Converged fiber network the hidden gem at Dickies Arena

November 7, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Dickies Arena, now open in Fort Worth, Texas, has a single converged fiber backbone to bring order and efficiency to its networking needs. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

With its soaring roof and its high-end cosmetic finishes, Fort Worth’s new Dickies Arena will be a wonder to look at for fans of all events that will take place there.

But what may be even more impressive, certainly from an IT perspective, is something you can’t see: The single, converged fiber network that supports all network operations, including the cellular DAS, the arena Wi-Fi and the IPTV operations, in an orderly, future-proofed way.

Built by AmpThink for the arena, the network is a departure from what has long been the norm in venue IT deployments, where multiple service providers typically build their own networks, with multiple cabling systems competing for conduit space. At Dickies Arena, AmpThink was able to control the fiber systems to follow a single, specific path, allowing the company to save costs and space for the client while building out a system with enough extra capacity to handle future needs for bandwidth, according to AmpThink.

“This is really our master class [on stadium network design],” said AmpThink president Bill Anderson, during a September MSR visit and tour of the almost-ready arena. If you’re not familiar with the Dickies Arena story, the 14,000-seat arena is part of a public-private venture between the city of Fort Worth and a consortium of investors and donors led by local Fort Worth philanthropist Ed Bass. Though it doesn’t have a professional basketball or hockey tenant, the NBA-sized venue will fill an arena-sized need for events in the growing Fort Worth area, while also serving as the new home for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

Following the lead of AT&T Stadium, where high-end finishes were a hallmark of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ influence, Dickies Arena appears to take cosmetic matters a full step further, with intricate tile flooring and art-quality finishes on areas like stairway handrails and bar facades. During an early September walkaround, as workers completed finishing touches like polishing concrete floors to make the surfaces shine, a technician demonstrated how a bitcoin wallet app integrated into the venue’s payment systems ensures seamless and secure transactions for digital-savvy patrons. MSR also got to see the results of owners’ requests of “not having a single cellular or Wi-Fi antenna visible,” according to AmpThink’s Anderson.

No fiber allowed outside of the single path

Editor’s note: This report is from our latest STADIUM TECH REPORT, an in-depth look at successful deployments of stadium technology. Included with this report is a profile of the new Wi-Fi 6 network at Ohio Stadium, and an in-person research report on the new Wi-Fi network at Las Vegas Ballpark. You can either VIEW THE REPORT LIVE (no registration needed) or DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY now!

In the suite and concourse areas, for example, Wi-Fi APs and DAS antennas are hidden behind ceiling panels, with no electronics in sight. But what’s even more impressive from an engineering and construction standpoint is what’s happening further down the network path from the endpoints, where all cable and fiber follows a structured pathway, first to an IDF and then back to the head end rooms in the arena’s basement.

Fiber cables head to the head end room in orderly fashion.

“No fiber is allowed to follow a path that doesn’t tie to an IDF, or directly to the head end,” said Anderson. “And we didn’t allow DAS vendors to be outside the closet. It’s the venue’s fiber network. Nobody else could come in and build their own.”

Looking from the end of the project back, it’s clear why you might want to pursue such a path: With a single, converged network, design and planning and eventually operations are streamlined, since there aren’t multiple infrastructures to deploy and maintain. The conditions also allowed AmpThink to fully pre-design and perform many construction techniques like splicing and cable measurement and cutting beforehand – according to Anderson, there was not a single fiber termination done in the field.

“For venues it used to be, use the ‘brute force’ method and just go figure it out in the field,” Anderson said.

At Dickies Arena, that method simply wasn’t the case. In addition to fiber cabling and splicing work, AmpThink also built many custom enclosures (the company has a large machine shop at its Dallas-area headquarters where it can design and manufacture parts like metal wiring boxes and the plastic enclosures it uses for stadium Wi-Fi and DAS deployments) to simplify installation while complying with the strict aesthetic requirements.

“AmpThink helped us think proactively so we are prepared to build on this solid foundation for the future,” said Matt Homan, president and general manager of Trail Drive Management Corp (TDMC), the not-for-profit operating entity for Dickies Arena. “This has allowed us to have a much more cost-effective approach, which is important for us as a 501c3 organization operating Dickies Arena. The AmpThink team has done a phenomenal job of assisting with the architectural integrity of the building to ensure that no Wi-Fi or DAS antennas were seen.”

