DAS – Page 55

Bowman: MLB won’t stop fans from using Meerkat or Periscope at games — for now

April 29, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Bob Bowman, president of business and media for Major League Baseball. Credit: Paul Kapustka, MSR

At a Major League Baseball game and feeling the need to livestream some live game action via Periscope or Meerkat? Go right ahead, because the powers that be at MLB aren’t going to stop you — at least not yet.

While the nascent livestreaming services — which basically allow users to broadcast live video of what their phone cameras can see — potentially create conflicts with both broadcast rights and available network bandwidth, they aren’t yet a problem at MLB ballparks, according to Bob Bowman, president of business and media for Major League Baseball and the CEO of MLB’s advanced media operations.

Bowman, who was at Harding Park Golf Course Tuesday to announce a joint deal between MLBAM and the PGA, spoke briefly with MSR to address the livestreaming question, which surfaced earlier this month when fans started using Periscope and Meerkat to “broadcast” live video from MLB games. Though showing live video “without the express written consent” of MLB games is “strictly prohibited” (as anyone who’s ever watched a MLB game broadcast knows), Bowman said Tuesday that he and MLB don’t see livestreaming as a problem that needs to be addressed by policing fans or blocking the services.

“I just don’t think our fans come to games with the idea of holding their phones up to stream video for 20 minutes,” Bowman said. While he does note that such streaming is patently illegal, Bowman also said that MLB didn’t want to alienate fans over something that wasn’t yet causing any big problems. Currently, he said, most fans are using social media to share photos of themselves at baseball games, a type of free promotion MLB and teams go out of their way to encourage.

What hasn’t happened — yet — is large numbers of fans using the livestreaming services, something that could potentially clog up the cellular and Wi-Fi networks inside the stadiums since live, streaming video inherently uses up a large amount of bandwidth. Bowman, whose MLBAM operation spent some $300 million over the past couple years in a project that is bringing advanced cellular and Wi-Fi networks to all MLB parks, said that if livestreaming becomes a bandwidth issue, it will be addressed.

“We just put all these new networks in, and the last thing the stadiums want is [people] using the network for these types of activities,” Bowman said. “If we’re wrong, we’ll review it. But I just don’t think our fans are there to stream the game.”

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apps, Baseball, DAS, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Major League Baseball, MSR Guides, San Francisco Giants, Sports Social Media, Twitter, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Video Streaming Tagged With: Bob Bowman, live streaming baseball, live streaming video, Meerkat, MLB, MLBAM, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Periscope, Twitter

AT&T’s new antennas help deliver twin 12-Terabyte weekends at Coachella

April 27, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

The two “sliced” balls in the center are AT&T’s new “Ten-Ten-Antenna,” so called because it delivers 10x the cellular coverage of any previous such device. Credit all antenna images: AT&T

We know Coachella’s not a stadium per se and it has little to do with sports but when you get big crowds of people together for an event the logistics of providing wireless access are pretty much the same. So we’re guessing that our normal readership crowd of stadium tech professionals is interested in a concert story, especially when it involves cool new antenna technology and 12 terabytes of data two weekends in a row — right?

The Super Bowl-type wireless data numbers were reported by AT&T on its mobile networks at the recent Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival (aka “Coachella”) outside Los Angeles, which this year once again attracted about 100,000 people during the second two weekends in April. If you’re a music fan you may have already heard some of the stories about performers like Drake and Madonna, but here at MSR we’re focused on the wireless stuff and AT&T had some interesting new gear at the event this year, including something it called the “Ten-Ten-Antenna,” which AT&T claims is “one of the largest cellular antennas in the world.”

When we asked why it was called the “Ten-Ten-Antenna,” here is the official response we received from AT&T:

The Ten-Ten-Antenna consists of two spherical balls with their tops and bottoms cut off (like a cheese wheel) that send out radio frequency (RF) signals in various directions based on how the network engineers attach transmitting elements to each antenna. This allows technicians to send the cellular signals even more precisely where they need to go, allowing them to be more efficient and provide customers with a better experience. The Ten-Ten-Antenna is able to offer a whopping 10x the capacity of a traditional, single-beam antenna – the most ever for an AT&T antenna or any cellular antenna we know of.

