Products deployed: GWN7630LR and GDMS Networking.
Sunburn Festival is an electronic music festival held annually in India. The event, which brings together several stages and artists performing simultaneously, has grown to become one of the largest dance festivals in the world. Its 2022 edition in Vagator, Goa, was its 16th edition.
The problem
The festival used Ubiquiti UniFi LR access points that did not support Wi-Fi 6 features such as enhanced MU-MIMO and OFDMA. In a very densely populated urban environment, many networks used the same channels, causing interference, slow connections and signal loss.
The density of visitors and crews exceeded the capacity of the previous access points. Wi-Fi 5 supported only around 250 users, which was insufficient for an event hosting 15,000 to 20,000 simultaneous Wi-Fi users.
Provided by Gigatel Networks
Gigatel Networks is an Internet service provider based in Delhi, specializing in fiber-optic services for individuals and organizations. Its goal is to provide affordable, modern connectivity to the areas it serves.
The need
The festival takes place over three to five days during the holiday season, with more than three million attendees annually. Concert areas concentrated terminals, smartphones, Bluetooth equipment and several Wi-Fi networks, increasing interference and bandwidth demand.
The solution needed to offer more capacity per access point, robust outdoor coverage, and management capable of resolving incidents quickly during the event.
Other vendors considered
Gigatel Networks compared Ubiquiti UniFi, Netgear, and Grandstream. Grandstream was the clear choice thanks to its Wi-Fi 6 access points, the required coverage, free management, and better availability and pricing.
Why Grandstream
The festival installed the GWN7664LR, an outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access point with a weather-resistant enclosure, operating from −30 °C to 60 °C and in non-condensing humidity from 10 to 90 %.
Its four antennas enable dual-band 4x4:4 MU-MIMO operation. It provides a range of up to 300 meters, aggregate throughput greater than 3.5 Gbit/s, and the capacity to keep more than 750 Wi-Fi clients connected. In an open, unobstructed area, one access point can theoretically cover more than 60 acres.
The deciding factor was managing the entire network with GDMS Networking. The service enables remote administration, monitoring of all devices, and rapid resolution of outages.
The result
For the first time in several years, the provider received no calls during the event to fix Wi-Fi issues. Deployment was simple, the access points were added to GDMS in seconds, and costs remained under control thanks to the free controller.
The GWN7664LR’s high capacity and Gigabit ports reduced the infrastructure required behind each access point. Client bandwidth limiting ensured quality service despite the crowds, while GDMS simplified configuration, monitoring, and remote troubleshooting.
