Cisco – Page 22

Verizon: Denver fans used 2.87 TB of wireless data during AFC championship; AT&T also sets DAS traffic records at both Sunday games

January 25, 2016 by Paul Kapustka 1 Comment

Sports Authority Field at Mile High, during Jan. 3 game vs. San Diego. All photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any photo for a larger image)

During their team’s exciting 20-18 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday, Denver Broncos fans who are Verizon Wireless customers used 2.87 terabytes of wireless data, according to Verizon. That total includes 1.7 TB used on the Verizon-only Wi-Fi network at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and another 1.17 TB of data on the Verizon LTE DAS network at the stadium.

Also on Sunday, at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., where the Carolina Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, Verizon Wireless customers there used 1.3 TB of data on the Verizon LTE DAS network, according to figures sent to us by Verizon.

According to AT&T, its wireless customers set DAS traffic records at both stadiums Sunday, with 819 GB used on AT&T’s DAS network at Sports Authority Field and 739 GB used by AT&T DAS customers at Bank of America Stadium. Both totals are the highest-ever marks seen by AT&T at the respective stadiums, according to AT&T; the Denver total Sunday was 34 percent higher than the total used in the team’s first playoff game this season against Pittsburgh, and was 52 percent more than the average data used during regular-season games. In Charlotte, the DAS traffic total Sunday was 16 percent higher than the number hit during the playoff game a week previous against Seattle, and 50 percent higher than the average regular-season game, according to AT&T.

On the AT&T Wi-Fi network at Bank of America Stadium, fans used 740 GB of data, which AT&T said is also the highest-ever mark for that network, 19 percent higher than the previous playoff game vs. Seattle and 36 percent more than the network saw for average regular season games. The Wi-Fi network at Bank of America Stadium will be replaced this offseason, with a new network built by AmpThink and Aruba.

In Denver, the network situation is somewhat unique since Verizon built the Wi-Fi network inside Sports Authority Field at Mile High, but so far only Verizon customers are allowed access to it. While we’ll describe the situation in more detail in a stadium-visit profile coming very soon, the word from stadium IT types is that the Wi-Fi is open to other carriers but none have yet signed on to allow their customers access to it. There are, however, separate DAS networks for AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile inside the stadium as well, so at least from a DAS perspective most fans at Mile High are pretty well connected.

Stay tuned for more soon on the networks at Sports Authority Field at Mile High! In the meantime, some pictures from our Jan. 3 visit below.

Count the antennas! See if you can spot the AT&T DAS antennas (slightly rounded) and the T-Mobile antenna (big square) among others in this overhang shot at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Denver’s south end zone scoreboard is topped by a horse… and two Wi-Fi antennas

The parking lots just outside Sports Authority Field have good Wi-Fi coverage as this light pole shows.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Cisco, DAS, Denver Broncos, Denver Broncos, NFL, Sprint, Super Bowl, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, Bank of America Stadium, Carolina Panthers, Cisco, DAS, Denver Broncos, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

T-Mobile buys naming rights to new MGM/AEG Las Vegas arena

January 22, 2016 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Artist rendering of T-Mobile name across top of new Las Vegas Arena.

The new 20,000-seat arena being built by MGM and AEG on the Las Vegas strip now has a title name — the T-Mobile Arena, thanks to a naming sponsorship bought by the wireless carrier for an undisclosed amount.

Set to open in April, the new multi-purpose arena will be draped in the familiar magenta hues of T-Mobile branding and also offer “unique benefits” for T-Mobile customers who attend events there, including unspecified “VIP” fast-track entrances and early notification of ticket sales. Alan Snel of the Las Vegas Review-Journal estimates that the rights fees are probably in the near-$6 million per year range, with a deal length of 10 years.

What’s unclear is whether or not the “un-carrier” will actually have any hand in the wireless deployments inside the venue, since the deal for backbone bandwidth and Wi-Fi for the Vegas arena was given to Cox Communications back in December. Among the stadiums we’ve reviewed over the past few years, T-Mobile has trailed other cellular providers in joining stadium DAS networks but it’s a good bet that T-Mobile will act differently in the first sports venue to carry its name.

