For the arena project, Ruckus developed a special version of its 7762 outdoor AP with an antenna design that creates a transmitting beam just 30 degrees wide, said David Callisch, vice president of corporate marketing at Ruckus. Each 7762 can create multiple beams. The key to providing maximum service in a crowded venue such as an arena is limiting the range of each antenna beam so that those using it will get the maximum performance, Callisch said.

Ruckus has been working for about nine months on the deployment in the 18,000-capacity arena, which is intended for concerts and Charlotte Bobcats professional basketball games as well as the convention, Callisch said. Of those, the convention will probably produce the biggest demand. The baseline of users is high to start with: Ruckus estimates that at an average event, between 28 percent and 30 percent of all attendees has a smartphone that will automatically try to go onto the wireless LAN.

The company has deployed a variety of APs around the arena, including underneath some of the seats in the stands, Callisch said. This type of placement is safe and works well because the AP is right up against the concrete floor, which blocks the signal and keeps it within the arena space, he said.

But when it comes to building a network to serve a packed event such as the convention, there are plenty of unknowns until the seats are filled and people start using the system, Callisch said.

"We're both really excited and really frightened," he said.