Short answer: list everything at your event that needs internet, hand that list to a supplier together with the site map and the dates, and do it in time. For a large festival that is ideally two months ahead. Later than that? A lot can still be arranged within a week; we keep room in our planning for urgent requests. Do not count on the mobile network: as soon as the site fills up, that is the first thing to fail.
Step 1: what needs internet at your event?
Walk across your site in your mind and write down where something has to be online. These are the items we see most often.
- Card payments and tills: at the bars, food trucks, merchandise and token sales. If this drops, your revenue stops.
- Ticket scanning at the entrance: scanners have to check whether a ticket is valid and has not been used already.
- The production office and the cabins of other suppliers: mail, planning and running orders, but also the units of security, first aid, catering and the technical suppliers.
- The event control room: this is where radios, camera feeds and the people counters at the entrances come together. Without internet the control room cannot see how many people are inside and what is happening on site.
- Artists and crew: backstage and the dressing rooms.
- Front of house: not only for the technicians, also for the sound level measurement that is tracked and shared live.
- The locker desk: not the lockers themselves, but the desk where visitors rent and pay for a locker.
- Equipment that reports its own status: battery packs at the generators, counters, sensors and other smart devices on site. There are usually more of them than you think.
- Livestream or press: a connection that has to be good at sending, not just receiving.
- Exhibitors and sponsors: often want their own connection for their stand or activation.
- Visitor Wi-Fi: not a must, but if you offer it, it has to work. Decide this deliberately.
Step 2: what a supplier needs to know
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where and when is the event, and from when do you want internet? | You decide from which moment internet has to be available and where on the site: during the build already, or only on show day |
| How many payment terminals and tills, and where are they? | These get their own shielded network with priority |
| Is there a fixed internet connection at the venue? | Saves cost; if not, the connection reaches the site another way |
| Where is power available? | Equipment on site needs power, also at the entrance and at the far end of the field |
| Is there a site map? | It tells us where equipment goes and how cables run |
| Which other suppliers need internet? | Security, lockers, power, sound and catering each bring their own equipment that has to be online |
| Will there be a livestream or television? | Needs a connection with a lot of capacity for sending |
| Who is the contact during the event? | One name and one phone number, on both sides |
Step 3: when should you start?
| Moment | What you do |
|---|---|
| As soon as venue and date are fixed | Request a quote with the list from step 1 and the site map |
| Well before the event | Site visit or survey if the site is new. If there is no fixed connection, we arrange a connection to the site in another way |
| The weeks before | Final site map, number of terminals and scanners, align the running order |
| During the build | Network is built and tested together with the till and ticketing suppliers |
| During the event | Someone from the supplier monitors and is reachable; on site at large events, and at smaller ones if you want |
| Afterwards | Breakdown, and a short review for the next edition |
Less time? A lot is still possible. A private mobile network covering the whole site can be on air within a few hours. How long the full build takes depends on the rest of your request: the number of locations on site, the cabling and everything that has to be connected. If the site has no fixed connection, that is not a problem: we make sure internet gets there another way.
What often goes wrong?
- Relying on the mobile network. On an empty field 4G or 5G works fine. With thousands of visitors holding a phone it no longer does, and payment terminals on a SIM card fail too.
- Everything on one connection. If visitors, crew and terminals share one network, it fails at the busiest moment. Payments and scanners belong on their own shielded network with priority.
- No backup. A cable can be run over, a connection can drop. For anything your revenue or safety depends on, you want a second connection that takes over automatically.
- A single Wi-Fi router or MiFi. Fine for an office with three laptops, not for a site.
- Starting too late. The equipment is rarely the problem; planning and power on site are.
- Not testing with the other suppliers. Tills, ticket scanners and the livestream should be tested together on the network beforehand.
What does internet at an event cost?
It mainly depends on three things: how the connection reaches the site, how large the site is, and whether someone needs to be present at the event. A market with ten payment terminals is a different question from a festival with several stages and a livestream. All equipment is rented, so you pay for the days you use it. With the lists from steps 1 and 2 you get a quote that is right, instead of an estimate that disappoints later.
What we do
Networkguys builds temporary networks for events: from the connection to the site to payments, scanners, production and visitor Wi-Fi, with engineers who are reachable or present during the event. Every year we provide more than 50 projects with temporary connectivity. Send us the location, the dates and what needs to be online, and you will hear within one working day what is possible.