Coachella headliner AC/DC. Credit: Coachella website screen shot

Last year AT&T brought out the “big ball” cellular antenna at Coachella, which is proving to be a pretty worthy testing ground for AT&T and cellular coverage of huge, connected crowds. It’s a good bet that folks attending all-day music festivals may be among the heaviest event data users, given the large amounts of downtime and the numerous chances to take pictures, videos and send messages about sights seen at an event with multiple big-name headliners and lots of crazy regular folk in the audience.

So maybe 12 TB each weekend for two weekends isn’t such a stunning number — but the other factoid that leaped out at us is AT&T’s claim that it has seen data rates at the festival increase 20 TIMES since 2011, a staggering increase that shows no sign of slowing down or plateauing.

Any other big festivals out there with wireless stories to tell? Send them our way!

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS Tagged With: AC/DC, AT&T, cellular antennas, Coachella, DAS, Drake, Madonna, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka

Final Four final score: 11 Terabytes of total wireless traffic

April 27, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

We finally have some final wireless results in from the Final Four, and the total wireless-traffic number of 11 terabytes used over the weekend is just another sign that mobile device use at “big” sporting events is still increasing, with no top in sight.

According to figures sent to us by Ryan Marketing Group Technologies — an official outlet for the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament tech operations — there was 9.47 terabytes of wireless data used over the Final Four weekend in and around Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with 5.3 TB of that running over the stadium’s Wi-Fi network and the balance running on the building’s DAS. According to Ryan Marketing Group they believe the DAS numbers only reflect Verizon Wireless customer traffic (we have asked Verizon to confirm the numbers, but have not yet received a response from Verizon). The NCAA numbers also include usage for attendees at the accompanying Fan Fest events, in addition to the Saturday and Monday night games.

Separately, AT&T had said that it saw 1.52 TB of cellular traffic on its own DAS for the Final Four games, so adding the figures together we get 10.99 TB of total data, a number that should give pause to stadiums or arenas with “big events” on the horizon. Following huge wireless traffic numbers from recent big events like the Super Bowl and the College Football Playoff championships, it’s clear that there is still no plateau in sight for mobile-device wireless usage at big events. And just when you thought networks might be able to keep pace with users, devices and apps, you have the recent emergence of livestreaming apps like Meerkat and Periscope to potentially swamp arena networks with even more data demands. So, big event holders… what’s in your network? Is it ready for the terabyte age?

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Basketball, DAS, Duke University, NCAA Hoops, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Final Four, Lucas Oil Stadium, March Madness, NCAA, NCAA Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon Wireless

NBA stadium tech reports — NBA East, Central Division

April 22, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Editor’s note: The following team-by-team capsule reports of NBA stadium technology deployments are an excerpt from our most recent Stadium Tech Report, THE HOOPS AND HOCKEY 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.

Reporting by Chris Gallo

NBA EAST: Central Division

Chicago Bulls
United Center
Seating capacity: 20,917
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes

The Chicago Bulls are atop the NBA in attendance this season, as the United Center benefits from recent upgrades from AT&T. These upgrades included an estimated 400 Wi-Fi antennas to keep Bulls and Blackhawks fans connected. And recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and United Center owners announced construction of a new, standalone office building next to the United Center.

The office building will house Blackhawks and Bulls’ employees, as well being the home for retail stores for both teams and a variety of restaurants. The space will encourage more economic development and be a draw for fans before and after games.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Quicken Loans Arena
Seating capacity: 20,562
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes

After welcoming home LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers are working to make the Quicken Loans Arena more social in 2015. The arena partnered with TigerLogic Corp. to install four corner board social media displays. TigerLogic’s Postano Platform shares updates from fans and advanced statistics during games.

