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Metro Toronto Convention Centre moving out of the dark ages

If youโ€™ve ever attended an event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), you may remember just how terrible โ€“ and often nonexistent โ€“ the facilityโ€™s Wi-Fi is. And in a world where connectivity is becoming increasingly crucial, a lack of decent Wi-Fi is unacceptable in a public place made for hospitality and entertainment events.

In addressing these issues, Canadaโ€™s largest convention centre has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks, Inc. to provide wireless internet in the building.

With the updated 802.11ac Wave 2 technology-based network, the centre will have efficient and properly distributed bandwidth to support the venueโ€™s growing number of users and devices, which could reach up to two million annually thanks to the more than 570 events held at the MTCC every year, it says in a press release.

Chris Taylor, manager of telecommunications at MTCC, says that the venue chose Extreme Networks โ€œbecause of their proven track record of successful product deployments in large-scale venues and knew the company would be able to reduce the complexity of our network.โ€

โ€œExtremeโ€™s solutions allow our department to address network and bandwidth changes on the fly, which ensures that our customers do not lose connectivity during critical moments of their events. Weโ€™re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Extreme to deliver better connectivity for our employees and guests,โ€ he continues.

Extremeโ€™s full suite of wired and wireless solutions, including its ExtremeWireless, ExtremeControl, ExtremeManagement, ExtremeSwitching, and ExtremeAnalytics, will support the venue by creating โ€œnew opportunities for MTCC to increase revenue through Wi-Fi rentals at each event, and to provide significant visibility and control for the networking team to easily manage activity across the network,โ€ MTCC adds.

Currently, Wi-Fi in the venue costs approximately CAD250 a day for individual users.

John Brams, director of sports and entertainment at the San Jose, Calif-based Extreme Networks, expresses his excitement for the project that will enable โ€œa better user experience for all.โ€

โ€œTo underscore our proven track record within the sports and entertainment industries, we recently supported a seamless Wi-Fi experience at Super Bowl 51. If we can provide superior performance at the yearโ€™s biggest game, we are able to support venues, like MTCC, in providing excellent connectivity to align with specific needs,โ€ he says. โ€œMTCC has been a great partner for Extreme as we work to expand our solutions, and weโ€™re proud that our end-to-end networking solutions are able to empower them.โ€


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