If you’ve ever attended an event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), you may remember just how terrible – and often nonexistent – the facility’s Wi-Fi is. And in a world where connectivity is becoming increasingly crucial, a lack of decent Wi-Fi is unacceptable in a public place made for hospitality and entertainment events.
In addressing these issues, Canada’s largest convention centre has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks, Inc. to provide wireless internet in the building.
With the updated 802.11ac Wave 2 technology-based network, the centre will have efficient and properly distributed bandwidth to support the venue’s growing number of users and devices, which could reach up to two million annually thanks to the more than 570 events held at the MTCC every year, it says in a press release.
Chris Taylor, manager of telecommunications at MTCC, says that the venue chose Extreme Networks “because of their proven track record of successful product deployments in large-scale venues and knew the company would be able to reduce the complexity of our network.”
“Extreme’s solutions allow our department to address network and bandwidth changes on the fly, which ensures that our customers do not lose connectivity during critical moments of their events. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Extreme to deliver better connectivity for our employees and guests,” he continues.
Extreme’s full suite of wired and wireless solutions, including its ExtremeWireless, ExtremeControl, ExtremeManagement, ExtremeSwitching, and ExtremeAnalytics, will support the venue by creating “new opportunities for MTCC to increase revenue through Wi-Fi rentals at each event, and to provide significant visibility and control for the networking team to easily manage activity across the network,” MTCC adds.
Currently, Wi-Fi in the venue costs approximately CAD250 a day for individual users.
John Brams, director of sports and entertainment at the San Jose, Calif-based Extreme Networks, expresses his excitement for the project that will enable “a better user experience for all.”
“To underscore our proven track record within the sports and entertainment industries, we recently supported a seamless Wi-Fi experience at Super Bowl 51. If we can provide superior performance at the year’s biggest game, we are able to support venues, like MTCC, in providing excellent connectivity to align with specific needs,” he says. “MTCC has been a great partner for Extreme as we work to expand our solutions, and we’re proud that our end-to-end networking solutions are able to empower them.”