The Cavaliers estimate an average of 20,000 posts per game are being shared, and connecting to the system is easier for fans with Verizon Wi-Fi and DAS throughout the arena. Plus, owner Dan Gilbert unveiled a new 5,500-square-foot LED HD scoreboard at the beginning of the season. With one of the best players in the NBA and arena upgrades, no wonder Cleveland’s attendance is up almost 20 percent from last year.

The Palace at Auburn Hills. Credit all photos, Palace at Auburn Hills (click on any photo for a larger image).

Detroit Pistons
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Seating capacity: 21,165
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes

At a home game in March 2015, lots of Pistons fans found themselves with a dilemma. With the Pistons on the floor and the Michigan Wolverines making a deep NCAA Tournament run, fans wanted to watch both games. No problem, thanks to 238 Wi-Fi access points and DAS throughout The Palace of Auburn Hills. Outfitted by Ericsson, Detroit’s network carried over 450 GB of traffic at the home game last March with fans seamlessly streaming video from their phones. The Pistons also have a mobile app featuring beaconing technology for in-game discounts, a streaming radio broadcast, and digital menu boards. The Palace certainly lives up to its name of royalty when it comes to stadium connectivity.

Indiana Pacers
Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Seating capacity: 18,165
Wi-Fi: Yes, 346 access points
DAS:Yes

Now with a full deployment from SignalShare, Bankers Life Fieldhouse is a clear example of how Wi-Fi can benefit everyone – fans, sponsors, and the franchise. When the Pacers were making another deep playoff run last season, RetailMeNot sponsored the SingalShare Wi-Fi network delivering fans downloadable coupons for a free milkshake at a near by Steak ‘n Shake. A sponsor sees a return on their investments, the Pacers bring in more revenue, and fans feel rewarded for being at the game.

With multiple events hosted at the arena including Disney on Ice, WNBA’s Indiana Fever home games, and the Big 10 women’s and men’s conference basketball tournaments, there’s plenty of fans coming in and out of the arena. The Pacers personnel are able to observe fans’ habits and use that information to make much more relevant offers to them in the future. The team’s official app for both iPhone and Android has also increased in functionality with 346 Wi-Fi access points throughout the arena courtesy of Extricom.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Basketball, DAS, NBA, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, Chicago Bulls, DAS, Detroit Pistons, Mobile Sports Report, NBA, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

AT&T sees almost double DAS traffic for MLB’s season-opening series

April 20, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Head-end room cabling at AT&T Park. Credit: AT&T/San Francisco Giants

According to AT&T, the season-opening series for Major League Baseball saw fans use almost twice as much cellular data as the year before, across the 19 ballparks where AT&T has in-stadium cellular networks in place.

Remember, these numbers represent only cellular traffic and only for AT&T customers on the AT&T stadium-specific networks, which are almost all of the distrubuted antenna system (DAS) type. Though some stadiums saw much more traffic than others, the average series-long total of 215 gigabytes per venue was almost double the same statistic from the 2014 season-opening series, where AT&T saw an average of 111 GB per venue. And if AT&T’s traffic is doubling you can probably safely bet that all other metrics — Wi-Fi, and traffic for other carriers — has increased as well.

Thanks to our friends at AT&T, here is the full list for series-long DAS traffic at MLB venues where AT&T has stadium-specific networks. Stay tuned to MSR for our Q2 Stadium Tech Report later this spring, when we’ll take a team-by-team look at MLB technology deployments, specifically focusing on Wi-Fi and DAS. So far, it looks like fans are already in mid-season selfie form.

OPENING SERIES DAS TOTALS (AT&T customer traffic only, on AT&T stadium-specific networks)