High-end finishes are everywhere in Dickies Arena, even in the stairwells.

Jeff Alexander, senior vice president at ExteNet Systems, said Dickies Arena was the first time ExteNet ever participated in a converged network design for a large public venue. But Alexander also said ExteNet, which is responsible for the DAS design and 5G cellular installations at Dickies Arena, had years of experience in situations where service providers had to work together.

“Most [other] DAS deployments give no consideration for Wi-Fi, or anything else,” said Alexander in a phone interview. “Given ExteNet’s experience and our track record, these are things we were forced to think about 10 years ago.”

According to Alexander, the directive to work with a single converged fiber network wasn’t “harder” than a regular installation.

“It was unique,” Alexander said of the Dickies Arena installation experience. “It made us think of things we hadn’t thought about, and challenged us to consider other things than the typical DAS installation, which isn’t a bad thing. I consider it a success.”

At Dickies Arena, the DAS uses the Corning ONE DAS hardware system with approximately 500 active antennas in 12 zones for the DAS.

As future-proofed as possible

As part of the overall fiber network design, AmpThink’s Anderson said the company maximized capacity throughout the building, with hundreds of extra fiber strands available to support future capacity needs. By using optical fiber with hundreds of strands wound together – including some stretches with 864 different fiber strands inside a single cable – AmpThink actually saved time, money and space by preventing the need for additional infrastructure or future cable pulls.

The center-hung video board in testing mode

“The bulk of the cost [of fiber deployments] is the labor to pull the fiber,” Anderson said. By using large-bundle fiber, Anderson said AmpThink was able to drive the cost per strand to “a very low number,” while also clearing conduit space since a large-bundle fiber strand saves a huge amount of space when compared to multiple smaller-bundle strands which must each have their own insulation.

While ExteNet’s Alexander contends that no network design can ever be truly “future-proofed” – if you ask him he will tell you a story about a large sports venue where ExteNet is currently replacing 864-strand fiber put in 5 years ago with 1,728-strand fiber – he does agree that putting in as much fiber as the design and cost allows buys a venue time to support the always-growing demand for bandwidth.

“The industry is full of venues that didn’t do that, and 12 months later they’re expanding their fiber plant,” Alexander said. AmpThink’s Anderson noted that even during the arena’s construction, there were demands for additional fiber – such as for a densification in the LED ribbon boards – that were easily addressed.

“People came back to us, and said they needed more fiber, and we had it to give to them, no problem,” Anderson said. “It didn’t cost us a lot to do it [add in more fiber strands]. It’s a model everyone should look at.”

Want to read more in-depth reports from our latest issue? VIEW THE REPORT LIVE (no registration needed).

The rodeo will be the main event at Dickies Arena every year

The soaring, open rooftop is meant to mimic the wide open skies of Texas

The AmpThink-designed and manufactured cabling cabinets helped complete the ‘master class’ installation

Filed Under: AmpThink, Corning, DAS, Digital displays, Wi-Fi Tagged With: AmpThink, converged fiber, Corning, Corning ONE, DAS, Dickies Arena, ExteNet, Fort Worth, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

Cisco inks deal for Wi-Fi 6 network, Cisco Vision system at SoFi Stadium

October 31, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Aerial view of ongoing construction at SoFi Stadium, future home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. Credit: LA Rams/Mark Holtzman, West Coast Aerial Photography, Inc.

Cisco announced today that it will supply gear for a Wi-Fi 6 network at SoFi Stadium, the future home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, along with a deployment of its Cisco Vision IPTV display management system.

In an announcement that identifies Cisco as the “official IT network services partner of SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park,” the networking company said it is slated to install “more than 2,500 Wi-Fi 6 access points” inside the still under-construction stadium, which is scheduled to open ahead of the 2020 NFL season. During a technology briefing at the site, an expert referenced platforms featuring casinos on this page as examples of how digital infrastructure plays a critical role in user experience, especially in entertainment hubs. Hollywood Park, which is being built by Los Angeles Rams owner and chairman Stan Kroenke, is billed as a “298-acre global sports and entertainment destination,” being built on the site of the old Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, to the south and west of downtown L.A. (and on the flight path in to LAX airport).

