Event Connectivity: Custom Satellite Internet Infrastructure

The Problem

Remote event venues are stunning, but they rarely come with the internet infrastructure that modern conferences demand. When SALT returned to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the 2025 Blockchain Symposium, the venue's internet quote came in at over $20,000. For a multi-day event requiring reliable connectivity for livestreaming, production systems, sponsor activations, and hundreds of attendees, that number was hard to justify, especially when the service wasn't guaranteed to meet the technical demands of a broadcast-quality production.

Jackson Hole is a remote mountain town. Local infrastructure is limited, venue internet is expensive, and the stakes are high: broadcast networks like CNBC and Bloomberg were on-site and needed rock-solid connectivity for their live feeds. As SALT's full production partner (see our SALT Conference case study), we were already embedded with the team when this connectivity challenge emerged.

The Solution

Rather than paying the venue premium, Choyce Creative designed and deployed a custom satellite internet infrastructure using Starlink terminals, delivering faster, more reliable connectivity at roughly half the cost.

But here's the key insight: Starlink is a side character in this story. The satellite terminals provide the raw bandwidth, but the real work is everything that comes after: the network infrastructure that turns a satellite signal into a production-grade internet solution for an entire event.

How It Works

Satellite Uplink

We deployed four Starlink terminals to provide redundant satellite internet access. Two terminals were owned by Choyce Creative and two were provided by the client, giving us ample bandwidth headroom. The terminals required a clear north-northeast line of sight to the sky, which we achieved by positioning them in an adjacent outdoor space at the venue.

Network Infrastructure

This is where the real engineering happens. We built a complete enterprise-grade network from scratch, including routers, managed switches, wireless access points, and structured cabling throughout the venue. The network was designed with segmented VLANs to isolate different user groups and ensure that critical production traffic was never competing with general attendee browsing.

Network Segmentation

We built five separate networks, each with dedicated bandwidth allocation and access controls:

• Attendee Network: Open Wi-Fi for all conference participants, fronted by a custom branded captive portal
• Sponsor & Partner Network: Dedicated connectivity for exhibitors and sponsor activations
• Staff Network: Secure access for event operations and management
• Production Network: Isolated high-priority network for AV systems, stage management, and show control
• Broadcast Network: Dedicated pipeline for CNBC, Bloomberg, and other broadcast partners requiring reliable, low-latency feeds

Branded Captive Portal

When attendees connected to the event Wi-Fi, they were greeted by a custom-designed captive portal featuring the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium branding. After connecting, users landed on a sponsor page showcasing all event sponsors, turning a utilitarian Wi-Fi login into a branding and sponsorship opportunity.

The Results

The system delivered 100–300 Mbps download and 50–100 Mbps upload speeds throughout the event, supporting over 100 simultaneous users at peak load. Broadcast partners had the dedicated, reliable connectivity they needed for live feeds. Production systems ran on an isolated network with zero interruptions. And the total cost came in at approximately $10,000, half of the venue's $20,000+ quote.

The branded captive portal added unexpected value, giving sponsors additional visibility every time an attendee connected to Wi-Fi. It transformed a basic infrastructure need into a sponsorship activation opportunity.

When This Works Best

This solution isn't right for every event. It's specifically designed for situations where:

• Remote or underserved venues: Locations where local internet infrastructure is limited or unreliable
• Overpriced venue internet: When venue-provided connectivity costs are disproportionate to the service quality
• High-stakes production needs: Events with broadcast partners, livestreaming requirements, or mission-critical production systems that can't share bandwidth with general attendees
• Network segmentation requirements: Events where different user groups need isolated, managed connectivity

For urban venues with strong existing infrastructure, venue-provided internet is often the simpler choice. But for remote locations or events where you need complete control over the network, a custom satellite solution delivers better performance, more flexibility, and significant cost savings.

Key Takeaways

• Starlink provides the bandwidth, but the real value is in the network engineering: routers, switches, access points, segmentation, and management
• Network segmentation is critical for events with broadcast, production, and public-facing connectivity needs
• A branded captive portal turns infrastructure into a sponsorship opportunity
• Custom solutions can deliver better performance at lower cost than venue-provided alternatives in the right situations