AT&T sees double DAS usage at College Football Playoff championship game

January 10, 2017 by Paul Kapustka

Wireless data use at big sports events keeps continuing to grow, with AT&T reporting that its cellular network traffic from Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game between Clemson and Alabama was double the total from last year’s game.

According to AT&T, it saw fans use a total of 3.8 terabytes of wireless data Monday, on its stadium distributed antenna system (DAS) network at Raymond James Stadium as well as from other network sites in and around the stadium in Tampa. At last year’s championship game in Glendale, Ariz., AT&T saw 1.9 TB of data used on its cell networks. Keep in mind, these numbers are for AT&T networks ONLY, so the total wireless numbers are much larger.

Unfortunately, Verizon Wireless is (so far) declining to report its wireless data statistics from Monday night’s game, a situation we hope they reconsider; we are also still waiting to hear from Sprint and T-Mobile representatives to get their figures from the event. We also have a call in to the stadium authorities to see if we can get figures from the in-stadium Wi-Fi network, so stay tuned. If AT&T’s numbers are any indication, the thrilling 35-31 Clemson victory might just join our list of top single-day wireless event, especially since the event set an attendance record with 74,512 on hand to witness the drama.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, NCAA Football, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, Alabama, AT&T, Clemson, College Football Playoff championship, DAS, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Twitter, Wi-Fi

NRG Stadium Wi-Fi ready for Super Bowl LI

January 3, 2017 by Paul Kapustka

NRG Stadium. Credit: Houston Texans Instagram

Nonexistent a year ago, the new Wi-Fi network at Houston’s NRG Stadium has at least one more live game that administrators can use as a final tune-up before the venue and its wireless infrastructure host Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5.

Live since the start of the current NFL season, the Wi-Fi network deployed by integrator 5 Bars using Extreme Networks Wi-Fi gear has seen growth in fan usage for each subsequent game, according to David Moore, manager of information services for NRG Park.

“The first few games [of the season] it wasn’t heavily promoted, but as we went on usage shot up,” said Moore in a recent phone interview. Though he wouldn’t release specific figures on data use, Moore said that game-day totals near the end of the season saw in the range of 25,000 unique users per game, with data totals in the “4-5 terabyte” range. The stadium’s main tenants, the Houston Texans, will have at least one more home game this weekend when they host the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

Under seat APs visible down seating row. Credit: 5 Bars

While it’s possible that the Texans could be hosting the AFC Championship game if all the higher-seed teams lose en route, this weekend’s game is most likely the last chance the NRG Stadium tech team will have as a dress rehearsal for the Super Bowl. Since the Super Bowl is historically the biggest single-day data-usage event — and has gotten bigger every year — all technical eyes will be on the NRG Stadium network, which only started becoming a reality after the stadium hosted last year’s men’s NCAA basketball Final Four. With a base seating capacity of 72,220, NRG’s Super Bowl crowd should roughly be the same as last year’s at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Fast deployment schedule met

“It was a challenge [to deploy so quickly] and we are still working out the tuning,” said Michelle McKenna-Doyle, the NFL’s chief information officer, in an email interview. “We were fortunate to have the regular season to work on it, but hope to have it Super Bowl ready within next couple weeks. 5 Bars, Extreme Networks, The Texans, Harris County and the host committee all worked hard to make it a reality for our fans.”

At one point in recent history, it seemed like NRG might never get a fan-facing Wi-Fi network since the county-owned facility couldn’t find the budget necessary to bring wireless connectivity to the venue. But with the Super Bowl approaching, a consensus finally pushed through, with 5 Bars winning a deployment bid that still needed a change in equipment from Ruckus (the original supplier in the 5 Bars bid) to Extreme. While no official breakdown of funding shares has been supplied, the reported $6 million-plus cost of the Wi-Fi deployment was likely shared in some fashion by the Texans, the NFL, Verizon Wireless and Extreme.

Ready for the playoffs and Super Bowl! Credit: 5 Bars

According to Moore, Verizon chipped in to secure guaranteed offload for its cellular customers, as well as its own SSID that will automatically sign on Verizon customers in the facility, a tactic used by Verizon in several other NFL stadiums. Non-Verizon customer fans can use a free xfinitywifi SSID, as Comcast is the backbone supplier for the Wi-Fi network services.

