Detroit – A $2 million upgrade of the wireless network at Cobo Center has now been completed, giving the downtown Detroit landmark a WiFi capability with as much digital horsepower as any muscle car that has rolled off of a Motor City assembly line.
The upgrade was completed in time for the January 8-22 North American International Auto Show and the full calendar of 2017 trade shows and conferences. “These upgrades will be like moving from a one-lane highway to a three-lane speedway,” said General Manager Claude Molinari.
The completed project will enable the simultaneous use of 32,000 wireless devices. The annual auto show tallied 14,640 unique clients generating 3.06 terabytes of data traffic in 2016.
The cornerstones of the upgrade were a new core switch, which sends out the WiFi signal, and an increase in the number of access points positioned around Cobo to 400. Cobo’s in-house technology department can also deploy additional access points as required by show organizers.
The WiFi service is complementary; however the “splash page” used to sign into the service can be configured by organizers to feature show announcements or ads from sponsors.
The latest Trade Show Executive World’s Top Convention Centers ranked Cobo as the 17th largest convention center in the nation with 722,500 square feet of prime exhibit space.
Reach Claude Molinari (313) 877-8777 or cmolinari@cobocenter.com