While Cisco claims that the all-Wi-Fi 6 network will eventually deliver “four times greater capacity than the previous Wi-Fi standard,” it’s worthwhile to note that the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 won’t be realized until the phones in fans’ hands support the new system as well (most phones a year old or older do not have Wi-Fi 6 support). The good news is, many of the newer phones on the market, including the new Apple iPhone 11 line, do support Wi-Fi 6, so fans with newer phones should be able to see the better performance supported by Wi-Fi 6.

If the stadium itself does eventually use 2,500 or more APs it would be among the top if not at the top of the list of venues with the most APs. (We’d like to get a current count from AT&T Stadium before making any definitive calls on this issue.) According to the release, SoFi Stadium will seat approximately 70,000 fans, with capacity expandable up to around 100,000. In addition to Rams and Chargers home games, the stadium is already slated to host Super Bowl LVI in 2022, followed by the College Football National Championship Game in 2023, and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

On the Cisco Vision side, Cisco said the system will be the first all-4K version of Cisco Vision, and it will support “approximately 2,500 screens throughout SoFi Stadium’s concourses, suites, concessions, as well as across Hollywood Park.” The Cisco Vision IPTV display management system allows for centralized control of graphics and video content across all the connected screens.

Filed Under: AmpThink, Cisco, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Cisco, Cisco Vision, Hollywood Park, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, SoFi Stadium, Stadium Wi-Fi, Stan Kroenke, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6

CBRS demos, 5G talk highlight venue news at Mobile World Congress

October 28, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

A legendary telecom building in downtown Los Angeles, the city that was the home of last week’s Mobile World Congress Americas show. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

Some live demonstrations of wireless devices using spectrum in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) topped the venue-specific news at last week’s Mobile World Congress Americas trade show in Los Angeles.

At Angel Stadium in nearby Anaheim, a group of companies led by Connectivity Wireless and JMA teamed up to do some live demonstrations of use cases for the CBRS spectrum, a swath of 150 MHz in the 3.5 GHz range that uses the cellular LTE standard for device communications. One demo we heard about reportedly used a Motorola push-to-talk (PTT) handset to carry on a conversation from a suite behind home plate to centerfield, a “home run” distance of at least 400 feet.

Mobile Sports Report, which doesn’t often attend trade shows, found lots for venue technology professionals to be interested in at the show, including the live demonstrations of CBRS-connected devices in the JMA booth that included handsets, headsets and standalone digital displays using CBRS for back-end connectivity. MSR also sat down with Heidi Hemmer, Verizon’s vice president of technology, to talk about 5G for stadiums and why the push for the new cellular standard doesn’t mean the end of Wi-Fi. Read on for highlights of our visit to LA, which also included an interview with Boingo’s new CEO Mike Finley and with Paul Challoner, a CBRS expert at Ericsson.

Look at me, I can hear… centerfield

MSR wasn’t able to make it to the press event held at Angel Stadium, but we heard from multiple sources that the trial CBRS network installed there for a short stint in October by Connectivity Wireless and JMA performed as advertised, especially with the aforementioned full-field PTT talk between two devices, with one of those more than 400 feet away from the CBRS radio.

Thanks to @ConnectivityWS and @JMAwireless for an awesome event at Angel Stadium last night! Exciting things happening with #CBRS. pic.twitter.com/SoVab7fudU

— Inside Towers (@InsideTowers) October 22, 2019

The worth of the ability for a device to communicate to a access-point radio at such a distance should be clearly apparent to venue wireless professionals, who may want to tap into CBRS networks to increase connectivity inside their venues. With more powerful radios than Wi-Fi and connectivity that utilizes the mobility and security of the LTE standard, teams and venues may look to CBRS for back-of-house communications that would benefit from being separated from the shared Wi-Fi infrastructures. While we are still waiting for the first publicly announced contract win for CBRS in venues — even the Angels are still weighing the decision to go forward with a CBRS deal — being able to show networks working live is a big step forward in the “is it real” phase.

Connecting digital displays, and more PTT

If there was a true “hot spot” for CBRS activity on the MWC show floor, it was at the JMA booth, where the wireless infrastructure company was running a live CBRS network with all kinds of devices running off it. JMA, which was showing its own CBRS radio cell (a kind of access point-on-steroids radio that will provide connectivity to client devices in a CBRS network) as well as a version of its XRAN virtual network core software, had a working prototype of one of the first commercially announced CBRS networks, a wireless deployment of digital displays for the parking lots at the American Dream shopping mall in New Jersey.

