Wireless Services @ AirVenture 2011 (Not Wi-Fi). Looking for feed-back.

[FSMP]

Has anyone at EAA considered contacting AT&T. (or other local cell phone carriers), and requesting that they supply some extra Mobile Cell Phone access points, at Oshkosh, during the event.

With such a large event, and so many AT&T customers getting bad service at Oshkosh, it would help them retain existing customers, and would be a good promotional & PR move for them, to attarct new customers.

Same goes for Internet Access. It is not uncommon for Comcast to supply FREE cable Internet to large events, as part of their marketing.

However, like many things these days, if you don't ask, you will never know, if you could have got it.

Geoff

[FlyingRon]

The WiFi was a 100% failure. Even before the show opened I was never able to get a connection through it. I carry both AT&T and Verizon phones (can't get work and my personal life to get together). Neither was particularly reliable but at least I had a shot trying both carriers.

[Kamic]

I had only minor slowness with AT&T/iphone on Monday, Saturday, or Sunday... for data over 3G/texting - I don't recall any phone calls tho.

[Unwiredone]

At the local racetrack where I volunteer, we bring in COWs -- Cell On Wheels -- to augment the local wireless networks during our major events. This has totally cured our latency issues on cell calls.

I know for fact that Verizon had at least one COW at the event, located on the west side of the airport between the EAA HQ and the main event, yet oddly, the COW did not appear to be properly positioned from a vertical stand-point. The coverage it was augmenting was minimal at best. Yes, I realize that the COW vertical antenna in particularly has challenges from a total height perspective due to the proximity of the airport operations, yet if you had viewed its position, you would have noticed that the COW was lower than the immediate cellular towers located adjacent to the placement.

However, COW's are not always the best solution from a Network perspective. In layman terms, a COW must be positioned and coordinated with the macro network so as not to cause issues elsewhere on the network.

I saw two other COW deployments on the grounds of the convention, yet cannot speak to which carrier asset each was. I just know that each was not [ours].

[Unwiredone]

Has anyone at EAA considered contacting AT&T. (or other local cell phone carriers), and requesting that they supply some extra Mobile Cell Phone access points, at Oshkosh, during the event.

With such a large event, and so many AT&T customers getting bad service at Oshkosh, it would help them retain existing customers, and would be a good promotional & PR move for them, to attarct new customers.


Same goes for Internet Access. It is not uncommon for Comcast to supply FREE cable Internet to large events, as part of their marketing.

However, like many things these days, if you don't ask, you will never know, if you could have got it.

Geoff

I can unequivocally share that YES, the EAA has been in contact with the wireless services providers. John Carrier, the IT Director for the EAA, has been performing his due diligence and working hard on behalf of all the EAA Attendee's at AirVenture to deliver the best service possible from each wireless carrier, yet not every wireless carrier has (obviously) stepped up to the plate. In addition to John Carrier, Jeff Kaufman, Director of Business Development for the EAA has also been engaging with the wireless services providers to augment John's efforts. Poor wireless connectivity issues from the National wireless carriers perspective is not an EAA deliverable issue, yet the EAA is doing the best that it can to mitigate the issues.

In my original disclosure statement, I shared that I am from a National Carrier and also had with me our Network Manager (Actually Network Performance Manager) at AirVenture 2011. Due to our direct engagement, and the EAA reaching out and sharing experiences had by previous attendee's, my carrier invested more than the cost of a brand new Cessna 162 just for AirVenture 2011 - and prior to the event to ensure that our customers had connectivity and a positive experience. From anecdotal and network performance evidence, we delivered. Our existing infrastructure more than adequately covers Oshkosh and the surrounding areas for 51 weeks of the year, yet this year, we significantly bolstered data capacity to address the onslaught of smart-phone and tablet type devices. I will assure you that we are not a GSM carrier - such as AT&T or T-Mobile.

[FlyingRon]

I might be able to guess...my buddy's push to talk service on his Nextel (Sprint) seemed to work flawlessly during the event.

[John Carrier]

As in years past, the cellular providers have a direct contractual obligation to their customers. EAA has not entered into a service agreement with any cellular company as it pertains to general AirVenture service, nor are we likely to pursue one (simply given EAA has virtually no control over service levels or coverage areas). IT is aware of general user dissatisfaction (although IT has no visibility into actual metrics) and understands the ramifications this has on the event; therefore, IT:

1) contacts the area’s major cellular providers (e.g., AirFire Mobile, AT&T, Cellcom, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon) to better understand their user assessment of service, and steps they are taking (or have taken) to prepare for AirVenture
2) encourages each provider to examine their support of the event and make appropriate adjustments
3) redirects service feedback to the appropriate providers after the event

[John Carrier]

FlyingRon - I'm sorry to hear that your Wi-Fi experience was unacceptable. Were you aware of our deployment this year (see http://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?53-Wi-Fi-AV2011)? We're always working to improve our services, so any specifics you can share regarding where and how you were trying to access the Wi-Fi would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to contact me directly.

[FlyingRon]

I got a strong WIFI signal indication, but neither my DELL laptop NOR my iPhone would connect successfully to the network. I was down in Vintage behind the hangar cafe.

[Unwiredone]

FlyingRon - I'm sorry to hear that your Wi-Fi experience was unacceptable. Were you aware of our deployment this year (see http://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?53-Wi-Fi-AV2011)? We're always working to improve our services, so any specifics you can share regarding where and how you were trying to access the Wi-Fi would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to contact me directly.

John, I know for fact that due to carrier network issues (I shall not name names), many used the EAA free Wi-Fi network to attempt connectivity when no coverage was available from [their] carrier. I will share that I was able to connect and numerous locations with relative ease from my iPad and from my mobile HTC device, yet did have some challenges inside the main exhibit hangars on one occasion. You and your team did a good job all things considered and SG even commented favorably to such.