Xirrus' initial solution, installed in February, called for 18 wall-mounted access points covering most of the buildings, later expanded to other areas to 21 APs -- two more wall-mounted units, plus a tripod-mounted access point that could be brought in anywhere in the building or its surrounding parking lot.

The purchase eventually came to about CDN$150,000, money that wasn't in the centre's capital budget for this year. Seebaran and the CEO persuaded the board "it was something we needed desperately."

"We're very pleased" with the improved WLAN capacity, said Seebaran. During a recent show some 460 Wi-Fi devices connected to the network in a small hall without any trouble.

His only disappointment is that he couldn't afford to broaden the WLAN to cover less used parts of the centre when the new network was installed.

But at least there's a solid base. That wasn't true seven months ago.