Page 44 - NSAA_Fall2015Journal

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LIFTS

THE
WIRELESS WIFI

IMPERATIVE
SKI AREAS ADDRESS NEED FOR WIRELESS
TECHNOLOGY & CONNECTIVITY

BY DAVE AMIRAULT

H istorically, resorts have done a fantastic job keeping up For the majority of our guests, high-speed connectiv-
with their neighbors when it comes to capital infra- ity is a utility no less critical to modern living than water or
structure—snowmaking, detachable chairlifts, guest facil- electricity. They’re accustomed to five bars of 4G LTE signal,
ities, etc. We’re all great at jamming shovels in the dirt to wirelessly streaming Game of Thrones to their internet con-
build something we can slap on a trail map with the word nected televisions, and have 50-megabit-per-second internet
“NEW!” in front of it. But when it comes to back-of-house connections at home. According to an October 2014 study
projects such as connectivity, many of us have languished, from Pew Research, 64 percent of American adults own a
because in the past it didn’t have any impact on the guest smartphone. As we all know, the average snowsports par-
experience. Not so anymore. ticipant has higher-than-average income and discretionary

42 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2015