For Dynamic Earth, one of Edinburgh’s most popular visitor attractions, 2021 was a year of two distinct parts. The first part saw it closed for four months during the COVID-19 lockdown. Once restrictions were lifted, Dynamic Earth was excited to welcome visitors once more through its doors.
The principal reason for this excitement was the launch of the UK’s first and only Digistar 6K Planetarium supported by Dynamic Earth’s key funders and donors, including Commsworld, the UK’s largest independent network provider.
Dynamic Earth is a longstanding Commsworld client, which has provided connectivity to the tourist attraction for many years. It is a relationship built on the need for excellent and speedy wifi access for visitors across the building in Holyrood Road.
As the years have gone by, demands on Dynamic Earth’s bandwidth and public wifi access have steadily grown – including the low latency required for the smooth running of its new Planetarium and events, with hundreds of thousands of visitors passing through its building pre-pandemic.
Steve Wood, Group Sales Manager at Commsworld, said:
“For Dynamic Earth, we offered Wireless Heat Mapping solutions to help us determine the exact points in the building where we needed to place an access point. This allows the greatest network coverage in every part of the building where there is public access.
“But most importantly, Dynamic Earth, is a multi-function venue, which not only has its Planetarium but also is used for events, a learning centre and visitor attraction. This requires lots of bandwidth and low latency as live video is very fast flowing.
“Commsworld’s USP is our ability to be flexible. So we set about improving their coverage, but doing so in the most cost-effective way. When they return to full capacity, with events, a busy planetarium and lots of visitors, our flexibility means that if Dynamic Earth requires more than 1 gigabit for a certain month, then we up it.”
This solution has been very welcome for Dynamic Earth, providing it with plenty of resource throughout 2021 and going into the new year.
Marketing Director at Dynamic Earth, Eilidh Massie, said:
“We have an excellent relationship with Commsworld and are extremely grateful for their support .
“We were very proud to launch our new planetarium – which has technology on a whole different level from what we’ve seen before. The 360 degree, 6K giant screen resolution with surround sound means we can now deliver the highest quality, presenter-led science content about Earth and our place in the Universe.
“But we are also a highly popular visitor attraction, venue for weddings and events, and run a busy learning service for schools and community groups, so access to good connectivity is crucial for us.
“The knowledge that we have the option of increasing our capacity quickly and with ease is a huge help and provides great peace of mind for us, especially as we look to provide a positive experience for visitors in the year ahead.
“It means that the opportunities to engage and entertain are limitless. We are looking forward to educating and inspiring visitors of all ages within a safe, COVID-free environment.”
