Cambridge Folk Festival
WiFi for a Large Temporary Outdoor Event – Case Study
Summary
Novahub provides large scale WiFi connectivity for production and visitor networks across a one of the UKs most prestigious and popular outdoor festivals, including the Novahub land page ‘app’ for full festival visitor engagement.
From the very start of event set-up through to event de-rig, WiFi plays a pivotal role. Reliable internet communication is needed to support and co-ordinate the logistical requirements.
WiFi enhances and supports the whole festival experience for all visitors, and, critically, it provides networks for all production services such as staff access, ticketing, telephony, security, point-of-sale and VIP networks.
In this case study, we explain Novahub’s role in providing these critically important WiFi services.
Requirement
Internet connectivity is essential for all staff, contractors and exhibitors to setup and operate the festival. Production networks are needed to support ticketing, telephony, security, point-of-sale and VIP networks.
Visitor WiFi is considered critical to the experience. The event attracts many thousands of visitors over several days. The WiFi enhances the experience, helps engage the community, and provides extensive exposure for sponsors and stakeholders.
Implementing Event Production
An extensive networking and WiFi infrastructure is implemented across the festival, both indoors and outdoors areas. Network switches, WiFi access points and routers and placed in key locations.
Production networks need special treatment to make sure they are secure and the bandwidth is guaranteed no matter how busy the rest of the events gets. This is especially so for point-of-sale networks which operate tills and card payment machines, where financial transactions are critical.
Attention also paid to connectivity for ticketing, where scanners are supported and often tickets now need to be downloaded and presented on mobile phones.
Hi Capacity Visitor WiFi
Correctly implemented hi-capacity WiFi will greatly enhance the event experience. During it’s peak the WiFi is used by several thousand users at the same time. Great care is taken to ensure the WiFi supports a high volume of users with minimal slow down at busy times.
Using Novahub’ specialist knowledge of advanced radio planning techniques and constant live monitoring, the WiFi is implemented to minimise congestion during busy times.
Novahub Event ‘App’
Included with the Novahub WiFi solution is our landing page ‘app’. By working with the event organisers and their marketing and promotional teams, we made content available to visitors including an event interactive map, act timings and information and event important information.
We included sponsor information and collated data on clicks and views which demonstrated a high level of interaction.
The ‘app’ was in the form of a web landing page, so did not need a separate download. This meant every single user who access the WiFi received and interacted with the ‘app’.
Benefits of working with Novahub
Event industry is embracing the demand for online connectivity as part of their offering. This is a growing expectation amongst event visitors. Socialising and interacting on-line are now part of people’s behaviour.
Novahub has experience of making WiFi work in difficult and demanding locations. We know and understand how the airwaves behave and implement the solution accordingly. Event WiFi demands hi-capacity, well beyond the typical WiFi network scenario.
Novahub know and understand that engaging and enhancing is know a key requirement to make events attractive. Through our ‘app’ feature, the visitor WiFi comes with this ready to go.
Contact Novahub on 01223 661310 or email us at contact@novahub.co.uk to order a free site survey (depends on location) or WiFi site evaluation to discover how your existing WiFi systems can be improved.