ABPCO (The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) will host a panel debate on March 20th at the forthcoming International Confex looking at the future of wi-fi for conferences. The debate, entitled ‘The Future of Quality Wi-Fi at events – utility or luxury, free or fee?’ will bring together venues, conference organisers and third-party technology suppliers to consider the future of wi-fi and its impact on the meetings industry from practical, commercial and technological perspectives.
Speakers include Justin Hollins of wi-fi solutions provider iBAHN, William Jones of event communications specialists Max Wi-Fi and Mike Clanton of My Meeting Professional. William Jones will be looking at the true costs of quality wi-fi, while Justin Hollins will look at new, creative financial models to cover these costs. Mike Clanton will then present on the end user experience, looking at wi-fi from both organiser and delegate perspectives.
The session will conclude with a panel discussion with questions from the floor. ABPCO Head of External Relations Michael Foreman, who will chair the event, commented: “ABPCO’s Conference Cloud Campaign calling for free wi-fi for conference delegates has instigated some major changes in terms of encouraging venues to offer wi-fi free of charge. There is still work to be done in improving mutual understanding of the issues involved in offering quality wi-fi free of charge to delegates and we want to take things a step further with this debate. This Confex session will continue the conversation and open up discussions on exactly what it means to offer free wi-fi and what strategies can be implemented to fund this. I look forward to hearing from those attending Confex and some lively discussion.”
James Samuel, Event Director of International Confex and Live Experience said: “As technological advancements continue to enhance events and conferences, the issue of wi-fi availability is increasingly pertinent. We’re therefore delighted to be hosting a debate which aims to clarify some of the issues surrounding something the majority of our visitors deal with on a daily basis. It’s important that as a community we understand the costs and technical challenges faced by venues in implementing wi-fi which is free to conference delegates.”
The session will take place at 2pm in the Keynote & Agency Theatre. Attendance for the event will be on a first-come, first-served basis on the day.
