--- title: "GITEX 2026 Exhibitor IT Checklist, Dubai | Listonics" description: "A practical GITEX 2026 exhibitor IT checklist: stand Wi-Fi, bandwidth, demo backups, lead capture and a fallback line, so your Dubai stand stays online." canonical: "https://listonics.com/blog/gitex-exhibitor-it-checklist-dubai/" source: listonics.com --- Nov 02, 2026 · 8 min read · By [Srinivasan Ramachandran](https://listonics.com/about/#author) # GITEX 2026 Exhibitor IT Checklist for a Dubai Stand The hall Wi-Fi is shared by thousands. Here is the IT to arrange before GITEX so your demos, payments and lead capture keep working. GITEX Global runs from 8 to 11 December 2026 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City, and it is the one week where your stand's technology either carries the pitch or sinks it in front of the exact people you came to meet. The failures are predictable, so they are preventable. This is the checklist we run for exhibitors. Quick answer At GITEX the hall Wi-Fi is shared by thousands of visitors, so it cannot be trusted for a live demo, a payment counter or lead capture. An exhibitor needs its own stand network, a backup internet line, offline copies of the demo itself, and someone on site to fix faults fast. This checklist covers what to arrange before the show. Key takeaways - Treat the hall Wi-Fi as a bonus, never as the connection your stand depends on. - Arrange your own stand network and a backup internet line a week or two before the show. - Keep an offline copy of every demo, so a dropped connection never stops the pitch. - Capture leads on devices you control, and know where that visitor data goes afterwards. - Have an engineer on site or on immediate call for every day the stand is live. ## Do not build your stand on the hall Wi-Fi Shared exhibition Wi-Fi is designed to let a visitor check email, not to run your live product in front of a crowd. By mid-morning on day one, thousands of phones are competing for the same airtime, and the connection that tested fine during set-up slows to nothing exactly when your stand is busiest. Every year, exhibitors discover this at the worst possible moment. The right assumption is that the hall Wi-Fi will fail you when it matters, so your demos, payments and lead capture should run on a stand network you control. That is the same engineering Listonics uses for a busy office, in our [network and Wi-Fi](https://listonics.com/services/network-and-wifi/) work, scaled to the density of an exhibition floor. The [Wi-Fi Alliance explains what current-generation certification covers](https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-6), and that sets what your stand can realistically carry. ## Two weeks out: what to book and confirm Most GITEX IT problems are decided before the show by what was, or was not, arranged in advance. Work through this list while there is still time to fix gaps: - Confirm a dedicated stand internet line with the venue, or arrange your own, and get it in writing. - Decide how many devices your stand will run: screens, demo machines, tablets, payment terminals and scanners. - Order a stand network and access point sized for that device count and the crowd around it. - Arrange a backup internet line, because a single cut should never end your show. - Check that any wireless equipment you bring is approved for use in the UAE. - Agree who is on site or on call for IT on each day, and swap mobile numbers. ## Size the bandwidth to what your stand really does A stand that only shows slides needs very little; a stand streaming video, running a cloud demo and taking payments needs a great deal more, and the two should never be quoted the same. List what actually happens on the stand, then size the connection and the Wi-Fi to the busiest moment, not the average one. Keep public access, staff devices and payment terminals on separate networks so a visitor on your guest Wi-Fi can never reach your demo machines or card readers. The same causes that make [office Wi-Fi crawl](https://listonics.com/blog/office-wifi-slow/), too few access points and no wired backhaul, are what make a stand connection collapse under a crowd. If you plan to offer visitors Wi-Fi as well, size for that too, because a popular stand can attract far more devices than the people actually standing on it, and each one takes a share of the air. ## Back up the demo itself, not just the connection Even a well-built stand network can have a bad minute, so the demo should survive one. Keep a local, offline copy of anything you plan to show: a recorded walkthrough of the product, slides stored on the machine rather than in the cloud, and sample data that does not need a live server. If the connection drops for ninety seconds, you want to keep talking, not stand in silence refreshing a page. Bring spares for the parts that fail most: a charged power bank or two, spare cables, an extra tablet or laptop already set up, and a mobile hotspot as a last resort. A dead battery or a lost cable should be a shrug, not a crisis. Label each device and charger with the stand number too, because small items wander on a busy floor and a named cable is far more likely to come back to you. ## Lead capture and visitor data The whole point of the stand is the leads you leave with, so the devices that capture them matter as much as the demo. Make sure badge scanners or lead-capture apps work on your own stand network, sync somewhere you can reach after the show, and do not quietly stop saving when the connection drops. Treat the visitor data you collect with care from the start: know which app holds it, who on the team can see it, and how it is exported and