The San Diego Convention Center has had a busy summer of events, and Smart City Networks has kept the thousands of attendees and exhibitors connected, ensuring the success of each and every show.
In late June, more than 18,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors descended on the San Diego Convention Center for the annual convention of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
ISTE is a very tech-savvy event demanding one of the highest rates of Wi-Fi connectivity of any show at a Smart City facility. This year, Smart City brought in an additional two gigabits of bandwidth to meet the event’s anticipated Wi-Fi demand. And because wired Internet is the most reliable connection, Smart City laid more than three miles of cable for the wired network connections.
Smart City Networks began planning with ISTE event management months in advance, but Smart City technicians quickly made network changes to address capacity needs when necessary.
Less than a month after ISTE concluded, the San Diego Convention Center welcomed more than 130,000 attendees for the 43rd Comic-Con International. Held annually in San Diego, Comic-Con is the largest convention in the Americas and the third largest in the world dedicated to the appreciation of the comics and related popular art forms.
“We have worked with ISTE and Comic-Con for several years, and know that their attendees expect reliable and fast connections,” said Mark Haley, president, Smart City Networks. “We understand that attendees want fast Internet access to upload photos, blog or check email. As a result, we bring in the necessary equipment and upgrades to meet the higher demand of these major events.”
Attendees of Comic-Con are accustomed to fast, reliable Wi-Fi, and Smart City added more than 50 access points to accommodate an anticipated increase in connectivity via 3G cellular service. Exhibitors also utilized greater amounts of bandwidth this year, such as G4 TV, which used 12 megabits of bandwidth, along with phone lines and coaxial feeds, for a satellite broadcast.
“ISTE and Comic-Con are two of the largest attended events that the San Diego Convention Center welcomed this year,” said Carol Wallace, president and CEO, San Diego Convention Center Corp. “Such large and technology-dependent events can pose connectivity challenges that Smart City has adeptly met every year.”
As the event technology partner for the San Diego Convention Center, Smart City continually works with facility management to ensure the connectivity needs of any event – large or small – are met. This summer, the facility welcomed a variety of high-profile events that included thousands of visitors, including Cisco Live in June and the Environmental System Research Institute International Users Conference in July. And visitors to the convention center now enjoy free Wi-Fi service available in the facility’s ground-level lobby areas.
Since 2000, Smart City Networks has provided event-technology services at the San Diego Convention Center. With offices and staff on property, Smart City Networks oversees and maintains wired and wireless Internet services throughout more than 2.6 million gross square feet of convention center space and public spaces.
Founded more than 25 years ago, Smart City Networks is a provider of event telecommunications and technology in the convention industry. Smart City Networks can provide wired and wireless Internet services, phone services and digital signage solutions at convention centers and meeting facilities of any size.
Smart City Networks designs, installs and maintains data, voice, electrical and utility platforms, coupled with voice, video and data network engineering, security and monitoring. Providing technology services to more than 3,000 conventions and meetings annually, Smart City Networks currently serves more than 35 convention and meeting facilities across the U.S. totaling over 17 million square feet of exhibit space.
