happening just about everywhere else.

The discussion will continue for some time no doubt and it will be interesting to see how things develop over the next six months as venues compete to deliver additional services and as customers closely manage their budgets.

Event IT: Key Points from 2010 to help you in 2011

10 Nov 2010
EtherBlog
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As the outdoor events season quietens down a bit and focus moves to planning for 2011, I thought it would be useful to list out some of the trends we have seen during 2010 which can help with 2011 planning when it comes to IT and communications at event sites. Although focused on outdoor events most of the topics below apply equally to indoor events. So here we go:

  1. Plan and Book early – Connectivity providers have a few terms they love to use to push up costs – survey and expedite being two common ones. These costs mount rapidly and can generally be avoided by early engagement and planning. Last minute installations can end up being 2 or 3 times the cost of a normal installation. Other things to watch for include the ‘miscellaneous labour charges’, which often appear if a provider has to run cables around a site. This can be minimised by agreeing ‘demarcation’ at a suitable location and then cables being run by the event itself (we do this at most event sites and it can save £1,000s for larger deployments)
  2. PDQ / Payment Systems – In 2010 we have seen a significant rise in the number of events reporting problems with GPRS (mobile phone) PDQ machines – these are the credit/debit card machines used for merchandise, box offices, traders, etc. The problem stems from the fact that at events the mobile networks (Vodaphone, O2, Orange, etc) cannot handle the amount of data that users are trying to pull over the network, and with all the network congestion the PDQ machines cannot process transactions. The reason the problem is getting worse relates to the increase in smartphones using more data and also some reluctance by operators to put in temporary masts due to their high cost. However it is important to note that just because a temporary mast is installed is does not necessary mean that data services will be any better as most temporary masts are more for the benefit of voice calls. The alternative to GPRS PDQs are Wi-Fi PDQs – exactly the same machines but using a Wi-Fi network instead. Obviously this requires a Wi-Fi network to be in place but it means the network is fully controlled and transactions on the machines are much faster. There are options to rent Wi-Fi PDQs (we offer this service) but 2-3 weeks notice is required as the machines have to be configured with the relevant banking merchant id.
  3. VPN for Ticketing Systems – VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are a method for creating a secure connection between two locations such as an event site and a central database somewhere. They are often used by ticketing and stock systems which are increasingly being used from event sites. There are two things to watch for, firstly VPNs require good network connectivity, especially upload, which means basic broadband will not support it very well. The second area is that VPNs often require special firewall configuration, particularly if multiple VPNs are to be used.
  4. Wireless Spectrum Management – The use of wireless equipment on event sites continues to grow at a pace – general Wi-Fi, CCTV, ticket scanning, sound systems, audio and video links, etc. all make use of wireless solutions, many of which operate in the same frequency range. Harmony and reliable operation can only be achieved if everyone works together and early communication and coordination is key to ensure there is no interference.
  5. Smartphone Hunting – The rapid increase in smartphone devices with Wi-Fi creates new challenges for onsite networks, even when the event network is not intended for public access. The issue is that smartphones will continually ‘hunt’ for Wi-Fi networks and when they find one they try to connect. This creates a small load on the network whilst they negotiate a connection (which will eventually fail if the network is secure) and with enough devices trying to connect this load builds up to the point where it impacts real users. The solution involves using wireless equipment designed for larger loads coupled with proper network management as low end Wi-Fi routers are not designed to deal with large numbers of users.
  6. VoIP Phones – The use of VoIP phones at events is now commonplace and demand is growing as more people become frustrated with mobile networks at events. Use of VoIP is the best way to avoid having multiple BT lines and the only way to have a flexible solution allowing last minute deployment of additional phones.
  7. Smartphone Apps – More and more events are now commissioning their own apps for use at events but few events are considering the full picture which is critical for success. Most of these applications (certainly the more useful ones) require connectivity at the event to get updates. Typically the mobile networks struggle with demand at events and so the user gets a poor experience and rates the app badly. Many users also turn up at the event expecting to download the app which creates further (significant) demand. One way around this is to provide a locally controlled Wi-Fi network for use by the app. This can then also be used to deliver local content direct from the site.
  8. Public Wi-Fi Access – The increase in smartphones coupled with the massive expansion of publicly available Wi-Fi leads to more and more expectation that events will have Wi-Fi access. The costs of expanding an existing network being provided to site production, technical production, crew etc is not as high as people initially think and opens new avenues for sponsorship, advertising and rich content delivery.

