Vertical: Entertainment
Application: Point of Sale, access control, ticketing, mobile check-in
Ecosystem: AWS
Private Network: 5G, CBRS, Wi-Fi,
In today’s world of live events, having a dependable and uninterrupted connectivity has become crucial for the success of any occasion. It is essential to offer guests seamless access to various technologies like Point of Sale, access control, ticketing, and mobile check-in, regardless of the event’s scale. However, achieving a high level of connectivity can be particularly challenging, especially in remote areas or locations with limited infrastructure.
The team responsible for networking – DDR.Live – and the Do LaB team, who are the owners and producers of the Lightning in a Bottle Music and Arts Festival, held at Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area in Bakersfield, California, recognized the vital role of reliable networks for the success of their event. They faced several challenges, including setting up temporary locations before the event, quickly deploying networks for arriving teams, dealing with obstructed areas, and ensuring connectivity for staff and emergency services throughout the event, from the initial build until its conclusion.
The Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area, located in Kern County, California, is a remote campground that lacks wireless infrastructure or existing vertical assets for distribution points. Each year in May, the site undergoes a remarkable transformation to host the LIB music festival over the Memorial Day weekend.
During their investigation, the teams discovered that a wide array of devices would be present at the festival, with a particular emphasis on using cellular technology to connect handheld devices, tablets, and custom hardware used for PoS transactions and access control. DDR.Live placed great importance on implementing a network architecture that was both repeatable and reliable, ensuring it could be easily adapted and reused for future events. To meet the various needs of the festival, a blend of CBRS, Wi-Fi, and existing Point-to-Multipoint technologies will be used.
