Tech
be relying heavily on Wi-Fi
connectivity. According to
James Manning, CTO at
Kognos, the problem with
Wi-Fi provision in most
venues is that there is not
enough bandwidth. There
are significant drop outs (the
Wi-Fi stops working and you
have to sign in again), and
super-slow speeds at peak
times slow simple width
downloads like email. This is
a continual problem in many
venues, both large and small.
But, Wi-Fi 6 will alleviate the
pressure.
Future proofing venues
So is Wi-Fi 6 going to help
future proof connectivity
problems in 2020 and
beyond? According to
Manning, the short answer
is yes, but its not that simple.
The next standard of Wi-
Fi – Wi-Fi 6 is designed to
offer much greater density.
In other words, where
there of lots of devices in
a Wi-Fi coverage area, the
devices will all operate
more reliably and at higher
speeds. This includes
speedier connections, better
quality streaming, quicker
downloads. For example, HD
video streaming en masse
will be something visitors
are not used to but will be
achievable. Event apps will
download more quickly.
Because of the increased
speed and reliability new or
unseen features can be added
into event apps. This will all
start happening from the
first quarter in 2020 when
the next generation of Wi-Fi
6 enabled mobile devices will
be released at the same time
32 — November
“London’s ExCeL is ahead of the game..they
recently had their Wi-Fi upgraded. ”
as the new Wi-Fi 6 network
switching equipment and
access points. These will
be made available by Wi-Fi
hardware manufactures
including Cisco and Huawei.
But Luke O’Neil, Executive
Editor at Tech Target, thinks
that the new standard will
only become mainstream
by 2023. So what happens
in the mean time? He
suggests that businesses
should be contemplating
and understanding the new
standard and how is going
to drive their businesses,
product offering and service
quality in the future. For the
exhibitions industry, this is
an important conversation
– in terms of venues adding
value to the organisers,
exhibitors and visitors
experience journeys within
their four walls. So what
should venues be thinking
about? It’s a no brainer that
exhibition venues should be
thinking about investing in
the future and specifically in
Wi-Fi 6.
Manning suggests care
will need to be given to
the underlying network
infrastructure. Its not just
about replacing the Wi-Fi
access points. In terms of
infrastructure, a review is
needed of the internet lines
coming into a venue; looking
at all the network switches
and cabling infrastructure.
In terms of venue
management, Manning
suggests owners need to
be talking to their Wi-Fi
providers now, and how they
will tackle Wi-Fi 6 provision.
Site surveys to determine
network switching capability
and cabling upgrades whilst
discussing in tandem the
internet lines coming into
the venue are needed.
Planning for incremental or
total change plans should
be considered alongside
refurbishment, maintenance
and other facilities
management investment
plans in the next year or two.
Getting the conversation
underway is what is needed
now. Alongside these
conversations with the
providers, venue owners
should also be talking to
their clients – the show
organisers – about their
demands and what they
will be expecting for their
exhibitors and visitors.
All these conversations
are going to become more
relevant in the second half
of 2020.
Who’s ahead of the game?
Some venues have already
made inroads. IT network
manager, ICC Wales,
Jowee Sarmiento is already
having conversation with
their provider Ruckus, and
monitoring the rollout of
WiFi 6 closely. London’s
ExCeL is ahead of the game.
Kuldip Sandhu, head of
technology, ExCeL London
recently had their Wi-Fi
upgraded. According to
Sahdhu, the upgrade to
Wi-Fi 5 was a significant
investment for ExCeL
London. The management
doubled the number of
access points across ExCeL.
This has allowed the number
concurrent users to increase
to 100,000, an increase of
300%. Most importantly,
the upgrade to Wi-Fi 5 has
provided the platform to
seamlessly upgrade to Wi-Fi
6, starting in 2020. This will
increase speeds by a further
30%. For WiFi-6 installation
ExCeL are planning
incremental upgrades in
areas of high density usage
to start with.
Monaco from Ablio has the
last word. He says that Wi-Fi
6 will take few years before it
can exploit its full potential,
since it will be dependent on
the natural change of users’
mobile devices but it is is
definitely a big and much
needed enhancement for Wi-
Fi networks. Let’s see where
we are in November 2020.
Venue owners, make sure
you are able to give clients
information on bandwidth,
speed and how many devices
can be connected to WiFi at
peak times in the meantime.