On our quick trip to Vegas for CES we didn’t see the stadium, but that was because we were looking in the wrong place — it’s not being built next to the MGM but across the strip and somewhat behind New York New York, according to pictures of the building on the new arena website. More as we learn more…

T-Mobile Arena under construction in Las Vegas. All images: T-Mobile Arena.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Cisco, DAS, T-Mobile, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, DAS, Las Vegas Arena, MGM resorts, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, T-Mobile, T-Mobile Arena, Wi-Fi

NFL Stadium Tech Reviews — NFC West

December 21, 2015 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: The following team-by-team capsule reports of NFL stadium technology deployments are an excerpt from our most recent Stadium Tech Report, THE PRO FOOTBALL ISSUE. To get all the capsules in one place as well as our featured reports, interviews and analysis, download your free copy of the full report today.

NFC WEST

Reporting by Paul Kapustka

View from the Levi’s 501 Club section seats, 2014 season. Photo: Paul Kapustka, MSR

San Francisco 49ers
Levi’s Stadium
Seating Capacity: 68,500
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

Though the San Francisco 49ers didn’t quite live up to expectations last year, the team’s new stadium delivered on its technological promise, especially on the Wi-Fi network front, where service was solid from day 1, supporting the innovative stadium-app features like food delivery to every seat and instant replays. And while there were no complaints about the stadium’s DAS, carrier customers paid deployment firm DAS Group Professionals to completely replace the system this offseason, to better handle even more traffic expected at Super Bowl 50, which will take place at Levi’s in February.

Arizona Cardinals
University of Phoenix Stadium
Seating Capacity: 63,500
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

If you want great Wi-Fi, by all means have your facility host a Super Bowl. The latest recipient of a high-fidelity network (using Cisco gear and deployed by CDW), the University of Phoenix Stadium set Wi-Fi records last February at the big game, with more than 6 terabytes of data used.

Seattle Seahawks
CenturyLink Field
Seating Capacity: 72,000
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

CenturyLink Field, once a joke because it was a stadium named after a phone company that had poor connectivity, is now into its second year of a Wi-Fi deployment from Extreme and Verizon Wireless, where Verizon customers get their own part of the network. Watch for more innovation in Seattle on the app side, with multiple camera angles available for replays.

St. Louis Rams
Edward Jones Dome
Seating Capacity: 66,000
Wi-Fi – No
DAS – Yes

Still no Wi-Fi at the Edward Jones Dome, as the team continues to ponder its future and whether or not it will stay in St. Louis.
Fans should still have good cellular connectivity thanks to the Mobilitie neutral-host DAS installed last season.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Cisco, DAS, Extreme Networks, Levi's Stadium, NFL, Seattle Seahwaks, Sprint, Super Bowl, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi, Xfinity, YinzCam Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

University of Phoenix Stadium sees another 2 TB Wi-Fi game with big events on the horizon

December 21, 2015 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

University of Phoenix Stadium before Super Bowl XLIX. Photo: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any photo for a larger image)

Call it maybe a warm-up before the storm hits? The University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, racked up another 2 terabyte Wi-Fi traffic event during a recent Thursday night game, but bigger wireless days are no doubt on the near horizon.

With playoff-consideration regular season home games coming up against the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, the beefed-up Wi-Fi and DAS at UoP is sure to get a workout, though there might be even bigger numbers chalked up during the Notre Dame-Ohio State clash at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2016, and the College Football Playoff championship game, scheduled for Jan. 11. According to Mark Feller, vice president of technology for the Arizona Cardinals, the two college events will use the stadium’s expanded seating, which increases capacity from the NFL-game level of 63,500 to 75,000.

Last February during Super Bowl XLIX, the University of Phoenix Stadium (located in Glendale, Ariz.) recorded the highest single-game Wi-Fi traffic mark, a figure of 6.23 TB, while the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game at AT&T Stadium hit 4.93 TB. With the Packers coming to town Dec. 27 followed by the Seahawks on Jan. 3, it might be interesting to see how much Wi-Fi traffic is carried at UoP in the two-week-plus span.

