A network that is there at seven
At an event the deadline is not a target date. The gate opens at the agreed moment, and whatever does not work by then does not work that day. We build the network, the connectivity and the payment and scanning points on a site where none of that exists, and take it all away afterwards.
Everything is temporary and nothing gets a second attempt
An office network can be adjusted afterwards. Here the build is the only chance.
An event site has no patch cabinet, no fibre and often no power where it is needed. Everything is laid in for a few days: the connection to the outside world, the network across the site, coverage in the places where people stand, and the points where payment and scanning happen. Afterwards it all comes off again.
That makes the preparation heavier than the execution. The questions that decide the outcome are asked weeks ahead: what coverage genuinely exists at this address, how many people will hang off the same point, where do the tills and the scanners stand, and what happens if the connection drops for ten minutes. That last question is the most important and the least asked.
Offline simply has to work
A scanner at the entrance that stops without a connection closes the gate. A payment point that stops without a connection closes the bar. So we set those points up to carry on when the line drops and to catch up once it is back. That is not a luxury but the core of the design: on a site with thousands of people and temporary equipment something will drop out, and the difference lies in whether anyone notices.
The same holds for the connection outward. One line is one fault; where standing still is not an option we lay a second route over a different network, with automatic failover. What that costs is known in advance; what a closed gate costs usually is not.
Public Wi-Fi is a different question from the crew network
Visitors and staff do not belong on the same network. The crew network carries the tills, the scanners, the radios and the operation, and takes priority; public Wi-Fi is a service that may be throttled when it gets busy. Separating those two is the simplest measure on the whole list and the most skipped: where it does not happen, the queue at the till stops because two thousand phones are talking to the same access point.
What we take on at an event
You choose what you need. It falls under one agreement and one point of contact during the build and the event itself.
- Connectivity to the outside worldMeasured at the address in advance, with a second route over a different network where standing still is not an option and automatic failover between them.
- A network across the siteWired where possible and wireless where necessary, with coverage measured in the places people will actually stand rather than on a site plan.
- Crew and public kept apartThe tills, scanners and operation on their own network with priority; public Wi-Fi as a separate service that may be throttled without the bar stopping.
- Payment and scanning points that work offlineSet up to keep running when the line drops and to catch up once it returns, because closing a gate or a bar costs more than any measure on this list.
- Equipment that takes the siteScanners, tablets and printers that handle rain, dust and a drop, with charging that lasts the day and spare devices on site rather than on order.
- Someone on site during the eventIn the Netherlands and Belgium one of our own people is on the site or on standby, with availability agreed in advance across the build, the show and the strike.
How an event runs with us
In this order, and the first two steps happen weeks before anyone stands on the site.
Survey the site
Where the stages, bars, entrances and tills stand, where power runs and where there is coverage. A site plan is the starting point and not the answer; what is really there shows on site.
Work it through against the peak
How many people at which moment at which point. From that follow the number of access points, the capacity of the connection and the placement of the payment points, rather than from an estimate afterwards.
Build and test under load
Not just switching on but loading up, and actually trying the offline fallback of every payment and scanning point before the gate opens.
Strike and count
Everything off again, counted by serial number, with a list of what comes back. That last step is the one left undone after a long day and the one that makes the next edition more expensive.
The services that come up most here
These building blocks come up most at an event.
Looking further
Recognise the picture but work in another industry? Then look at the other sectors.
Questions we get about this
The ones that come up most, answered briefly.
What happens if the connection drops during the event?
The payment and scanning points keep running, because they are set up to carry on offline and catch up once the line is back. Where standing still is genuinely not an option there is also a second route over a different network with automatic failover.
Do you arrange the public Wi-Fi as well?
Yes, but as a separate service on its own network. The tills, scanners and operation take priority; public Wi-Fi may be throttled when it gets busy. Letting those two run together is why a queue at the till stops while nothing is broken.
Do you handle security and the stage technology too?
No, neither. Security and crowd management are the work of a security company; stage, lighting and sound of a production company. We do the network, the connectivity, the payment and scanning points and the equipment, and we work alongside those parties on the same site.
What we do not do on a site
No security, no crowd management, and no stage, lighting or sound; that is the work of a security company and of a production company. We do the network, the connectivity, the payment and scanning points and the equipment. Name the date and the site and we will work through the peak.