Brighton Centre signs up to ABPCO Conference Cloud campaign

The Brighton Centre has become the first purpose-built convention venue to support the Association of British Professional Conference Organiser’s (ABPCO) Conference Cloud campaign,  which calls for free Wi-Fi for conference delegates.
 
The Conference Cloud, which launched in August last year, has secured 138 venue sites that have agreed to offer Wi-Fi free of charge to conference delegates and received more than 200 individual petition signatures in support of the initiative.
 
In December 2011, ABPCO held a round table debate with venues and professional conference organisers (PCOs) at Twickenham, where the pros and cons of offering Wi-Fi free of charge to delegates was discussed at length.
 
ABPCO Chair Michael Foreman commented: “While those in attendance at our December debate agreed overall that there was a need for ‘basic’ free Wi-Fi for delegates, many larger venues are still hesitant in offering a free service of some kind.
 
“We are delighted that the Brighton Centre has factored this in to their major new refurbishment and built a robust network that enables them to offer a degree of free Wi-Fi. They have demonstrated a clear understanding of the way the industry is moving and the need to support PCOs and their clients’ delegates in leveraging new technologies to enhance events.”
 
Penny Parker, Business and Communications Manager of Brighton Centre, added: “The campaign was definitely a motivator for the Brighton Centre in terms of developing a free Wi-Fi offer as part of our redevelopment.
 
“We followed the debate online which then created our own discussions internally and ultimately influenced the decision to build in a high-speed network as part of our offering. This is something we have considered for some time and so wanted to ensure we offered the best service to suit current needs.”
 
ABPCO aims to continue The Conference Cloud campaign throughout 2012.
 
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