Smart City Networks connects record number to Wi-Fi at 2011 Ohio Educational Technology Conference

Feb. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- LAS VEGAS – Smart City Networks successfully provided Wi-Fi service for a record number of attendees at the eTech Ohio Commission’s annual event, the 2011 Ohio Educational Technology Conference, held last week at the SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. In total, more than 3,000 simultaneous wireless users utilized the Wi-Fi service.  

eTech’s demand for Wi-Fi at this year’s conference greatly exceeded past events due to the significant increase in back-channel social media communications, live network streaming video and video conferencing capabilities.  Many exhibitors required large amounts of bandwidth to accommodate presentations with live streaming video, and attendees are increasingly more tech-savvy, using more Internet enabled devices than ever before.  

As a result, the 2011 Ohio Educational Technology Conference experienced record-breaking Wi-Fi usage, even surpassing the Greater Columbus Convention Center’s prior Wi-Fi usage records.  In the past, only 30 percent of eTech’s attendees have utilized Wi-Fi services on a regular basis, but this year, a record breaking 60 percent utilized the wireless network.

To meet this increased demand, Smart City Networks added 100 Mb of Internet access and provided 12 new access points to high Wi-Fi traffic areas to allow for greater attendee usage, raising the total number of access points to 73.

“Due to the growth of the technology needs of our educators throughout the state of Ohio, we’ve developed a partnership with Smart City Networks to accommodate the growth of our show’s technology demand and deliver qualified service during the Ohio Educational Technology Conference,” said Jo Alexander, program administrator, education technology resources for eTech Ohio.

eTech Ohio advances the use of technology in K-12 and higher education classrooms in the state of Ohio, and the state commission annually sponsors the Ohio Educational Technology Conference to offer Ohio’s educators an opportunity to learn about new technology innovations that could be utilized in classrooms.  The annual event has grown to be the third largest state conference of its kind in the nation.  

Since 2000, Smart City has provided the event technology services at the Greater Columbus Convention Center via its subsidiary company acquired in 2006.  Smart City has provided the event technology for eTech’s annual conference for the past several years.

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Founded in 1984, Smart City Networks is the nation’s largest provider of event technology in the convention industry. With corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Smart City Networks provides clients with design, installation and maintenance of data, voice, electrical and utility platforms, coupled with unparalleled voice, video and data network engineering, security and monitoring across the United States. Smart City Networks provides services to more than 5,000 trade shows at more than 35 convention centers nationwide. For more information about Smart City Networks, please call 702-943-6000 or visit http://www.smartcity.com