Internet is the New Backbone of Music Festivals

There is no question that the dawn of smartphones has changed the way people consume their live entertainment. Did you even really go to the festival if you did not share a selfie, or post a video? Having a reliable Wi-Fi connection is the new norm and people expect to be able to share their experiences in real-time. However, beyond having the ability to upload to social media, a reliable Internet connection is crucial for having a successful festival.

Diverse Ways the Internet is Used at Music Festivals:

• Internet for video streaming
• Internet for media members
• Payment processing machines
• Registration machines
• Bandwidth for network speakers
• Bandwidth for network cameras

Storm Internet and RBC Bluesfest

For over ten years now, Storm Internet has been providing customized high-speed Internet solutions for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) BluesFest, to power its festival and create the best experience for everyone involved. When speaking with Lennd.com, Mike Rouleau the Director of Operations for BluesFest explained,

“We use it for ticket sales, radio-frequency technology (RFID) access control, volunteer management, volunteer registration, operations, and site planning.”

With a fully managed end-to-end Internet solution, Storm’s team can customize the bandwidth capacity to ensure the festival gets the connection it needs when it needs it. Some terms to keep in mind when looking into festival connectivity:

• SSID – This is the name of your wireless network.
• Hardline – An Ethernet connection that some devices may require to connect to the web.
• Splash/Portal Page – A welcome page that greets guests when they log onto the Wi-Fi network.
• Access Point – Similar to a router, it’s the device that emits the Wi-Fi signal.
• Switch – A device that connects many devices together via a hardline Ethernet connection.
• Cat 5 or Cat 6 – The types of cable used for network deployments.
• Hot Spare – A preconfigured backup device that’s available on-site in case of device failure.
• SLA – Service level agreement

“It’s important that any technology we use is easy to adopt because it can be a challenge to get people on board and adopt new tools,” Rouleau noted.

 Just because you are sitting in a field doesn’t mean you can’t be connected. For more information on how Storm Internet can help your next concert or festival, head to https://storm.ca/concerts/. 

Information retrieved <https://www.madebywifi.com/>