OCCC Goes Wireless

The Orange County (Fla.) Convention Center recently installed a wireless network by Avaya, a corporate networking solutions and services firm in Basking Ridge, N.J., that brings communications within the more than 4.1-million-square-foot facility to a new level.

The OCCC is one of the first major convention centers in the U.S. to offer wireless services to exhibitors. Ray Sirizi, network services supervisor at the OCCC, says, “Exhibitors can access the Internet on laptop computers from anywhere in the exhibit halls without being restricted by wires.”

The idea is that the network will reduce setup time for each computer in a trade show booth from several hours to just 30 minutes, and last-minute exhibitors can still hook up to the network. Meeting rooms in the center also can be equipped with wireless capabilities.

As of July 1, the center began extending the wireless network to the facility's common areas and lobbies. By 2002, the plan is to be able to have the center's staff use wireless, handheld units to process exhibit work orders and customer requests.