As always, whether you a run a small event or a large event, we are always happy to provide advice, support and services to your event to ensure technology does not get in the way of delivering a great experience.

Wi-Fi Direct: Potential Disaster for Event Wi-Fi Networks?

31 Oct 2010
EtherBlog
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There’s plenty of press coverage of the recent, much anticipated, announcement of the approval of the Wi-Fi Direct standard. On the surface non-technical folks would be unlikely to give it a second thought but if you rely on Wi-Fi networks at events then Wi-Fi Direct could be a cause for concern. So what exactly is it and why the concern?

In simple terms think of Bluetooth but using a Wi-Fi standard i.e. device to device communication without the use of a ‘Wireless Access Point’. OK , but we have Bluetooth so why bother? Potentially better range, better performance and a single wireless standard across devices. Also factor in that Bluetooth has never really made it big in the US whereas Wi-Fi has.

But the more technical folks already know how to do ‘ad hoc’ wireless networks today using laptops and wireless adapters so what’s the difference? Not a lot, other than making it simpler and giving it a standard so that a wider range of devices can be certified. Sounds great, so I can connect my laptop directly to my wireless printer? Yes, and any other device that becomes ‘Wi-Fi Direct Certified’.

On one level Wi-Fi Direct is potentially a great addition to the connectivity tool-set, not a replacement for Bluetooth but a complimentary offering, a sort of next level up from a Personal Area Network (PAN), however there is a downside.

The downside is two fold, firstly imagine what happens when you put hundreds of users in a small space all firing up Wi-Fi Direct. Remember what used to happen in a room full of laptops with infrared connectivity and the constant ‘whoosh’ noise as they all kept finding one another and tried to establish a connection! Imagine that over a much wider area with all types of devices.

Today we are still seeing issues at events with the virus which creates an ad hoc network on an infected computer (using a very similar approach to Wi-Fi Direct) called ‘Free Public Wi-Fi’. Unsuspecting users connect to this and then become infected themselves. This virus has been around for some time but has recently gained more press coverage, thankfully it is easy to resolve but it is a nuisance at events where we often see dozens of infected computers.

The second issue is one of interference. The 2.4GHz frequency range that the majority of current Wi-Fi devices use is highly congested. Everything from microwave ovens to Bluetooth devices emit radiation around this frequency, all of which appears as interference to Wi-Fi devices and reduces performance. Now add in hundreds of Wi-Fi Direct networks all emitting in the same frequency range and chaos results. Recent large launches such as the iPhone 4 were hampered by interference caused by hundreds of MiFi devices; Wi-Fi Direct will add a whole new level of interference.

So how bleak is the situation? Hopefully the Wi-Fi Direct standard will address these concerns but details are hard to find at present. Also many of these aspects exist in one form or another today and hence already have to be managed at event sites but it does place increased pressure on the professional network. Two major factors which come into play and can assist are the use of the 5GHz frequency range for critical services where currently there is far less interference (although that is changing). The second factor is to use equipment designed for difficult environments, features such as interference rejection (using aspects such as beam-forming) and automatic channel management become highly important in maintaining a usable network.

The picture may become clearer as more details are made available around the Wi-Fi Direct standard but for any organiser planning on the use of Wi-Fi at an event, especially where there is likely to be a high density of users such as a media centre, it is critical they engage a professional team who have the right tools, equipment and experience to minimise the risk and deliver a quality network.

Showman’s Show 2010: Cashless Payments & Next Generation Wireless

18 Oct 2010
Press Releases
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This week see’s the 25th Showman’s Show at Newbury Showground, Etherlive will be exhibiting on two stands (one indoors in the warm and one outside) demonstrating some of the latest event technology solutions. Press release follows:

For further information contact:
Becky Martin-Jones / Mark Hook
www.ascentpr.co.uk
etherlive@ascentpr.co.uk
T. 01454 629 741 

Cashless payments and next generation wireless infrastructure hailed as priorities for 2011 event technology

October 2010 – Etherlive is hailing cashless payments and next generation wireless infrastructure as the key innovation priorities for the 2011 events season.

The event technology specialist, exhibiting at this year’s Showman’s Show[1], is exploring new opportunities to introduce cashless payment systems.  This follows a pilot scheme this summer at WOMAD, which replaced paper-based crew meal tickets with electronic cards.  In addition, Etherlive is currently planning trials of next generation wireless technology in advance of next year’s festival season.

