When I do site visits, I always check the venue's Wi-Fi. But aside from conducting spot checks, how else can I ensure a location's wireless connectivity will meet my event's needs?

Ten years ago, you might have been able to hold an event in any given venue and not worry too much about the quality of the Wi-Fi. Even if you were concerned, you would be hindered by the lack of effective tools to ensure that the Wi-Fi would perform satisfactorily at your event. But today things are very different. That's because the number of devices that can affect Wi-Fi reception has exploded. Think of it as a four-lane highway that used to have minimal traffic, allowing you to cruise along smoothly. Now it's bumper to bumper, potentially slowing you down to a crawl unless you know the best ways to navigate the congestion and other hazards. However, the increase in Wi-Fi demand has led to a broader assortment of means for measuring its speed and reliability.

Why Spot Checks Aren't Enough
Wi-Fi networks are extremely dynamic, which means their performance is constantly changing. The results from a spot check at, for example, 10 a.m. could be dramatically different from one at 4 p.m. or a week or even a month later. Manual spot checks, therefore, are very limited in their ability to predict a venue's Wi-Fi performance.

One solution is to use services that test and analyze Wi-Fi networks over a period of time. Specifically, these solutions consist of services – usually subscription based – that typically offer a combination of real-time and historical analytics, proactive alerts, and remote troubleshooting to ensure consistent end-user quality testing. Best of all, they monitor the Wi-Fi connection 24/7, so you will have a very good idea of the system's ebb and flow. To find these services, use search terms such as "AI-driven Wi-Fi automation," "wireless intelligence platform," "wireless solutions identification," and "Wi-Fi performance." If you contact a solutions provider, be sure to ask if it offers all or many of these feature. The cost should run roughly $100 to $150 per month.

Tools for Testing
Once you subscribe to one of the resources, you'll receive access to a secure, cloud-based application – so no downloading of software – and sensors that will transmit data to the app. During your first visit to a venue, you should of course do a spot check just to see what it's like at that moment, and then request the placement of one of the supplied sensors to monitor the venue's Wi-Fi over an extended period to gauge how it performs from minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day. (One sensor usually covers an area of up to 10,000 square feet, so you'll need multiple sensors if the space is larger than that.) With any luck this will also give you the opportunity to monitor Wi-Fi performance during an upcoming event, which would enable you to learn how it functions in real life with 100, 200, or even 1,000 people accessing it. Because the sensors are small and unobtrusive (Their size usually measures about 9-by-9 inches or so, and they can be placed on walls, ceilings, shelves, desks, etc.) and don't monitor anyone's specific data, no venues should reject placing them in their environments based on privacy or logistical concerns.

Analyze This
Once the sensor is set up, you can begin monitoring real-time analytics. These would include the so-called channels. Many Wi-Fi systems operate at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. A 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi should have its channels set to a "width" of 20 MHz – any more than that will likely slow performance because increasing their width will reduce the number of channels that can be used simultaneously. If it's a 5-GHz system, the channels can accommodate greater sizes and should have widths of either 20 or 40 MHz depending on the density of access points in the room. If you're not already familiar with access points, they're the wireless network nodes that act as a kind of portal for your device to connect to a space's Wi-Fi system. It's important to note here that while you'll be able to monitor many variables, for any troubleshooting during your event you'll likely have to contact the venue's staff, indicate any problems, and request they take the appropriate action.

You can think of these channels as lanes being set to the optimum span for traffic to pass through efficiently so your attendees feel more like they're in a Ferrari than a Yugo. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi's access-point power settings should be set to maximum for the 5-GHz spectrum but reduced to 50 percent or less for the 2.4-GHz spectrum, depending on the density of access points. (Check access-point density with the venue to see if the power setting should be adjusted downward for your event.)

Once you've looked at those variables, you'll want to start tracking several others. For one, you should track the number of users connected (especially if there's an event you can scrutinize), a metric that's going to give you an idea of whether the Wi-Fi will be able to accommodate your own affair. Besides knowing the number of overall users, you'll also be able to take note of the kinds of devices guests are using and their capabilities when it comes to Wi-Fi. That is, older-generation tech tends to slow down a system, which could create a traffic jam.

You will also be able to check for other kinds of devices that can interfere with the Wi-Fi network. Microwave ovens, for instance, are a huge source of potential disruption, and in an event space with food and beverage, it's highly possible that there will be one or more of them operating. Such interference will show up on the app's dashboard and will be specifically attributed to a microwave or whatever is causing the disruption.

After you get a look at these real-time analytics, you'll want to start looking at historical data points. These are basically the same types as the real-time ones, but now you'll be looking at them over previous periods of time, such as the last 24 hours or the previous week. You should be able to see trends and patterns form – for instance, does the Wi-Fi system tend to slow down at 3 p.m.? Are there more disconnections when 50 or more people are using it at once? Does users streaming movies or games strain the network?

This knowledge will enable you to set up proactive alerts. Let's say you notice in the historical analytics there's a tendency for the venue's Wi-Fi to slow down at 6 p.m. or when more than 75 people are using it. You can use that information to set up alerts for when these and other problems occur, such as the amount of airtime utilization, which indicates how congested the Wi-Fi network is. It shows what percentage of a channel is being used at a particular moment and what percentage is free.

Wi-Fi continually improves, but the problem is the number of devices that link to it grows even faster, taxing its ability to deliver smooth, speedy service. There are now at least 13 billion devices connected to the internet, a number projected to jump to 19 billion by 2025. It's a kind of arms race between Wi-Fi and digital devices, and automated services can help make sure you emerge the victor.