Why Is Wi-Fi at Events Still So Bad?

Sluggish internet speeds, a network that suddenly cuts out, and odd corners of the room that somehow have adequate service as long as you hold your phone at a specific angle. These are the problems that nearly every conference attendee, trying in vain to use the provided Wi-Fi, has faced at least once, especially at a large event. In fact, providing good Wi-Fi is one of the top challenges meeting planners face, with over half reporting ongoing issues with it, according to a recent report by EventMB, Skift's event intelligence platform. Much of this is simply due to the way Wi-Fi works, and no matter what changes are made, service at events will likely never be perfect. That said, many planners don’t make internet access a priority, as odd as that sounds in the era of the smartphone, and many more have little awareness of what to look for when it comes to organizing good Wi-Fi. “It’s really an afterthought for many people,” said Tara Thomas, co-founder of The Meeting Po