Tom McInerney, event director at Etherlive explains, “We’ve had a busy 2010 season providing core communications technologies to some of the UK’s most prestigious events.  We are now dedicating some significant time to delivering continued value and innovation by trialling new technologies including our 4G offering.  Having a secure technology infrastructure with extended coverage means that event organisers have a sound foundation for new services like CCTV, off site sound monitoring and audience interaction.

“Working with festivals such as WOMAD has shown us how effective cashless payments can be and we’ll be looking at new ways to apply this technology. RFID technology is ready to be deployed in volume at festivals and the installation at WOMAD was a first.

“These are exciting times for the event sector – technology has so much potential to make a difference to user experience, and the bottom line of the event organisers.”

Etherlive will be exhibiting on stands 67 and 168 at Showman’s, which takes place on the 20-21st October at the Newbury showground.

About Etherlive

A successful event depends on great performances. From WOMAD and The Green Man Festival to the Southampton Boat Show and the Three Counties Show, Etherlive is the one that makes IT work. Etherlive sits behind the scenes delivering reliable Wi-Fi internet, telephony, laptops, PDQs and interactive messaging. Whether in a field or a building, Etherlive makes connectivity simple.

http://events.www.etherlive.co.uk

[1] Showmans, 20-21st October – http://www.showmans-directory.co.uk/theshow.asp

Should You Care about Public Wi-Fi at Events?

12 Oct 2010
EtherBlog
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WOMAD

At WOMAD in 2010 over 3,500 attendees used the Wi-Fi network, a 300% increase on 2009

 

Providing Wi-Fi access to crew, traders, exhibitors and production teams at events is pretty much expected these days from the smallest to largest events, but providing access to attendees is only now becoming a hot topic.  

Even just a couple of years ago the technical challenges of providing large scale Wi-Fi were great enough to make it financially unviable. Couple that with the fact there was no demand as no one had Wi-Fi devices and it’s easy to see why the idea was in the backwaters. This, however, is all changing very quickly.  

Three years ago the number of Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones was around 3%, by the end of 2010 this is expected to be around 20%, and within another year or so it is expected to pass 30%. These figures represent all mobile phones, if you focus on certain groups such as  the 16-30 age group or the more affluent then the figure is much higher. Alongside this there has also been massive growth in other Wi-Fi enabled devices such as iPods, iPads, Nintendo DSs and Sony PSPs. Factor in the demographics of individuals who attend different types of events and you find that at many events over 50% of attendees could have a Wi-Fi enabled device at an event within a year or two.  

Wi-Fi enabled devices though are only part of the story. The other huge change is the growth in mobile Internet use. The smartphone growth driven by the likes of the iPhone and Blackberry is changing our use of the Internet at an incredible rate. In the US mobile data usage has already surpassed mobile voice traffic and the UK is expected to follow very shortly. More and more people now use the Internet primarily through a smartphone or ultra mobile device rather than a laptop or desktop computer and that trend is accelerating, with predictions of a 25x increase in mobile data volumes by 2012.  

The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are well aware of this growth and it’s causing them great pain because their networks were not designed to deal with the volumes of data predicted and scaling the network infrastructure would be very costly. Evidence of these issues is commonplace at any larger event where the mobile networks struggle to deal with voice calls let alone data. Placing temporary mobile towers onsite can assist for voice calls but it barely scratches the surface when it comes to data. What’s changed more recently though is the approach, a couple of years ago the MNOs were scared of Wi-Fi as they thought it would impact their revenue streams and so resisted any move to integrate it as an alternative to 2.5G and 3G. That has now all changed, with MNOs positively encouraging people to use Wi-Fi whenever possible to reduce the data load on their networks.  

This leaves event organisers in an interesting situation as with more and more users and more and more event related applications and content, attendees are getting increasingly frustrated at the poor mobile service at events. If you look at the reviews of many of the festival and event applications the common theme is complaints about them not working at the event itself. Realistically the only way to improve the situation is to deploy public Wi-Fi as extending mobile capacity to the levels required is generally not feasible. Even next generation 4G is looking unlikely to resolve the high density issue and 4G is many years away from becoming mainstream.  

So should organisers deploy public Wi-Fi? Technically it is a lot more feasible than a few years ago and providing a good quality Internet connection to users will improve their online experience considerably which is especially important if you are promoting an iPhone or Android application for example. However, there is a much bigger play to this as mobile users are sharing information and commenting all the time through social media like Twitter, Facebook , Tumblr, email etc. By providing public Wi-Fi controlled by the event organiser this interactive element can be shaped and utilised, offering new opportunities for marketing, sponsorship and revenue streams. Rich content can be delivered directly to attendees, coupled with online purchasing and increasing the opportunity of developing a ‘sticky’ relationship. It even becomes a crowd management tool enabling organisers to send targeted messages to the attendees delivering everything from emergency messages to ‘secret’ rumours.  