For the Dec. 10 Thursday night game against the Minnesota Vikings (won by the Cardinals, 23-20), Feller said the Wi-Fi network recorded 28,497 unique clients, an almost 45 percent “take rate.” The peak concurrent user number that night was 25,333, Feller said, occurring just before halftime. The total bandwidth used was 2.0 TB, Feller said.

We’ll be interested to see what happens in the “15 days of bandwidth,” a series of events Feller and his crew are facing with excitement, as well as probably some pots of coffee and/or energy drinks.

“We are excited to be hosting all these games, but won’t be sleeping much,” Feller said in an email.

Filed Under: AT&T, Cisco, DAS, NCAA Football, NFL, Seattle Seahwaks, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Arizona Cardinals, AT&T, Cisco, college football playoff, DAS, Green Bay Packers, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Seattle Seahawks, Stadium Wi-Fi, University of Pacific Stadium, Wi-Fi

Nebraska’s 2015 season Wi-Fi stats: Two 4+ TB games, 3.4 TB average

December 16, 2015 by Paul Kapustka 9 Comments

Memorial Stadium, University of Nebraska. Credit all photos: University of Nebraska.

The high-density Wi-Fi network at the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium saw a lot of action during the 2015 football season, racking up an average of 3.4 terabytes per game with two games going past the 4 TB mark.

According to figures provided to us by Chad Chisea, IT operations manager for Nebraska athletics, an early season game against South Alabama carded 4.2 TB and a Nov. 7 matchup against Michigan State (which Nebraska won, 39-38) hit 4.1 TB of Wi-Fi usage to set the high-water marks for the seven-game home schedule. Chisea noted that both 4+ TB Wi-Fi events were during night games, an interesting stat to ponder. The low Wi-Fi usage mark came during the final game of the season, a 28-20 Cornhuskers loss on Nov. 27, a day that Chisea said had temperatures that stayed below freezing in Lincoln.

The average number of unique devices connected per game was 31,358, an impressive “take rate” given that the average announced attendance during 2015 was 90,012 per game. The Michigan State game saw the highest single-game unique device total, 35,781, as well as the biggest number of peak concurrent connections, 29,666. For the entire seven-game season, the Nebraska network saw 219,504 unique devices connected, and it carried a total of 24.1 TB of traffic.

(Click on image to see larger version)

Filed Under: Cisco, NCAA Football, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Memorial Stadium, Michigan State, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, University of Nebraska, Wi-Fi

NFL Stadium Tech Reviews — NFC South

December 7, 2015 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

NFC SOUTH

Reporting by Paul Kapustka

New Orleans Saints
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Seating Capacity: 76,468
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Superdome remains a signal of the region’s recovery. Inside the dome, the Wi-Fi installed before the most recent Super Bowl there is still going strong.

Atlanta Falcons
Georgia Dome
Seating Capacity: 71,280
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

Even as they wait for the technological wonder that is the coming next year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (with fiber-based Wi-Fi from IBM and Corning), Falcons fans still have way better than average connectivity inside the Georgia Dome, where a Cisco-powered network provides access to mobile treats like instant replays from multiple camera angles.

Carolina Panthers
Bank of America Stadium
Seating Capacity: 74,455
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

Bank of America Stadium completely replaced its DAS solution during the offseason with a new Commscope ION-U system. The new DAS is owned by the Panthers directly and includes Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint as participants. Look for the stadium to completely replace its Wi-Fi system this coming offseason, with a new 1,200-AP network for the 2016 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Raymond James Stadium
Seating Capacity: 65,890
Wi-Fi – Yes
DAS – Yes

Raymond James Stadium got free fan-facing Wi-Fi for the 2012 season, but since then we haven’t heard anything about upgrades to the system. With the college playoff championship game coming in 2017, however, you can probably expect to see connectivity improvements coming soon.

Filed Under: AT&T, Cisco, DAS, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Panthers, DAS, Mobile Sports Report, New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Superdome, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Superdome, Wi-Fi