CLIENT TYPE |
A non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Pittsburgh’s Steel history.
LOCATION |
Four historical attractions in Homestead, Rices Landing in Greene County, Munhall and Swissvale.
MISSION | Founded on the principles of heritage development, community partnership, and a reverence for the region’s natural and shared resources, Rivers of Steel strengthens the economic and cultural fabric of western Pennsylvania by fostering dynamic initiatives and transformative experiences.
The Festival of Combustion:
Bringing Reliable Connectivity
to an Offline Event
Rivers of Steel has been an FSA client since 2014, and the Festival of Combustion is just one example of how FSA leverages our expertise and infrastructure to amp up their established network to meet the needs of a busy and dynamic event. The festival takes inspiration from the iron-making legacy of the Carrie Blast Furnaces and celebrates our region’s industrial artists, makers, and builders.
The Carrie Blast Furnaces is a remarkable industrial site, but it’s not equipped for modern operations—no running water, no sewage, no electricity, and no Internet. Years ago, FSA solved that challenge for Rivers of Steel by establishing a point-to-multipoint wireless link from their office in Homestead across the Monongahela River, bringing Internet connectivity to the pre-World War II site.
The solution we engineered supports their daily operations, but large events like the Festival require a higher level of bandwidth, reliability, and on-site management, which FSA specializes in providing.
Services Provided
Event Wifi
Connectivity
Backup Cellular Connectivity
Onsite Support
Impact of FSA Consulting IT & Tech Solutions
“It’s inspiring to see so many Pittsburghers, often relatives of the workers at places like Carrie Furnace, come together to celebrate the industrial arts against a meaningful landmark. It’s really cool that FSA can support such a dynamic event with modern connectivity in such a historic space.”
Managed Wi-Fi for Events
For this year’s Festival of Combustion, our primary goal was to ensure the box office could reliably process ticket sales and pre-purchased admissions. Attendees arrived with digital or printed barcodes that needed to be scanned and validated instantly. With over 2,500 attendees, stable connectivity was critical to ensuring that ticketing went smoothly and the beer sales kept flowing.
Our network supported Rivers of Steel’s core event operations, including ticket sales and beer transactions, while maintaining tight control over access to prevent unauthorized devices from overloading the system. We established a cellular backup infrastructure for the event, ensuring 100% uptime and no outage interruptions. Food trucks and independent vendors handled their own connections, allowing us to prioritize bandwidth for
mission-critical functions.
FSA’s expertise ensures that every event, no matter its location, runs without a hitch. At the Festival of Combustion, we helped turn an industrial landmark into a connected, thriving event space.
Rivers of Steel and the Festival of Combustion connect people with Western Pennsylvania’s industrial art roots.
FSA is proud to support this important mission to preserve the landmarks and history of Pittsburgh’s steel heritage. If your organization is looking for customized IT solutions and connectivity, call us today!