Our November started with a bang, getting muddy working as technical support to Winchester’s largest one-day annual charity event, Winchester Round Table’s Bonfire and Fireworks. Geekabit’s CEO has been heavily involved with this event for many years, volunteering time and expertise.
This year we joined the team of volunteers to lend them our Wi-Fi expertise to help make the event a success through seamless connectivity and reliable broadband across an external network.
This event regularly raises in excess of £60K – A phenomenal community effort, and one that everyone involved should be immensely proud of. There are so many great causes and vital work that this money will go towards in the local community of Winchester and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have volunteered our time and expertise to be a small part of that.
Why does a bonfire and fireworks event need a wireless internet connection?
You might be thinking; what does a Bonfire and Firework event need Wi-Fi for anyway? Well, this is no ordinary bonfire and fireworks night. Every year, Winchester Round Table hosts around 20,000 people for an evening of entertainment, food, drinks, and of course the legendary bonfire and fireworks spectacular.
An event of this scale calls for reliable connectivity, and that’s where Geekabit came in. We have a wealth of experience and expertise in the area of remote internet and events, and so we were more than happy to volunteer to this great cause.
Starlink Satellite Internet for Events
20,000 people can place a great strain on the local cellular mobile towers, and so we turned to a more modern, low orbit satellite solution that would sidestep these issues.
We installed a temporary network across the main fireworks site, using Starlink satellite internet as our connectivity backhaul.
Event Wi-Fi Network – Ubiquiti
Using a variety of Ubiquiti point-to-point links, we spread the network out across the important parts of the fields, and used several outdoor grade wireless access point solutions from the Ubiquiti UniFi range in order to reach the retailers on-site.
This meant that the Starlink internet we provided could reliably aid the event control room on the night as well as help run the operations and production areas.
Food Traders Payments through Starlink Internet
It even provided connectivity for the on-site food festival traders so they could power their payment terminals when mobile reception would be very minimal, ensuring smooth and fast transactions.
Ticket Booth Internet Connectivity for Events
The event also offers ticket pick-up on the day from temporary event Ticket Booths based in two outside locations in the city centre. Due to the volume of people that need to pick-up tickets, it’s not possible to borrow a building or utilise a shop as the crowds and the queue would be too big.
This therefore makes it necessary for the booth to be in a location that will cause as little disruption as possible. Due to the outside location of the ticket booth, and the nature of the service it is providing, it’s necessary for there to be a reliable internet connection.
Geekabit made this possible using two Starlink Satellite Broadband temporary event installations, which enabled solid laptop, tablet and mobile access to live spreadsheets, order information, customer service emails and social messages throughout the day of the event.
Starlink Satellite Broadband Provides Vital Connectivity for Outdoor Events
A reliable internet connection throughout the day of this event was vital for production purposes and the smooth running of critical processes, which Starlink Satellite Broadband provided.
Working with Winchester Round Table Bonfire and Fireworks was a privilege and a pleasure. Year on year there are more things that require a wireless connection to ensure the smooth running of an event, and we hope to be on hand again in the future to help this to happen.
For more information on our Event W-Fi services get in touch with one of our Wi-Fi experts and we can show you how we can help make your event a success.
Get in touch here.