According to Moore there are 1,250 Extreme Wi-Fi APs in the venue now, with 550 of those deployed under seats in the main bowl. While Moore said the under-seat location allows for much denser deployment and better network tuning, the method also caused the most headaches during deployment, beyond the usual cost and struggle of drilling through concrete floors.

First of all, the installers had to bring all the necessary power and cabling infrastructure in, since there was nothing underneath the concrete seat floors, Moore said. In fact, because there are offices underneath some of the seating areas, contractors had to negotiate a “drip pan” that kept moisture from seating power-washing away from the office roofing.

Another “big hiccup” emerged when the original equipment used for the under-seat locations didn’t lock out all the moisture, leading to a full replacement of all the 550 under-seat APs. Moore said the under-seat locations now use Extreme’s highest-grade outdoor-rated AP, the 3965i.

New DAS installed last year

Since Super Bowls also typically set records for cellular DAS usage, it’s no surprise that Verizon also recently updated the DAS at NRG Stadium, reportedly putting $12 million into a new system installed before the 2015 season. According to Moore, the DAS and the Wi-Fi also cover parking areas outside the venue, including a plaza where the Texans typically see 6,000 or more fans gathering before games.

“There’s great coverage” in the parking lots with the new DAS, Moore said. Announcements have not yet been made public, but you can expect that both AT&T and Verizon are busy beefing up the cellular systems in and around the stadium, as typical before any big public event.

With the dust finally settled, Texans fans and the soon-to-arrive Super Bowl fans will have good connectivity for the big day, due in no small part to the efforts of 5 Bars, which Moore complimented repeatedly for the company’s persistence and effort.

According to Moore 5 Bars had brought semi-trailers full of equipment to town ahead of the Final Four, and even used the floor of the old Houston Astrodome to roll out network inventory.

“They were working under the gun, with a limited amount of time to get it done,” said Moore of 5 Bars.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Extreme Networks, Levi's Stadium, NFL, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Extreme Networks, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Let your voice be heard: The MSR ‘Voices of the Industry’ feature open for submissions

December 27, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

Ever have something you wanted to share or an opinion you wanted to voice about the stadium technology marketplace but never thought there’d be a place for it to be seen or heard? That changes now with our introduction of the Mobile Sports Report “Voices of the Industry” feature, which is now open for submissions.

Here’s how it works: If you have an opinion, whether it be of a technical, deployment, business or fan experience nature, simply send it to me via email to kaps at mobilesportsreport.com. If it is interesting and of worth to our community, we’ll print it on the site, ensuring your elevation to smart-person status and making you the envy of your peers.

Seriously, in conversations over the last year I have heard many of you voice interesting opinions and takes on many different topics, and over time I have thought it would be great to surface those conversations here on MSR, instead of having such missives lost in the general noise of social media platforms. So even if you just have an idea, maybe something not fully formed, shoot me an email or give me a call to see if I can help get your idea wider dissemination.

To be very clear: This is NOT intended to be an outlet for paid or corporate “contributions,” which several folks have asked about submitting. As we’ve stated many times in the past, MSR does NOT accept paid posts or commercial content contributions, and you do NOT need to be affiliated with an MSR sponsor to contribute.

Our content is 100 percent editorial in nature. And it will remain that way.

That being said, if a representative or smart person who works for an equipment manufacturer or software provider wants to talk about interesting new technology or deployment schemes, go ahead and send us your thoughts. Since the feature will be free and open to all comers, MSR retains the right to edit, approve or disapprove any submissions. We’ll operate mainly under the “Jim Rome” rule, which basically says, “Have a take and don’t suck.” One more rule is that all submissions must have a name and title for attribution — no anonymous contributions allowed.

So — have some thoughts on the best way to test AP deployments? On why DAS is enough for stadium coverage? About whether under-seat or overhead is the best way to get things done? Let us know and let the discussions begin.

Filed Under: About MSR, DAS, Wi-Fi Tagged With: DAS, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Wi-Fi

AT&T beefs up DAS at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium ahead of College Football Playoff championship

December 19, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. DAS antennas visible on light standards. Photos credit: AT&T

With the college football playoff championship game coming to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 9, 2017, it’s no surprise that wireless carriers like AT&T have been beefing up coverage in and around the venue ahead of what is historically one of the biggest wireless-use events in sports.

According to our unofficial list, the last two college football playoff games rank fifth and sixth overall in the list of “most Wi-Fi used for a single-day event,” trailing only the last two Super Bowls, WrestleMania 32 and a Texas A&M home game against Alabama. (Note to stadium IT types: If you have a recent event that should be on our list, let us know!) DAS stats from the CFP championship games were also among the top usage totals for single-day events, with such numbers still growing year to year.

