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The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and Cobb Galleria Centre are the focus of cultural activity in northwest Atlanta. Cobb Energy Centre, which was built in 2007, is home to a 2,750 seat performing arts venue and a 10,000 square foot ballroom. Cobb Galleria Centre hosts conventions, trade shows, meetings and other large gatherings across more than 320,000 square feet of exhibition, ballroom and meeting space. Since construction in 1994 over 10 million guests have visited the location.

Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority own and operate these two significant locations. With regular events taking place at both, the organization needed to find an adaptable internet service provider (ISP) that could support parking and building management in addition to the varying needs of event organizers.

The Show Must Go On

This is where One Ring Networks arrived on the scene. Several touring groups had contacted the local ISP regarding temporary broadband installation at Cobb Energy Centre and Cobb Galleria Centre. With the knowledge that there would be no construction or associated costs, the One Ring Networks team began working with the building owners, Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority to configure a fixed wireless link that could be adjusted based on the bandwidth requirements of future events.

As time progressed and scores of visitors benefited from fixed wireless connectivity, the opportunity to directly support Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority came up. The organization required two separate circuits to support the parking system and building management system (BMS).

The specifications for the two circuits were clear – they must be dedicated and they must be isolated from each other and the rest of the facilities’ network infrastructure in order to protect customer data. Nick Vermillion, IT Manager, pointed out that he had considered other options but highlighted the flexibility of fixed wireless versus wired solutions as a major factor.

Vermillion said, “The main reason we chose One Ring Networks was because we already had a good working relationship. Even though we were yet to use the service directly, a lot of our clients use fixed wireless as a primary circuit or for redundancy so we had worked together on a lot of installations at our facilities. Not only that; the flexibility of installation was a key selling point as well. With it being microwave versus fiber we were able to remove construction costs.”

The Outcome

Off the back of a long-standing relationship two permanent 20 Mbps x 20 Mbps fixed wireless circuits were installed. The first dedicated 20 Mbps x 20 Mbps circuit was configured in 2016 to support BMS applications including ventilation, lighting, power systems, fire systems and security systems. If there are any issues with this connection, visitors to the facilities would soon know about it.

The second 20 Mbps x 20 Mbps circuit was installed at Cobb Galleria Centre’s 1000-space parking lot. The installation of an isolated circuit allowed the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority to move towards Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, allowing meters to accept credit cards and making the process of paying for parking far more straightforward for visitors.

Fortunately, there have been no problems and Vermillion has only good words to share about the service and his experience with One Ring Networks, “We haven’t had any problems or challenges. Over the past five years, I’ve worked with One Ring Networks on a regular basis and only had one issue. That was resolved within 20 minutes. The service has been super reliable. We even had one event during the ice storm a while ago. I went up to check the microwave receiver dish and it was frozen solid but the service was still working perfectly!”

Vermillion added a few final words, “Even though we only have two permanent circuits, we’ve completed countless installs for various shows and multi-million dollar productions. One Ring Networks has always been able to provide everything we’ve needed to meet these large-scale demands. Realistically I can’t think of anything they could improve upon.”

Who We Are

One Ring Networks is an industry-leading provider of voice and data services across Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland and Texas. We offer fixed wireless, fiber, hosted PBX and unified communications solutions to businesses of all sizes. To find out more about our customizable options, please contact 1-855-ONE-RING or email our team at sales@oneringnetworks.com