A prototype of the CBRS-connected displays JMA is installing at the American Dream mall. (Don’t miss the Jimmy Hoffa joke at the bottom)

According to JMA director of markets and solutions Kurt Jacobs, the 600-acre parking lot at the huge new mall near the Meadowlands (it will have an amusement park and an indoor skiing slope, among other attractions and stores) was a perfect place to harness the ability of CBRS networks. The displays, large LED signs that can change dynamically to assist with parking instructions and directions, needed wireless connectivity to provide the back-end information.

But after considering a traditional deployment with fiber backhaul and Wi-Fi — which Jacobs said would have cost the mall at least $3 million to deploy with construction taking 6 months or more — the mall turned to JMA and a CBRS network deployment, which Jacobs said will use nine radios and 13 antennas to cover the signs, which will be spread out at key traffic junctions. Total cost? About a half-million dollars. Total deployment time? About eight weeks, according to Jacobs. Jacobs said the system will also eventually be able to support mobile CBRS radios inside security vehicles for real time updates from the lots.

Verizon to cover all NFL stadiums with 5G… and lots of Wi-Fi

Heidi Hemmer, Verizon

MSR was fortunate enough to get on the appointment schedule of Heidi Hemmer, Verizon’s vice president of technology. A few days after Verizon had publicly announced a spate of 5G deployments in NBA arenas, Hemmer doubled down on the carrier’s 5G commitment to NFL stadiums, saying the current list of 13 stadiums with some kind of Verizon 5G coverage would soon expand to the entire league.

While hype is heavy around 5G — if you’re a football fan you’ve no doubt seen the Verizon TV commercial where Verizon’s technology development director Eric Nagy walks around various stadiums touting the service — Hemmer was clear that 5G is just part of a full-spectrum stadium wireless solution, one that will likely include 4G LTE as well as Wi-Fi well into the future.

While Verizon is clearly proud of its cutting-edge 5G deployments, the company is also probably the biggest provider of Wi-Fi networks in large stadiums, with many NFL and even some large colleges having Verizon-specific SSIDs for Verizon customers, usually as part of a sponsorship deal from Verizon. Verizon is also a big bankroller of distributed antenna system (DAS) deployments inside stadiums, sometimes acting as the neutral host and other times participating as a tenant on the in-venue cellular networks.

A fuzzy shot of a 5G antenna in the wild at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver

According to Hemmer, having as much connectivity as possible allows Verizon to provide the best possible experience for its customers. The eventual end goal, she said, would be a world where fans’ phones “dynamically” connect to whatever network is best suited for their needs, from Wi-Fi to 4G to 5G. Currently, many of the Verizon Wi-Fi deployments will automatically connect Verizon customers to Wi-Fi in a venue where they have previously logged on to the network.

And while the millimeter-wave 5G deployments inside stadiums right now don’t come close to covering the full space of any venue (at the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High, for instance, there are only 16 5G antennas in the building), they do provide a different level of connectivity, with much faster download speeds and less latency. Hemmer said those characteristics could spawn an entirely new class of services for fans like better instant-replay video or advanced statistics. While MSR hasn’t personally tested any 5G networks, the early word is that in some situations download speeds can be in the gigabit-per-second range.

“Speeds are important to our customers and 5G can really push up the fan experience,” Hemmer said.

New Boingo CEO bullish on venues business

Mobile World Congress was also MSR’s first chance to meet Mike Finley, who became Boingo’s CEO back in February. A former Qualcomm executive, Finley said that Boingo’s history of being a neutral-host provider for venues should continue to drive more business in that realm, especially as newer complex possibilities like CBRS and Wi-Fi 6 networks emerge.

“We are satisfying a need” that venues have for connectivity expertise, Finley said, especially when it comes to relationships with wireless carriers.

At MWC, Boingo was part of the CBRS Alliance’s multi-partner booth space promoting the OnGo brand for CBRS gear and services. In its space Boingo was showing its new converged virtualized core offering (which was using JMA’s XRAN product) with a live combined CBRS and Wi-Fi 6 network running side by side. A booth representative with an iPhone 11 device was able to quickly switch between the two networks, offering a glimpse at the potential future networking choices venues may be able to offer.