then removed from shared devices once the show ends. Scanned contact details are personal data, and handling them properly is part of the setup, not an afterthought. ## A fallback line for the days that count A backup connection is the difference between a bad minute and a lost day. The simplest fallback is a well-provisioned cellular router; for a stand far from good coverage, or an outdoor or satellite venue, a [Starlink or satellite link](https://listonics.com/services/satellite-internet/) can act as the primary connection or as automatic failover. [Starlink for business](https://www.starlink.com/business) gives high-speed access where a fixed line is weak or absent. Whatever the fallback, test it by actually pulling the primary line before the doors open, so you know the switch works rather than hoping it does. If you are bringing your own wireless kit into the country, check that it is [approved for use in the UAE](https://tdra.gov.ae/en/Services/register-and-approve-telecommunication-equipment) so it is not a problem at the venue. ## On show days: who fixes it when it breaks The last item on the checklist is a person, not a product. When something goes wrong at nine in the morning on a busy stand, you do not have time to raise a ticket and wait; you need someone who can be hands-on in minutes. Decide in advance whether that is a trained member of your own team, an engineer on the stand, or an engineer on immediate call nearby, and make sure they know your set-up before day one. This is where a single team that planned the whole stand pays off, rather than three suppliers pointing at each other. It is the core of our [event and exhibition IT support](https://listonics.com/event-it-support-dubai/), and if you want that cover for GITEX you can [talk to us](https://listonics.com/contact/) before the show. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I use the GITEX hall Wi-Fi for my demos? You can connect to it, but you should not depend on it. Shared exhibition Wi-Fi is sized for casual browsing by thousands of people at once, and it typically slows to a crawl when the hall is busy, which is exactly when your stand is too. Run your demos, payments and lead capture on a stand network you control, and treat the hall Wi-Fi as a bonus only. ### How much bandwidth does an exhibition stand need? It depends entirely on what the stand does. A slides-only stand needs very little; one streaming video, running a cloud demo and taking card payments needs far more. List everything that happens on the stand, size the connection to the busiest moment rather than the average, and keep staff, public and payment traffic on separate networks so they do not compete or create a security risk. ### What happens if the internet goes down during the show? With no plan, the demo stops and the stand goes quiet. With a plan, almost nothing happens: a backup line takes over, and anything you can show offline keeps running. The fix is to arrange a fallback connection in advance, keep local copies of your demo and slides, and test the switch by pulling the primary line before the show opens rather than hoping on the day. ### Do you set up lead-capture and badge-scanning devices? We set up the technology they run on: the stand network the scanners and lead apps use, the connection to your chosen platform, and the handling of the visitor data they collect. We make sure the devices keep saving when the connection wobbles and that the data can be exported after the show and removed from shared devices, because scanned contact details are personal data that needs looking after. ### Can you provide on-site IT support during GITEX? Yes. We plan the stand's network and backup line, install and test everything before the doors open, and provide an engineer on site or on immediate call for the days the stand is live, then remove the equipment afterwards. Because one team handles the whole set-up, there is no gap between suppliers when something needs fixing quickly in front of visitors. Related service Network & Wi-Fi Installation Business Wi-Fi, routers, switches, firewalls and access points, designed for your floor plan and the number of people on it. [See the service](https://listonics.com/services/network-and-wifi/) Written by [Srinivasan Ramachandran](https://listonics.com/about/#author), Founder, Listonics · Published Nov 02, 2026 · Last reviewed November 2, 2026 · 1443 words ## Read next Related guides from the same part of office IT. [All guides](https://listonics.com/blog/) [Corporate Event AV and Staging Checklist for Dubai](https://listonics.com/blog/corporate-event-av-staging-checklist-dubai/) (Events): The hall is booked and the date is set. Here is the stage, AV and decor to settle before you sign, so show day runs without surprises. [Why Hotel Guest Wi-Fi Fails, and How to Design It So It Does Not](https://listonics.com/blog/hotel-guest-wifi-design-dubai/) (Network): Buying more bandwidth rarely fixes hotel Wi-Fi complaints. The problem is almost always coverage, density or separation. [Starlink for a Dubai office: when it is a real second line and when it is not](https://listonics.com/blog/starlink-business-dubai-second-line/) (Connectivity): A second fibre line often shares a duct with the first, so one street fault takes both. Satellite shares nothing with your cable. ## Talk to an engineer about Network & Wi-Fi installation for your office. [Contact us](https://listonics.com/contact/) This page is general information for Dubai businesses, not a substitute for a professional assessment of your own setup. For advice specific to your office, [book a free assessment](https://listonics.com/contact/).