MIAMI BEACH, FL — Smart City Networks has completed a comprehensive Wi-Fi 7 upgrade at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC), Florida’s second largest convention center, positioning the venue among the first convention centers in the nation to deploy Wi-Fi 7 technology throughout its facility in May 2026.

As technology continues to play a larger role in the event experience, convention centers are being challenged to support more connected devices, greater bandwidth demands, increased cybersecurity needs, and increasingly sophisticated digital environments such as augmented and virtual reality. 

Drawing on decades of experience designing and supporting connectivity for convention centers nationwide, Smart City Networks engineered and deployed the Wi-Fi 7 upgrade to ensure the MBCC, which is owned by the City of Miami Beach and managed by OVG, is equipped to meet those expectations while providing a scalable foundation for future growth. The system upgrade provides smart venue enhancements and operational efficiencies to event organizers by enabling support for IoT-enhanced smart systems for crowd management, enhanced attendee connectivity, heat mapping, and operational analytics, optimizing space utilization, event flow, and cybersecurity.

Through careful planning, phased deployment strategies, and close coordination with venue leadership and the City of Miami Beach, Smart City Networks completed the upgrade while the MBCC remained fully operational and continued hosting events throughout the project. 

"Delivering reliable and redundant connectivity has become increasingly important to the success of all of our events," said Freddie Peterson, General Manager at the Miami Beach Convention Center. "The expertise Smart City Networks brought to this project allowed us to modernize critical infrastructure while continuing to serve our clients and host events throughout the deployment. The result is a technology foundation that will support the evolving needs of our clients and cybersecurity for years to come." 

Wi-Fi 7 represents the latest advancement in wireless technology and is designed to support increasingly connected event environments. As organizers continue to incorporate more streaming, digital engagement, mobile applications, artificial intelligence, and connected devices into their events, next-generation wireless infrastructure has become an essential component of venue operations and customer satisfaction.

"The hardware is only one piece of delivering exceptional event connectivity," said Tim Overall, Director of Florida Operations at Smart City Networks. "What truly matters is how that technology is implemented in a live event environment. Convention centers operate some of the most demanding wireless environments anywhere, requiring networks that can reliably support thousands of attendees, exhibitors, devices, and event technologies simultaneously. This project showcases the experience and coordination required to successfully introduce next-generation technology while keeping a busy convention center fully operational."

The upgraded network is supported by Smart City Networks' local operations team and our national Network Operations Center, providing ongoing monitoring and expertise designed specifically for mission-critical event environments. This combination of local venue expertise and national support resources reflects Smart City Networks' long-standing focus on serving convention centers and event venues.

“Unlike many of our competitors, Smart City is not a large telecommunications conglomerate that has bolted a convention center division to its general offerings with no dedicated resources or programs,” stated Mark Haley, President of Smart City.  “Our company was built for the convention venue industry and everything we do is focused on our convention customer’s needs.” 

The completion of the Wi-Fi 7 upgrade further demonstrates Smart City’s and the MBCC’s continued investment in delivering advanced connectivity solutions designed specifically for the evolving needs of the event industry.

For more information about the Miami Beach Convention Center, visit www.miamibeachconvention.com

For more information about Smart City Networks, visit www.smartcitynetworks.com

About Smart City Networks

Smart City Networks is the nation’s leading provider of event technology services, specializing in high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, and telecommunications solutions for convention centers and event venues across the United States. With more than 40 years of experience, Smart City is dedicated to delivering innovative infrastructure that enhances the event experience for organizers, exhibitors, and attendees alike.

About The Miami Beach Convention Center & Campus 

Re-imagined following a $640-million renovation, the award-winning MBCC includes a new 60,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom, four junior ballrooms, almost 500,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, an expanded Grand Lobby, pre-function areas that are bathed in natural light, up to 84 breakout rooms, approximately 800 roof deck parking spaces, almost 2,100 miles of cabling to support all IT communications, more than $10.2 million dollars’ worth of art curated by the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places program and a six-acre (Pride Park) and three-acre (Collins Canal Park) public green spaces that can serve as incremental event space. The MBCC Campus includes two event spaces: Venu, a space for elegant private events and upscale meetings, and Rum Room, a 1920s restaurant with an enticing tapas-style menu and local South Florida rums. The MBCC is proud to have achieved the Gold Certificate for Sustainability and Social Impact from the Events Industry Council (EIC), and LEED® Silver Certification as part of the venue’s $640-million expansion project, which includes many environmentally friendly features. A new connected headquarter hotel, a Grand Hyatt, is under development and slated to open in 2027. www.miamibeachconvention.com