In the large scale pilots we have run the data gathered backs these trends with significant usage and very positive feedback. At the festivals this usage has been widespread across the arenas and campsites throughout the day (and most of the night! ) and represented somewhere in the region of 80%+ of the enabled devices. It’s not all just about Twitter and Facebook (although they are at the top, accounting for three quarters of a million hits at WOMAD this year), there is the practical side too – news, bus, train, coach, weather, car share information etc. all of which help to spread the load of information dissemination. Couple that with event applications and premium content and the bundle becomes very attractive.  

There is no doubt the mobile revolution is well established and nowhere more so than at events, for event organisers there is an opportunity to grab this area and shape it to their benefit.

Reliable Connectivity Makes Hot Air of Balloon Fiesta Safety Concerns

27 Sep 2010
Press Releases
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For further information contact:
Becky Martin-Jones / Mark Hook
www.ascentpr.co.uk
etherlive@ascentpr.co.uk
T. 01454 629 741

Reliable Connectivity Makes Hot Air of Balloon Fiesta Safety Concerns

27 September 2010 – Etherlive has helped organisers of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, which attracts over 500,000 attendees, to successfully manage their onsite telecommunications and broadband services.

Richmond Event Management (REM), lead contractor for Europe’s largest Hot Air Balloon event, had concerns over the communications systems used on the site. If disrupted this could raise security issues, or threaten communications between organisers and those working on balloons flights, posing possible public safety risks.

Chris Green, managing director at Etherlive says, “With the Balloon Fiesta attracting more and more people each year, the organisers wanted to safeguard their necessary communications to ensure the safety, security and organisation of the event. 

“We were able to do this through the provision of wireless internet access and VOIP handsets to the core crew managing the fiesta. We also installed a back-up service in case of a power outage, and remote phone lines so organisers could relocate to the event and not miss vital calls or messages.”

Ben Hardy of REM, explains, “Dependable comms has become crucial to the success of a large outdoor event like the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. In the past we tried a variety of solutions, like fully installed phone lines, but these were expensive.

“We approached Etherlive, and its guarantee of a trustworthy system proved accurate, enabling us to fully control operations and ensure reliable communications between staff and those at flight control and our media centre. Etherlive’s approach was also more cost effective than in years previous”.

Chris Green summarises, “We’re pleased to have been able to help the organisers manage security and communication issues successfully for the events duration, and that our efforts aided to the smooth running of this year’s Bristol Balloon Fiesta”.

ENDS

About Etherlive
A successful event depends on great performances. From WOMAD and The Green Man Festival to the Southampton Boat Show and the Three Counties Show, Etherlive is the one that makes IT work. Etherlive sits behind the scenes delivering reliable Wi-Fi internet, telephony, CCTV, laptops, PDQs and interactive messaging. Whether in a field or a building, Etherlive makes connectivity simple.

https://etherlive.co.uk

‘High Density’ Media/Press Rooms

22 Sep 2010
EtherBlog
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A well connected media centre goes a long way to keeping journalists happy at events, but all too often I see comments in blogs and on twitter about poor Wi-Fi, slow connections and network meltdown. We operate and support connectivity for many media centres during the year ranging from small rooms with only a few users to large centres catering for hundreds of simultaneous users, so I thought I would share our approach to delivering an excellent experience.

The Sky Media Centre had a main room and several breakout & broadcast rooms

One example I will drawn on is the media centre we operated for Sky News for the Election Debate Broadcast earlier this year which had some interesting requirements. It was an unusual event in that the centre was only to operate for about eight hours in total but during the peak hours around the debate it was expected that the room would be used by over 400 journalists, politicians, television and radio crews simultaneously. The brief also required that all access was to be wireless and that various ‘network throttles’ had to be used to block certain types of transfers and maintain fair usage across all users. Although this event was larger than the average media centre the same principles apply whatever the size, the main aspects of which are as follows:   

1. The Right Internet Connectivity   

This may sound obvious but the wrong connectivity lets down a significant number of media centres, you may have the best wireless on the planet but if the internet connectivity is not good enough the users will be frustrated. The most common problem is using a broadband/ADSL line for connectivity which for all but the smallest of centres is likely to be totally unsuitable. The usage in a media centre is different from typical internet usage in that uploading of data is more important than downloading data. Broadband/ADSL lines are designed primarily for downloading and have a very low upload speed, typically only about 400kbps. The second issue with broadband lines is that the vast majority of providers use a high contention ratio on their service, this means that even if the connection says it’s 8Mbps, at the exchange the connection typically is then shared with up to 50 other users. The busier the exchange the worse the experience becomes.   

