Sky-high internet prices have exhibitors scrambling for cheaper options, as marketers feel squeezed by the handful of firms that control web access at the nation’s biggest conferences.
Going offline is a huge disadvantage at these meetings, which are heavily dominated by internet-first companies that rely on the web to promote their services.
Sales, events and executive staff struggle to make sense of the astronomical prices offered by Encore, Pinnacle Live, Freeman—the main entities deciding who gets to surf the web.
For exhibitors, five-figure bills, unstable connections and a lack of price transparency make them wonder whether they should bother showing up at all.
“It’s almost highway robbery a little bit,” said Maggie Barton Baird, head of events at Jobber, a business operations platform. “We end up having to have discussions like, ‘Is it worth the amount of money? Should we get a hotspot?’”
Prices are so high that some companies are unplugging altogether.
At RSAC in San Francisco, cybersecurity firm Brinqa opted out of the conference’s pricey web package.
“It’d be nice to have it here, but not for the rates that they’re asking,” said Peter Schumacher, vice president of demand generation. “I think a hardwired line was $4,500. Dedicated Wi-Fi was a different price, maybe $2,000. We didn’t bother, so we’re not giving demos in the booth because of that.
“It is absolutely extortion,” he added.
Providers reveal little about the exact amounts they’re charging, arguing that prices depend on a combination of factors like the number of devices used, the speed of connection desired and custom configurations like security features.
“Connection charges are based on the scope of what a client is looking to accomplish,” said Alex Wedesky, vice president of internet services at Encore.
“Internet costs are driven by three key factors: bandwidth, infrastructure, and support,” Wedesky added. “Rising demand, frequent hardware upgrades, and complex infrastructure needs have significantly increased costs for all event companies. Unlike utilities like water or power, internet systems require constant updates.”
One thing’s for certain: it’s all adding up to too much. In private conversations, marketers are now conspiring how to circumvent these top players.
In May, Baird took to the Slack channel for Club Ichi, a professional network for event marketers, for advice on how to surf the stormy web waters.
“There has got to be a better way,” she said. “Right?”
A lively discussion ensued, with marketers from both sides of the Atlantic chiming in.
“When I think about the things we’ve gotten used to in this industry, it blows my mind,” wrote Tamar Beck.
Beck runs Gleanin, a software company in the UK that helps marketers promote their events.
“I met a client recently whose internet charge for an event was over £50k,” she wrote. “This is the kind of practice that encourages workarounds and ultimately forces businesses/corporates (sponsors/exhibitors) to do their own thing.”
Unpredictable Prices Make Planning Even Harder
Baird can’t remember a time when the price of internet wasn’t a thorn in her side.
Before joining Jobber in 2021, she ran her own events agency for a decade.
“Even then, internet was crazy,” she said. “And that would’ve been like early COVID and before.”
When asked to estimate the average price for a two-day event, she finds it hard to come up with an exact figure, putting it anywhere between $3,000 and $10,000.
“It’s a crapshoot. It’s as hard to plan for as the weight of your booth,” she says, referring to the fact that exhibitors pay for their booths partly based on the weight of their crate.
It’s not just marketers. Other players in the conference world are also scratching their heads at the ever-growing price tags for basic connection.
Dylan Shinholser is a senior event producer at FOH Events, a production and management company based in Fort Worth. He’s also an independent consultant for event organizers.
“I get a real weird perspective, because I’m on both sides of the coin, so I get to see it from the event manager or host side, and as the AV provider,” he says.
When it comes to what companies are charging for internet, “It literally doesn’t make sense,” he said.
For a recent event in Austin, Shinholser was quoted $50,000 for upload and download speeds of 50 Mbps.
“And I’m like, ‘My house has three times that! Your house has more than that!”” he said.
Just like with Baird, the prices have forced Shinholser and his clients to make last-minute decisions about what they can offer.
“It’s coming down to that’s what’s dictating if we livestream the event or not—the cost of internet,” he said. “To livestream it properly, we’re paying anywhere between $10,000 to $20,000.”
Prices show no sign of abating, and Shinholser says he sees them climb up every year.
Wedesky, for his part, says Encore is “committed to meeting client needs within budget while enhancing peace of mind through improved data security and actionable analytics on attendee internet usage. Our goal is to help meeting planners elevate their event experience through smarter connectivity.”