DAS antenna visible on red stanchion

For this year’s game at the home of the NFL’s Buccaneers, AT&T said it had increased coverage via the stadium’s DAS by 400 percent, now up to a total of 452 antennas inside the venue. In and around town, AT&T said it had invested more than $9 million in new improvements, including 20 new or enhanced cell sites, ahead of the playoff championship weekend. In addition, AT&T will be deploying 2 cell on wheels or COWs during the event.

MSR TOP 3 TOTAL USAGE

1. Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016: Wi-Fi: 10.1 TB; DAS: 15.9 TB; Total: 26 TB
2. Super Bowl XLIX, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015: Wi-Fi: 6.23 TB; DAS: 6.56 TB**; Total: 12.79 TB**
3. WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, April 3, 2016: Wi-Fi: 6.77 TB; DAS: 1.9 TB*; Total: 8.6 TB*

* = AT&T DAS stats only
** = AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint DAS stats only

MSR TOP 5 FOR WI-FI

1. Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016: Wi-Fi: 10.1 TB
2. WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, April 3, 2016: Wi-Fi: 6.77 TB
3. Super Bowl XLIX, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015: Wi-Fi: 6.23 TB
4. Alabama vs. Texas A&M, Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, Oct. 17, 2015: Wi-Fi: 5.7 TB
5. College Football Playoff championship game, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Jan. 12, 2015: Wi-Fi: 4.93 TB

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, BCS, DAS, Levi's Stadium, NCAA Football, NFL, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Will stadiums soon be able to rent their Wi-Fi networks from equipment vendors?

December 6, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

Nationwide Arena. Credit: Columbus Blue Jackets

If it costs too much to buy a Wi-Fi network for your stadium, why not rent one instead?

A fairly common option in the world of enterprise networking, the ability to rent, or lease a fully operational Wi-Fi network may soon be coming to the world of sports stadiums and other large public venues, if it isn’t here already. Three of the largest Wi-Fi gear suppliers, Cisco, Aruba and Ruckus, already have public offers of network leasing arrangements, where venue owners could pay some kind of monthly or recurring fee for network setup and operation, instead of buying equipment outright. And Cisco, another leader in the marketplace, is rumored to be offering full-control lease-type arrangements for stadium Wi-Fi networks, possibly beginning with the new Wi-Fi network being built at the SAP Center in San Jose.

Though no large sports stadium has yet publicly announced a deal to lease, or in networking lingo, to buy a “Network as a service,” or NaaS, the idea is potentially attractive to stadium owners and operators, many of whom have struggled with the return-on-investment question ever since the idea of putting wireless networks in stadiums has emerged. While cellular carriers have so far borne the lion’s share of the costs of deploying enhanced cellular systems like DAS (distributed antenna system) in stadiums, the question of “who will pay for the Wi-Fi” is still a big one for many venues, especially those that are only filled several times a year.

The benefits of moving to opex vs. capex

Bart Giordano, vice president of business development for the Ruckus business unit at Brocade, said the idea of leasing a stadium network could be attractive especially to venue owners who don’t have the upfront capital necessary to pay for Wi-Fi, a cost that could run into the tens of millions of dollars.

Under new parent Brocade, Ruckus Wi-Fi gear can be obtained via something called the Brocade Network Subscription, a NaaS program that Giordano said “converts it all to opex — you subscribe to the network and pay a monthly service fee.” Under the subscription program, Giordano said Brocade/Ruckus will actually own the equipment, allowing the venue owner the flexibility of being able to return it or upgrade it as needed.

With many stadiums that deployed Wi-Fi several years ago already going through significant upgrades, the idea of a leased network that could be more easily refreshed with new technology might soon gain favor. Though no Ruckus stadium subscribers have yet been announced, Giordano said “some are coming.”

Aruba, now a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, has a similar subscription model plan for enterprise wireless deployments, one which company representatives said could be used by stadiums as well. Both companies said such deals could possibly come via consulting partnerships, where the consultant firm manages the relationship and deployment/operation details.

Cisco also has a leasing option available for wireless networks, but so far has not made any public announcements of such deals in the sports stadium marketplace. However, there are reports of Cisco taking a more active role in the ownership, deployment and operation of stadium networks, like the Cisco-powered Wi-Fi currently being installed at the SAP Center in San Jose, home of the NHL’s Sharks. So far, neither Cisco nor the Sharks will comment on any business specifics of the new Wi-Fi network other than its use of Cisco gear.