Ericsson Dots target stadiums, CBRS

In its large MWC booth, connectivity gear provider Ericsson had a special display for venue equipment, including a weather-hardened version of its Radio Dot System that Ericsson booth reps said should be appearing soon in some U.S. sporting venues. Ericsson was also showing some Dots that it said would support CBRS, a service Ericsson sees great promise for in venues.

Paul Challoner, Ericsson’s vice president for network product solutions, said it will be interesting to see whether or not venues will need to pursue licenses for CBRS spectrum when those are auctioned off next year, or whether venues will choose to use the unlicensed parts of the CBRS spectrum. Like others at the show, Challoner was excited about Apple’s decision to include support for CBRS bands in the iPhone 11 line — “it’s a fantastic boost for the CBRS ecosystem,” he said.

More MWC photos below!

Some of the Ericsson Dot radios designed for inside venue use

A prototype digital display kiosk from JMA, Intel and LG MRI, with space up top for CBRS gear

Another wireless-enabled display kiosk, this one in the Ericsson booth. Looks like wireless and digital displays are the next hot product.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, 5G, Apple, Baseball, CBRS, DAS, Denver Broncos, Denver Broncos, Ericsson, Intel, iPhone, Major League Baseball, NBA, NFL, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, 5G, Angel Stadium, Apple, Boingo, CBRS, Connectivity Wireless, DAS, Ericsson, Heidi Hemmer, JMA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Angels, Mike Finley, MLB, Mobile Sports Report, Mobile World Congress, NFL, Paul Challoner, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Los Angeles Angels testing CBRS network from Connectivity Wireless, JMA

October 21, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

The iconic sign outside the “Big A,” aka Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Credit Terry Sweeney, MSR

There’s no baseball being played there now, but wireless traffic in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum is currently flying around Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., part of a test being conducted by Connectivity Wireless and JMA for the Los Angeles Angels.

The trial network, which started operating on Oct. 14 and will run live through Oct. 25, is a proof-of-concept sort of demonstration by system integrator Connectivity Wireless and wireless gear supplier JMA, who have both targeted sports stadiums as one potential market for CBRS goods and services. CBRS is the acronym shorthand for a 150 MHz-wide swath of wireless spectrum at the 3.5 GHz range that can support communications using the LTE standard. With recent approval from the FCC for initial commercial deployments in CBRS, the Angels trial joins several other projects announced in mid-September.

As outlined in the diagram below provided to MSR by Connectivity Wireless, the CBRS trial will test several different use cases for the new bandwidth, including support for ticketing and concessions operations, connecting remote security cameras, powering digital displays, supporting push-to-talk voice communications, and also for general-purpose connectivity, in this case for back-of-house operations. During a discussion with industry experts about the trial’s implications, one analyst highlighted how platforms like the best crypto casinos are similarly leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance user experience and streamline complex processes, from secure transactions to live gaming connectivity. As of yet, the Angels have not committed to buying a working CBRS network, but Connectivity Wireless has a history with the ballpark, as the company previously known as 5 Bars, later acquired by Connectivity Wireless, set up the Wi-Fi and DAS networks inside the venue.

The promise of CBRS airwaves is that they bring new, unshared chunks of spectrum into play — according to JMA and Connectivity Wireless, the JMA gear being used in the trial will allow for a number of dedicated 10 MHz lanes of traffic, each capable of 75 Mbps speeds. By supporting the cellular LTE standard for connectivity, CBRS also allows for fairly easy connectivity to a wide range of existing devices. Though some CBRS-specific dongles will be used to connect existing gear in the trial, a number of new devices — inlcuding Apple’s new iPhone 11 line — have added support for CBRS with new radios, a sign that CBRS already has significant backing even before any public commercial networks have been launched.

Though some parts of the CBRS equation still need to be completed, the clearance for initial commercial deployments and the fact that large real estate owners like sports venues can basically use the unlicensed parts of CBRS without paying licensing fees makes the spectrum attractive as a complement to existing Wi-Fi and cellular deployments. Though many sports venues, teams and leagues have shown interest in CBRS, the trial at Angels Stadium is the first public confirmation of any such tire-kicking.

