This is what I did when running the WiFi at PyCon. For 5GHz we generally had enough channels that we could run higher power, but for 2.4GHz I would run it on the lowest power settings.
I'd also set the APs on the tables, rather than trying to elevate them, so that the bodies would limit propagation.
Whenever someone asked, which happened at least a couple times each conference, I explained it like this: Imagine you have 10 groups in the ballroom all trying to have discussions. Turning the power up is like giving each group a bullhorn: the whole room becomes a noisy mess. Lower power is like each group gathering close and talking at normal volume.
It worked well, mostly because the venue-provided wireless at the time were all trying the "few, big AP" solution.
I'd also set the APs on the tables, rather than trying to elevate them, so that the bodies would limit propagation.
Whenever someone asked, which happened at least a couple times each conference, I explained it like this: Imagine you have 10 groups in the ballroom all trying to have discussions. Turning the power up is like giving each group a bullhorn: the whole room becomes a noisy mess. Lower power is like each group gathering close and talking at normal volume.
It worked well, mostly because the venue-provided wireless at the time were all trying the "few, big AP" solution.
More details are in a series of blog posts I did, starting with: https://www.tummy.com/articles/pycon2007-network/