Can leasing work for stadiums?

While the leasing idea for stadiums isn’t new, the business model has met some challenges along the way of the short history of wireless networks in large venues. So far, third-party integrators like Mobilitie, ExteNet Systems and Boingo have crafted lease-like deals in which the venue does not pay the full cost of the network but instead allows the operators to run networks (typically both DAS and Wi-Fi), earning money by leasing space on those networks to wireless carriers or by selling advertising or sponsorships.

Another leasing model, one that crashed and burned, was the one employed by SignalShare, a company now in bankruptcy proceedings with legal claims of fraudulent business practices against it. SignalShare, which also offered venues networks for a monthly cost, may have been hampered by a lack of financial resources, something that shouldn’t be an issue for companies the size of Cisco, HP and Brocade, who will mainly be offering leases on equipment they manufacture themselves. The larger equipment vendors may also not be under as much pressure as SignalShare was to earn revenues on the network operations, which may make them better able to succeed in the NaaS space.

And while the idea sounds good in theory, there are still unanswered questions about how the leases would work, and whether they will make good business sense for both sides. Unlike enterprise operations in traditional offices, stadium networks are far more complex to install and operate, especially those being retrofitted in stadiums built decades ago. Stadium networks also have a much different operational profile, with traffic coming in large spikes rather than daily workday routines.

But stadium networks can also act as public advertisements of sorts, gaining more attention for vendors in PR than perhaps in direct profits. As the market matures and vendors seek out potential customers who have shied away from Wi-Fi in the past due to upfront costs, leasing may be a way forward for both sides — as long as both can find a benefit to the deal.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Cisco, DAS, San Jose Sharks, SAP, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, Aruba, AT&T, Brocade, Cisco, DAS, HPE, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Ruckus, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

T-Mobile Arena lights up on Vegas Strip

November 28, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

Inside the main doors to T-Mobile Arena.

Though we haven’t yet been to a live event at T-Mobile Arena, a summertime visit to the new venue revealed a sparkling 20,000-seat arena with a well-planned Wi-Fi network that seems ready to handle the expected crowds that will soon repeatedly fill the venue.

Thanks to a personal technology tour hosted by Cox Business, the entity behind the Wi-Fi network at T-Mobile Arena, we saw many of the 520-plus Cisco Wi-Fi APs, including many that were housed in custom enclosures that the Cox team designed specifically for T-Mobile Arena. Both aesthetics and functionality came into play for the innovative enclosure designs, some of which can be tilted for more exact event-by-event tuning. The arena, a $375 million joint project between AEG and MGM Resorts, opened on April 6, 2016.

Getting ready for the Golden Knights

Editor’s note: This profile is part of our latest STADIUM TECHNOLOGY REPORT, which includes more stadium profiles as well as looks at Wi-Fi at the Mall of America, and analytics software being used by the Cleveland Browns. DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY of the report today!

With two 10-gbps pipes providing backhaul, the arena’s network should be able to easily handle the traffic generated by its upcoming list of events, which will be heavy on concerts until the NHL expansion franchise (recently announced as the Vegas Golden Knights) arrives. There is also a cellular DAS inside the venue, built with equipment from JMA Wireless.

Wi-Fi AP enclosures can be tilted to optimize coverage.

Construction details that we saw that you may not have heard about include the fact that a large percentage of the bowl seats are on moveable tracks, allowing for maximum flexibility in configuration. To compensate for the lack of fixed infrastructure the Cox team used the hanging scoreboard as a prime placement area for Wi-Fi APs, helping solve the traditional bottom-of-the-bowl coverage issues.

Another place where T-Mobile Arena has turned stadium design on its head is with its two “sky lounges” and another exclusive-seating club area at the very top of the building, changing the old “nosebleed seats” section into ultra-lounge type areas that should prove popular for both sporting and entertainment events. The sky lounges in particular are striking, twin triangular decks that jut out over the lower-bowl seats.

From a technology perspective there is also a section of premium seats with tabletop-mounted small TV screens, as well as extra wireless coverage for the press box section. MSR is looking forward to attending a live event at T-Mobile Arena soon, to fully test the impressive looking network installed there. Enjoy the following photo essay: Credit all photos, Paul Kapustka, MSR.