The CBRS solution uses JMA’s XRAN software baseband and cell hub radio system, and according to Connectivity Wireless, other device partners were tapped to flesh out the CBRS trial, including Federated Wireless acting as Spectrum Access System (SAS) controller, along with Athonet’s Cloud Enhanced Packet Core (EPC) and Edge Node.

MSR will track the trial and see if we can get any results or reactions, so stay tuned! The CBRS season is just beginning.

(Click on the diagram for a larger image. Diagram courtesy of Connectivity Wireless)

Filed Under: 4G LTE, 5G, CBRS, DAS, Major League Baseball, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, Angel Stadium, Athonet, CBRS, Connectivity Wireless, Federated Wireless, JMA, Los Angeles Angels, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

Florida sees 11.82 TB of Wi-Fi for Auburn game

October 8, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium saw 11.82 TB of Wi-Fi data used Saturday at Florida’s home game against Auburn. Credit all photos: Floridagators.com and University of Florida

The new Wi-Fi network at the University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium saw 11.82 terabytes of data used during Saturday’s home game against Auburn, a new high-water mark for the Extreme Networks-powered network in “The Swamp.”

According to figures provided by Extreme and the University of Florida, the network saw more than 51,000 unique connections during the game day, out of 90,584 in attendance, approximately a 56 percent “take rate.” A story on the Floridagators.com website said the data totals from Saturday’s game (a 24-13 win by Florida over previously undefeated and No. 7-ranked Auburn) “swamped” the previous high Wi-Fi mark of 6.94 TB at a home game against Tennessee two weeks ago. The total put Florida into the top 10 on the unofficial MSR “Top 27” list for single-day Wi-Fi marks, squeezing past Super Bowl 51 to claim the No. 10 position.

Figures provided by Extreme said 1.3 TB of traffic was seen before kickoff, and there was a high throughput mark of 9.4 Gbps. The average bandwidth consumed per connected user for the day was approximately 232 Megabytes, and according to the Floridagators.com story the top three applications used were, in order of usage, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.

MSR is planning to visit “The Swamp” later this season for an in-person look at the new Wi-Fi network, work on which was started in 2018. During a recent tech workshop, a panelist compared innovations like under-seat deployment methods to the user-centric approach of de beste casino’s zonder Cruks, where seamless access and convenience are prioritized to enhance the overall experience. According to the Floridagators.com story, the network has approximately 1,100 access points, with many of those in the seating bowl using an under-seat deployment method.

THE MSR TOP 27 FOR WI-FI

1. Michigan State vs. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 5, 2019: Wi-Fi: 25.6 TB
2. Super Bowl 53, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 3, 2019: Wi-Fi: 24.05 TB
3. NCAA Men’s 2019 Final Four semifinals, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn., April 6, 2019: Wi-Fi: 17.8 TB
4. Super Bowl 52, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 4, 2018: Wi-Fi: 16.31 TB
5. Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 21, 2019: Wi-Fi: 13.7 TB
6. NCAA Men’s 2019 Final Four championship, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn., April 8, 2019: Wi-Fi: 13.4 TB
7. Florida Atlantic vs. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 31, 2019: Wi-Fi: 13.3 TB
8. Cincinnati vs. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2019: Wi-Fi: 12.7 TB
9. 2018 College Football Playoff Championship, Alabama vs. Georgia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 8, 2018: Wi-Fi: 12.0 TB*
10. Auburn vs. Florida, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla., Oct. 5, 2019: Wi-Fi: 11.82 TB
11. Super Bowl 51, NRG Stadium, Houston, Feb. 5, 2017: Wi-Fi: 11.8 TB
12. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Sept. 8, 2019: Wi-Fi: 11.58 TB
13. Atlanta Falcons vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 6, 2018: Wi-Fi: 10.86 TB
14. Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016: Wi-Fi: 10.1 TB
15. Taylor Swift Reputation Tour, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., July 27, 2018: Wi-Fi: 9.76 TB
16. Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles, NFC Championship Game, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 21, 2018: Wi-Fi: 8.76 TB
17. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots, AFC Championship Game, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Jan. 21, 2018: Wi-Fi: 8.53 TB
18. Taylor Swift Reputation Tour, Broncos Stadium at Mile High, May 25, 2018: Wi-Fi: 8.1 TB
19. Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Sept. 7, 2017: Wi-Fi: 8.08 TB
20. SEC Championship Game, Alabama vs. Georgia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 1, 2018: Wi-Fi: 8.06 TB*
21. Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys, Divisional Playoffs, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Jan. 15, 2017: Wi-Fi: 7.25 TB
22. Stanford vs. Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind., Sept. 29, 2018: 7.19 TB
23. (tie) Southern California vs. Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind., Oct. 21, 2017: 7.0 TB
Arkansas State vs. Nebraska, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb., Sept 2, 2017: Wi-Fi: 7.0 TB
24. Tennessee vs. Florida, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla., Sept. 21, 2019: Wi-Fi: 6.94 TB
25. WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, April 3, 2016: Wi-Fi: 6.77 TB
26. Wisconsin vs. Nebraska, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 7, 2017: Wi-Fi: 6.3 TB
27. Super Bowl 49, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015: Wi-Fi: 6.23 TB

