Admission cost went up.

[Unwiredone]

All the cell carriers suck badly at AirVenture. They've not quite figured out how to up the capacity for the show over the normal sleepy Oshkosh environment. The EAA is doing a bit better setting up their own WIFI I think.

Sprint has plenty of capacity. Fact is, Sprint has three towers servicing KOSH year round with the nearest being close to the old cemetary adjacent to the field. Last year (Check the forums to take others' words), Sprint did really well comparative to others. To enhance coverage even further this year, Sprint has rolled two COW's and increased T1 capacity to the towers. Sprint's investment this year and last is well into the six figures.

I am from Sprint. I participated in the wireless carrier Round-table at the EAA HQ in January this year. Mr. Carrier, as he had shared in another thread, is doing his best to get the carriers to upgrade capacity and speeds and is fighting the fight. We (wireless carriers) are responding, yet there are ROI's to consider for the remaining 51 weeks of the year. COW's, COLT's, etc are designed to augment networks when placed appropriately, not replace networks.

I'm sorry if you are a Sprint customer and have a dropped call, or, a slower than normal throughput during a peak period of the event. No carrier for the matter wants customers to have bad experiences. Yet to date, no one carrier has unlimited capacity with gigabit speeds for all simultaneous users particularly in a highly concentrated event.

[Unwiredone]

Just a side note here.
I have sprint for my personal phone, AND IT SUCKS BAD!!

And you were at Oshkosh - AirVenture 2012 when you made this comment?

[Greg S]

It cost a lot to run the convention. Whoever thought the costs were slight hasn't a clue. Port-a-let rental is a very large bill. And do you think the warbirds buy their own fuel? But I remember when I first started going to OSH, the parking for members was free - non-members pd. 1 or 2 bucks. Now it's $9? They try to outdo each previous year and that costs more $, so they need to RAISE more money. Seems like a vicious circle. More like a carnival atmosphere that an aviation convention. Then EAA sells their soul to big sponsors who in turn drive their own requirements. Granted, when you're hungry for money, you take what you can get, but it sure detracts from the aviation aspect of it all when you have to walk around mechanical bulls, race cars, girls giving shaves, etc., etc. They've grown the event into something that's becoming a little much. It's still a great place to get your yearly aviation fix, but I'm afraid there will come a point when the house of cards will come tumbling down.

[Mike Berg]

Ummm...I'm going tomorrow. Where do I get the shave from the girls??? Just kidding, but the convention is still a bargain as far as I'm concerned.

[Greg S]

They were down by the Fly Market when it was still across from the Forums. I think Gillette sponsored them. That was also around the time the "business girls" were handing out their cards up by Gate 346. Yeah, the good 'ole days! You'll enjoy it. (the convention, not the girls!).