For 1000 Hackers: Backend: At minimum get a 1Gigabit line, try to get a 5Gigabit line. Frontend: This is usually where the problem is. Many hackathons spend 20-40k on this. Do not get super routers (those big routers that claim to handle 250 people at once), they get clogged. Hacktech.io had many problems with that. Have routers placed throughout the area. Get a wired internet connection for your sponsors at the minimum. At hackathon.launch.co they had wired connections for every hacker, which was impressive. You should definitely have 10-20 switches lying around for hackers to connect with. It will help unclog the network. But if you can get a wired connection for everyone that is even better.