Who hasn't been at an event when the presenter (or attendees) internet connection is bad? yikes! The internet isn't a "treat" anymore - it is mandatory for events. Convention Centers know this - why do you think it's so expensive to add it on? We. Must. Connect.
I will never forget one year having a speaker send a last minute video I had to download. I hadn't purchased the internet ($500), and we finally roamed the Convention Center long enough for a signal to SLOWLY download the video. Never again!
I have been told all sorts of lore about why it sputters, stops, stalls, or doesn't even work! " We have steel beams, the signal can't get through." "It depends on the time of day" "it must be busy" " it hates YouTube" " yeah, we know. Sorry about that." Hmmmmm.........
I learned a lot about internet connection in the CMP course. One thing they did NOT tell you was to perform a speed test at the site inspection! Duh! I do this at home, why not at the site? If it's not up to par, you can make choice - bring in your own network, use a hot spot?
At Sundance, our Sprint phones all had a hot spot so we could connect our laptops anywhere in town. It was a life saver. It was good for basic email/internet, not sure about downloads/presentation worthy.
How can we make internet access more affordable, more reliable, and more user-friendly - (no running down the halls because the password changed mid-day!).?