Filed Under: Extreme Networks, NCAA Football, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Auburn, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Extreme Networks, Florida Gators, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, The Swamp, University of Florida, Wi-Fi

Ohio State breaks Wi-Fi records with 25.6 TB of data during Michigan State game

October 8, 2019 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Wi-Fi enclosures in the handrails at Ohio Stadium’s upper deck. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

In front of a packed house Saturday night at Ohio Stadium, the Ohio State University not only gained an important Big 10 conference victory, it also broke the all-time record for most Wi-Fi data used during a single-day event, with 25.6 terabytes used by fans on the new stadium Wi-Fi network.

The new Wi-Fi network, installed this past offseason by AmpThink using Wi-Fi gear from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, had already posted the highest Wi-Fi marks for a college football event, with 13.3 TB used at the home opener on Aug. 31 and another 12.7 TB used on Sept. 7. And on Sept. 21 in a blowout of Miami of Ohio, the Ohio Stadium network saw an even higher mark of 13.7 TB used, a mark previously unreported.

It turns out those were all warm-ups to the biggest Wi-Fi day so far, which came during a prime-time TV contest against Big 10 foe Michigan State. With 104,797 fans in attendance for homecoming, the approximately 2,000 Wi-Fi access points were humming from the time the gates opened. According to statistics provided to MSR by Ohio State, the network saw an astonishing 74,940 unique connections during the 34-10 Ohio State victory, many of those on a separate SSID for Verizon Wireless customers. According to Ohio State, the peak concurrent connectivity number of 45,200 users (also a record) was seen five minutes before kickoff.

Ohio State also claims top ‘take rate’

Want the inside story on how Wi-Fi came to the Horseshoe? Read our in-depth, in-person profile of the Ohio State network deployment in the most recent issue of our STADIUM TECH REPORT, available now for free reading — no registration required!

While the numbers from Ohio Stadium Saturday top the most recent Super Bowl figures (24.05 TB seen at Mercedes-Benz Stadium) it’s worthwhile to note that there were only 70,081 fans at Super Bowl 53 compared to the 104,797 at Saturday’s game. But it’s as worthwhile to note the difficulty in design and deployment to connect an extra 30,000 fans, especially in an open-bowl venue like Ohio Stadium where the balance of seating has no overhangs above.

It’s also interesting to compare the “take rates” from the top events, since Ohio State’s topped the Super Bowl’s, with 71.5 percent of fans attending Saturday connecting to the network, compared to the previous high of 69 percent at Super Bowl 53. The most recent Super Bowl, however, still claims the title for most average data used per connected fan, with its 492.3 megabytes per user mark far ahead of Ohio State’s mark of 341.6 megabytes per connected user from Saturday.

Still to come this year for Ohio State are home games against Wisconsin on Oct. 26 and Maryland on Nov. 9, as well as a possible playoff-important matchup with Penn State on Nov. 23. A home game against top rival Michigan, however, will have to wait for 2020.

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THE MSR TOP 27 FOR WI-FI

Fans at the home opener on Aug. 31 next to one of the handrail AP enclosures

Ohio Stadium video boards helped fans find the Wi-Fi network

Cite: https://wallstreetpepe.com/

Filed Under: AmpThink, Aruba, Hewlett-Packard, NCAA Football, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: AmpThink, Aruba, Hewlett-Packard, Michigan State, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Ohio Stadium, Ohio State University, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, The Ohio State University, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

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