Case Study: Alliant Energy Center achieves ultra‑high‑density, campus‑wide Wi‑Fi (4× more concurrent clients) with RUCKUS Networks 802.11ac solution

Alliant Energy Center Turns to Smarter 802.11AC WI-FI as a tool to deliver better client service and create new revenue streams

Alliant Energy Center (AEC) in Madison, WI is a 164‑acre multi‑building events complex that hosts more than one million visitors across 500+ events annually, including the 7,000‑attendee World Dairy Expo. Faced with an aging Wi‑Fi system that produced spotty coverage and couldn’t support thousands of concurrent mobile devices—even in RF‑challenging spaces with moving livestock and RF‑unfriendly materials—AEC needed a high‑capacity, centrally managed 802.11ac solution that could deliver pervasive coverage, PCI‑compliant transactions and automatic adaptation to changing environments.

AEC deployed 13 Ruckus ZoneFlex T300 802.11ac outdoor access points and a ZoneDirector 3000 controller, integrated with the RG Nets rXG gateway. The upgrade delivered roughly 4× the concurrent client capacity versus the legacy system (single APs handled 150–260 clients), covered ~300,000 sq ft with 50% fewer APs than competitors recommended, and carried more than 110 GB of Wi‑Fi traffic in 24 hours—enabling stable, higher‑rate connections, PCI compliance and new revenue opportunities from sellable Wi‑Fi services.

Alliant Energy Center

Julie Gallagher

Director of Operations & Event Services