So what options are available instead? There is no straight forward answer to that as it depends on location, requirements and budget but the key thing is there are different options and with some up front planning the right solution can be put in place which can make a huge difference to the users experience. For the Sky Election Debate we had a 1Gbps fibre link with a second diverse routed failover link providing a typical wireless upload experience of 20Mbps per user (this varied based on the client device, an 802.11n client typically had 80Mbps). I’m not suggesting that all media centres need to offer that sort of speed but it shows it can be done.   

2. Wi-Fi / Networking Equipment   

Connect up a wireless access point, put it in the corner and off we go…which leads to a favourite Dilbert cartoon of mine.   

Dilbert.com

Delivering a good wireless experience is not ‘plug and play’, but it is a lot less painful if the right approach is used. Firstly never use consumer or low-end business wireless products, they will not deal with the simultaneous usage and throughput required, it needs high-end business wireless products to deliver a good service and even then capacity planning is critical. Wi-Fi is a shared medium meaning that if your client is connected at 54Mbps (and unfortunately although 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi is promoted as having a speed of 54Mbps in reality this is closer to 20Mbps), that is a best case assuming no one else is using the network at the same time.  As soon as another user connects the available bandwidth is shared between them. Put 25 users onto one wireless access point and each user may only see 800kbps!   

Providing good bandwidth to lots of users therefore requires multiple wireless access points, which can be achieved in several ways, but it requires careful planning otherwise choas results with all of the wireless access points interfering with each other. This area is complex and will make this blog way too long but a truly managed environment is the only way to deliver this successfully and that requires:   

  • 2.4 GHz & 5GHz 802.11n Wireless Access Points – to maximise throughput and share load across the wireless spectrum
  • Air Time Fairness – to stop older wireless clients slowing down and hogging the network
  • Beam Forming – this is a technique that focuses wireless signals on the client that is ‘talking’ giving better performance and reducing the impact of interference.
  • Band Steering – to balance wireless clients between the available frequencies
  • Load Balancing & Roaming – to ensure wireless clients are evenly and seamlessly distributed across the wireless access points
  • User Throtling – the ability to limit the maximum speed of a client connection
  • Client Isolation – the ability to stop one wireless client ‘seeing’ another wireless client on the network

The wireless portion then needs to be backed up by good switching and routing, typically all running at gigabit speeds. For critical media centres redundancy in terms of network design and power backup also come into play. Other factors include authentication (username and password, shared key, etc) and breaking the network into mutliple ‘virtual networks’ so that different services can be offered to different user groups.   

3. Network Management   

Once the network is designed and implemented it would be nice if it looked after itself but in a busy media centre there are still more challenges. The most common issue is interference, particularly in the 2.4GHz frequency range (which is the most common one for wireless clients) as many other items use the Wi-Fi frequencies too – bluetooth, DECT phones, ad-hoc wireless networks, RADAR, microwave ovens (yes I’m serious, particularly industrial ones) and various pieces of broadcast equipment such as video senders. These sources of interference can wreak havoc on Wi-Fi networks. A managed Wi-Fi network can automatically deal with some interference by switching channels and power output but in a busy media centre there is often no option but to use a spectrum analyser to constantly scan and identify interference sources so that they can either be eliminated or avoided. During the Sky Election Debate 113 sources of interference were identified and dealt with!   

Spot the wireless cameras - always a concern for Wi-Fi

 Active monitoring of the network is also important, this gives real-time information on the status of all the devices such as the wireless access points, the data passing through the network and how much capacity is being used. This facilitates making tweaks to the network before problems occur. It also has the benefit of providing a post event report with lots of data on usage.   

4. Support   

Having people to provide good technical support to users in the media centre is one of the best ways of keeping  journalists happy. For example the Sky Election Debate happened not long after the launch of the Apple iPad in the US so a number of people had imported them from the US and hadn’t got to grips with them yet, the support staff not only helped them connect to the network but also gave some basic usage assistance. That level of support is highly appreciated and tends to lead to favourable comments in the articles they write.   

Delivering a good experience in a media centre is not without its challenges but those challenges can be overcome by using the right tools for the job, good planning and a technical team that know that they are doing. At the end of an event when journalists come over to specifically say “it was the best wireless experience I’ve ever had” then you know it was a job well done.