Pinnacle Live, Freeman and other conference web providers did not respond to questions from Vendelux.
Indoor Events Struggle, but Field Marketing Shows Promise
Baird has considered other options, but she often butts up against financial and structural factors that make going around internet providers incredibly difficult.
At a recent event, she and her team were able to run their booth by tethering from their cell phones.
That doesn’t always work.
“Hotspots are harder, because the buildings are made of concrete,” she says. “Attendees’ phones don’t work as well.”
The Federal Communications Commission has fined internet providers hundreds of thousands of dollars for blocking hotspot access at conference venues in the past. Rumors persist that these firms are still “squashing” access to other networks.
Wedesky says Encore encourages marketers to find whatever option works best for them, but adds, “Wireless signals share limited frequency ranges. When outside devices broadcast without syncing with the venue’s network, they interfere with the venue’s Wi-Fi, reducing performance for everyone. Hospitality venues use multiple radios to support many devices, but interference disrupts both internal and external systems. If you plan to bring your own wireless system, consult the venue’s network provider in advance to explore compatibility options.”
Baird says she’s often resigned herself to paying the hefty fees, only to be sold unreliable internet.
“We had an event once where we paid for it all in advance, and they forgot to turn on our tower, and there’s one internet guy for 10,000 people,” she said, adding that someone eventually showed up and got their connection in order.
On the Club Ichi Slack thread, marketers discussed other workarounds.
One person said they use a Netgear router connected to their home internet for conferences. “I never get dropped,” they said.
Baird says she’s explored this and other options, but has found that they all require a lot of extra work that could either end up costing the same or take crucial planning time away from other aspects of the event.
“It’s very cumbersome and it is technically cheaper, but it requires a lot of lift from your internal team or from some type of contractor,” she said. “If you contract it out, it ends up being the same. And it is a significant amount of work that for us, for two days, it hasn’t necessarily made sense for us to do.”
In his time as an in-house AV provider and independent consultant, Shinholser says he’s never been able to get around the internet providers.
“At the current moment, there’s not a lot of alternatives, because they don’t really let you bring in anything,” he said. “I’ve never been able to bring in a third-party internet provider into a hotel.”
When he’s working with conference organizers by negotiating bills on their behalf, he can convince providers to waive fees and commissions, but that’s about as much as they’re willing to do.
Outdoor events, on the other hand, have proven to be a solid testing ground for a buzzy new technology: Starlink.
The Elon Musk-owned satellite internet provider is a cheaper option, so long as a wired connection and access to clear skies are possible.
Shilholser was recently quoted $100,000 in internet fees to livestream an outdoor event.
He quickly went on the hunt for a Starlink provider, who was able to sell him a strong, high-speed connection through a wire that ran to a vehicle with an antenna on top, which was parked around the corner.
The total cost? $8,500.
“So I know there are alternatives that can be brought in for outdoors,” he said. “The struggle is indoor venues, where it’s really hard to run 5,000 feet of cable to your Starlink antenna sitting on a truck out back.”
Meanwhile, marketers who spend most of their time at hotel ballrooms and other closed-door venues are still at a loss over what to do.
“I’m open to the idea that there’s a rationale here,” Baird said. “I’ve never heard of it. You go to the mall and the library and internet’s free, and then you’re stuck with a $10,000 internet bill and you’re like, ‘What? What’s happening?’ I’d be curious to be educated on that. But without education, we’re left with this big expense for what we consider a utility.”
Tips for Event Marketers and Organizers
Shinholser advises event organizers to get educated on what they’re buying and what they’ll need.
“Negotiate everything you can prior, and the only way you can negotiate is knowing about your event,” he said, “knowing all the planning and design before you go to the venue.
“I don’t feel bad for people who are getting hosed and they’ve been in the business for 20 years, because they don’t want to know any better.”
Since there’s few workarounds on the exhibitor side, he says the biggest thing marketers can control is the amount of events they’re attending.
“I think some companies are going to too many,” he said. “They’re spending $50,000 a show 10 times a year, when they could do $60,000 a show three times a year.
“Know enough to be able to push back, and to know when something’s not right. Just saying, ‘That seems excessive,’ will give you a 10 to 15 percent discount.”
