HarborLink Network and Celona Team to Provide Dayton Art Institute With Private Cellular Connectivity for Outdoor Oktoberfest Event

New 5G LAN technology from Celona used to deliver predictable performance to Point-of-Sale and staff applications at the 14,000-person event


CUPERTINO, Calif. and DAYTON, Ohio, Nov. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celona, the leading innovator of 5G LAN solutions, and HarborLink Network, a pioneer in providing managed wireless services nationwide, today announced a deployment of Celona’s private cellular technology with the Dayton Art Institute and its 50th Anniversary Oktoberfest celebration in late September 2021. This festival hosted almost 14,000 attendees over multiple days, and the Celona network was employed as a secure connectivity solution for Point-of-Sale terminals, staff connectivity, and gate personnel.

Leveraging new unlicensed 4G/5G cellular spectrum recently made available by the FCC, HarborLink Network was able to deploy a 4G/LTE private mobile network quickly and easily across the entire festival grounds in about an hour.

Due to the volume of festival-goers, significant wireless interference, and an outdoor environment, Wi-Fi had historically proven to be a less-than-adequate solution, requiring significant hardware and hours of management and setup. HarborLink Network experts were able to get Celona’s CBRS-based 5G LAN solution up and connected easily, handling more than $500,000 worth of secure sales without a single problem. What’s more, due to the Celona network’s integrity and performance, The Institute estimates it was able to increase its revenue by more than $30,000 over the course of the festival.

“We are definitely employing this solution again next year,” said Kimberly Spurgeon, CFO and Director of Operations for the Dayton Art Institute. “The Oktoberfest has been going on for a half-century and is one of the community’s more anticipated events. In the past, I spent too much time wondering whether or not the network was going to work. With HarborLink Network and Celona, I could focus on the critical issues of running my event.”

While Wi-Fi continues to be the primary access method for many indoor events, private 4G/5G cellular technology is now being used to quickly extend services to challenging outdoor environments with significant signal interference that require more deterministic and reliable wireless connections.

“Celona’s 5G LAN solution was ideal for this event. It was incredibly easy to set up, and its Edgeless Architecture made it a breeze to manage,” said Travis Tangeman, CTO and founder of HarborLink Network. “As a cloud-based solution, I could monitor and manage this deployment from miles away as if I was there.”

With CBRS based private cellular, institutions of all kinds can offer their event attendees a better experience and ensure their staff have robust, reliable communications throughout the property. Designed to deliver unprecedented operational agility and efficiency within a scalable framework, Celona’s Edgeless Enterprise architecture relies on a cloud native network operating system and provides an all-in-one network service overlay that offers policy-based routing, QoS, and security segmentation functions. Celona’s unique approach supports the convergence of radio access network (RAN), application, and network service traffic, automatically shifting the delivery route of services based on performance, policy requirements, and network paths’ real-time health.

“Large events have very specific requirements when it comes to wireless fidelity and today’s attendees expect to have reliable access,” said Özer Dondurmacıoğlu, VP of Marketing at Celona. “Our 5G LAN solution is designed to give both the event staff and the attendees the access they want to conduct business, stay-in-touch, and enjoy the event.”

ABOUT HARBORLINK NETWORK
Founded in 1998, HarborLink Network, Ltd. is a technology service provider specializing in the design, build-out, maintenance, security and operation of networks with a focus on wireless technologies. With customers throughout the United States and Canada, we service several industry sectors including government and military research facilities, large-scale municipal hot zones, college campuses, libraries, museums, public transit, service stations, and both national and local restaurants. Considered a “pioneer” in the Wi-Fi industry, HarborLink continues to advance the frontier of networking solutions, with the ability to think both critically as well as creatively to bring the best solutions, customized to our customers’ needs.

ABOUT CELONA
Celona, the enterprise 5G company, is focused on enabling organizations of all sizes to implement the latest generation of digital automation initiatives in enterprise wireless. Taking advantage of dynamic spectrum sharing options such as CBRS in the United States, Celona’s Edgeless Enterprise architecture is designed to automate the adoption of private cellular wireless by enterprise organizations and their technology partners. For more information, please visit celona.io and follow Celona on Twitter @celonaio.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jay Nichols
Nichols Communications
jay@nicholscomm.com 
+1 (408)772-1551