Learn how participants connect to Auctria at your event, and how to plan for texting, cellular data, and WiFi.
If participants will bid from their phones at your event, plan ahead for how they'll connect. Check the connection options at your venue before the event so there are no surprises on the night.
Connection Options at a Glance
| Option | Best For | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Texting | The simplest, most reliable option for participants. | A good cell signal throughout the venue. |
| Cellular data | Participants using the mobile app or event website on their own phone. | A strong data signal throughout the venue. |
| Venue WiFi | Rural venues with weak cell coverage, participants without data plans, and tablets or other non-cellular devices. | Access, capacity, bandwidth, and filtering. See Venue WiFi. |
| Phone hotspot | A backup connection for staff and volunteers. | Not suitable for participants. See Hotspots for Staff and Volunteers. |
Texting
Texting is the simplest and most reliable way for participants to take part. If your venue has a reasonable cell signal throughout, sending and receiving texts should work well.
If you can, check the signal strength at the venue for each of the major cell providers in your area.
See Text Bidding for more details.
Cellular Data
Participants using the mobile app or your event website can use their phone's cellular data. You can't control this connection, but you can check that the venue has a strong data signal throughout. Most phones show their connection type in the status bar.
The mobile app shows your event website inside the app, so the same data use and network needs apply to both.
Some participants may worry about using their monthly data. Here's what to expect:
| Activity | Typical Data Use |
|---|---|
| Browsing and bidding on the website or mobile app | Usually under 50 MB for the whole event, depending on how many item photos they view |
| Installing the mobile app | About 20–30 MB, depending on the phone |
Some participants may not have a data plan. They can use texting or venue WiFi instead.
Venue WiFi
Venue WiFi can help when cell coverage is weak, but it takes more planning to confirm it will work.
Benefits
- Participants don't need to use their own cellular data.
- It can be more reliable than cellular data at rural venues.
- Tablets and other non-cellular devices can connect.
Questions to Ask the Venue
Ask whoever manages the network these questions:
| Question | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Is the network password protected? | Participants will need clear instructions to connect. |
| Does it require a sign-on (portal) page? | Portal pages are a common point of confusion for participants. |
| How many devices can it support at once? | This is often the biggest limitation. See Network Capacity. |
| How much internet bandwidth is available? | This affects how quickly pages load and the app downloads. |
| Does the network filter or block any traffic? | Filtering can delay live bid updates. See Firewalls and Filtering. |
At a commercial venue, such as a hotel or conference center, you won't have control over the network. Ask the venue for details. Many venues sell tiered WiFi access, which can become expensive for a large number of guests.
At a school or place of worship, ask the IT group for details about the network.
Help Participants Connect
If you offer WiFi, give participants clear instructions for connecting, especially if a password or portal page is needed. Some participants may not know how to join a WiFi network on their phone, so have volunteers ready to help.
Occasionally, a phone won't connect to a network. This is rare, but more likely when 200 or more devices are connecting. Make sure participants have another way to take part. See Have a Backup Plan.
Network Capacity
The number of devices a network can support and its bandwidth are related, but check each one separately.
Number of devices is usually the bigger challenge, especially for non-commercial networks:
- Home-grade equipment, such as a few residential WiFi access points in a hall, can't support 100 or more participants. Residential access points usually can't reliably support more than 10–20 devices each.
- School networks built for students can usually support hundreds of devices. Confirm with the IT department that the network can handle all devices in one room, rather than spread across the campus.
Bandwidth is usually fine if the venue has a connection of 10 Mbps or more, and guests use the WiFi only for the event, not for streaming video.
Ask participants to install the app before the event
App downloads add up quickly. If 200 participants each download 20 MB, that's 4 GB of data. That's about an hour on a fully used 10 Mbps connection, or about 5 minutes at 100 Mbps.
Network capacity is hard to test before the event itself. Ideally, the people who manage the network have handled a similar event before, or can confirm from capacity planning that the network will cope.
Firewalls and Filtering
Mobile bidding on the website or app doesn't need any special firewall rules. It uses the same secure web connection as normal browsing.
Live bid updates, such as new bids and outbid notices, use a secure WebSocket connection. If the network filters traffic, make sure it allows secure WebSocket connections. If they're blocked, bidding still works, but bid updates may be delayed.
Hotspots for Staff and Volunteers
A phone's WiFi hotspot makes a good backup connection for your staff and volunteers. A single phone can usually connect 5–10 devices, which is enough to record bids, run checkout, and handle other event tasks.
A hotspot isn't suitable for participant bidding, since it can't support enough connections.
Have a Backup Plan
No connection is guaranteed. Give participants more than one way to take part:
- Texting works with a basic cell signal. See Text Bidding.
- Cellular data works if WiFi fails, for participants with a data plan.
- Kiosk mode bidding gives participants without a working phone a device to bid on. See Kiosk Mode Bidding Setup.