1. Arlington, TX (Rangers): 655GB

2. St. Louis (Cardinals): 466GB

3. Los Angeles (Dodgers): 396GB

4. Atlanta (Braves): 375GB

5. Anaheim (Angels): 270GB

6. Denver (Rockies): 251GB

7. Philadelphia (Phillies): 250GB

8. Chicago (Cubs): 227GB

9. New York (Yankees): 189GB

10. Cincinnati (Reds): 185GB

11. Miami (Marlins): 183GB

12. Boston (Red Sox): 162GB

13. San Francisco (Giants): 158GB

14. Oakland (A’s): 149GB

15. Seattle (Mariners): 139GB

16. Washington, D.C. (Nationals): 132GB

17. Milwaukee (Brewers): 129GB

18. Houston (Astros): 102GB

19. Minnesota (Twins): 86GB

20. Phoenix (Diamondbacks): 85GB

21. New York (Mets): 80GB

22. San Diego (Padres): 58GB

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Baseball, DAS, Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants, Wi-Fi Tagged With: AT&T, AT&T Park, cellular, DAS, Major League Baseball, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco Giants, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

WrestleMania 31 resets Levi’s Stadium Wi-Fi record with 4.5 terabytes of data used

April 16, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

WrestleMania 31 at Levi’s Stadium, March 29, 2015. Credit all images: 49ers.com (click on any photo for a larger image)

The biggest crowd yet at Levi’s Stadium also reset the venue’s Wi-Fi usage records, as the 76,976 fans at the March 29 WrestleMania 31 event used 4.5 terabytes of data on the in-stadium network, according to representatives from the San Francisco 49ers, the stadium’s owner and operator.

The WrestleMania mark eclipsed the previous Wi-Fi high-water figure of 3.3 TB, recorded during the Niners’ home opener at Levi’s Stadium on Sept. 14, 2014. However, the WWE event’s record should come with a bit of an interesting asterisk, since the Niners said they built a temporary ground-level extension to the Wi-Fi network that was used by approximately 3,700 fans who were sitting in seats on the field, surrounding the WrestleMania stage. The team also put in extra Wi-Fi coverage for the three temporary seating sections that were erected in the Levi’s Stadium southeast plaza, structures that will likely be part of the configuration for Super Bowl 50 next February.

WrestleMania competition

“We considered the event a success from a Wi-Fi standpoint considering the temporary APs served almost 4,000 people and moved a large amount of data,” said Roger Hacker, senior manager, corporate communications for the San Francisco 49ers. “We moved a significant amount of traffic all the while seeing minimal negative comments on social media.”

In a related note, it seems like beefed-up train and bus service from light rail entity VTA kept lines and waits to a minimum, even with a record number of fans also using public transportation to the event. At the very least, the Levi’s Stadium team seems to be back on a positive path after some painful lessons learned during the Feb. 21 Coors Light Stadium Series hockey game. Remember also that WWE did not want in-seat food or merchandise delivery available during the event, which proabably helped make network operations easier.

Under-seat APs and handrail antennas

According to Hacker the field-level network used 76 extra access points, with 69 on the field level itself and seven more on the field-level walls. Hacker said a combination of picocell and handrail enclosures were used for the temporary network, which was necessary since the regular stadium-bowl configuration was never designed to handle traffic for events with fans on the field level.

Hacker also said the temporary network had its own switching infrastructure, with eight portable switching pods connected by both fiber and outdoor Ethernet cabling. The results from the WrestleMania event, Hacker said, will help the Niners and Levi’s Stadium staff prepare for future events with on-field seating, like the concerts scheduled for later this spring and summer.

The Niners said their goal with the WrestleMania temporary network “experiment” (which they believe to be the first ever done for a large outdoor event) was to see whether the Levi’s Stadium under-seat design could be extended to the field for temporary events “in a cost-effective, safe and repeatable manner. From what we experienced with WrestleMania 31, every indication is that we will be able to do that.”

Some more network stats from the WrestleMania 31 event:

— The peak concurrent user mark was 14,800 on the Wi-Fi network at around 8:10 p.m.

— The Wi-Fi network carried 1.61 Gbps of average continuous bandwidth from 2:20 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., also a new stadium record

— The peak bandwidth usage was 2.474 Gbps at 7:10 p.m.

— Usage on the Levi’s Stadium DAS network was not reported.

Overhead shot of Levi’s Stadium during WrestleMania 31, showing on-field seating

Filed Under: DAS, Levi's Stadium, MSR Guides, NFL, NHL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi, WrestleMania, Wrestlemania 31, WWE