Tech
Wi-Fi – The
Second Coming
James Morgan, founder of Event Tech
Lab, explores those dimly lit, technological
corridors to reveal Wi-Fi 6; the new tech that
could solve those painful connectivity issues
we’ve all had nightmares about
W
hy Wi-Fi 6?
It’s a no brainer that
exhibition venues should be
thinking about investing in
the future, and specifically in
Wi-Fi 6.
Are you ready for the
next generation of Wi-Fi
technology? The Wi-Fi 6
standard technically known
as 802.11ax is the next and
natural evolution of wireless
technology. With mobile
devices as the primary go-to
connectors for organisers,
contractors, exhibitors
and visitors for show day
communications and
content, all these stakeholder
groups rely heavily on
seamless connectivity
through Wi-Fi.
What are the pain points?
But how good is
connectivity at venues in
the UK? Mike Piddock,
founder of Glisser, the
interactive slide sharing
platform, explored the
connectivity of venues in
London. Research by Glisser
three years ago showed that
some venues had excellent
Wi-Fi, whilst others had
problems. Piddock found
that it was difficult for event
mangers to get a straight
answer from venues about
their Wi-Fi capacity in
most cases. Few venues
had Wi-Fi speed or quality
statements on their websites
or brochures. Bandwidth,
speed and how many devices
could connect to access
points (Wi-Fi Transmitters)
was information that was
not readily available. This
is problematic, especially
when visitors as well as other
stakeholders are expecting
higher quality experiences in
terms of technology.
What can Wi-Fi 6 do?
Established technologies
that are starting to take
hold in the events sector
need bandwidth and
speed to work to properly.
For example, in the next
few years we will see a
proliferation of exhibitors
using more IoT (Internet of
Things) devices to connect
various ‘things’ on exhibition
booths. Connections will
become problematic as there
won’t be enough bandwidth.
Christian Ary from Rabbit
Technologies, the IoT based
lead capture system, is of the
opinion that as Wi-Fi 6 will
bring greater capacity and
efficiency to smart sensors
and things. Rabbit foresees
significant positive impacts
for IoT service providers
delivering solutions to
high-traffic environments
like exhibitions. He adds
that the immediate impact
for innovators is that
they can enable new low
bandwidth use cases and
improve existing ones with
higher range and better
reliability, taking advantage
of IoT devices designed
to send more information
and use less power. On the
participant’s side, Rabbit
anticipates more immersive
event experiences as they
connect with multiple
devices at the same moment
and in the same space.
Ablio, the simultaneous
online translation and Wi-Fi
broadcast services company,
see Wi-Fi 6 as a natural
progression to enhance their
offering. Giulio Monaco,
marketing director for Ablio
thinks that the growth of
capacity offered by Wi-Fi
6 will be matched by an
even growing demand of
bandwidth and usage, the
same held by Ary on IoT.
Another example is HD
video streaming. It has come
of age in the mainstream
with 4G and now with the
launch of 5G, and is going
to be another expectation
at exhibitions. However,
some venues may have thick
walls or be in basement
areas where 4G or 5G is
not easy to connect to, so
Wi-Fi is needed, but again,
multiple devices streaming
HD video may become a
problem. Shows like Comic
Con and SXSW show reams
of HD video content on
screens and sharing this
content to mobile devices is
going to take up bandwidth.
Downloading event apps
or other applications
en-masse is problematic
with the current Wi-Fi
standard, but Wi-Fi 6 can
solve this problem. Also,
consider foreign visitors
who do not want to use
their mobile data. They will
November — 31