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Horned Frogs get AT&T Wi-Fi, DAS for TCU Stadium

October 25, 2013 by

In case you had any doubts that AT&T is serious about this whole wireless-in-stadiums market, we have yet another announcement: AT&T announced availability of a Wi-Fi and DAS network for Texas Christian University’s Amon G. Carter Stadium, located in Fort Worth (“Foat Wuth”). There’s also a mobile app available for Horned Frogs fans, complete with the Bypass Lane powered concessions ordering feature.

For a company that claimed it wasn’t doing Wi-Fi networks in stadiums anymore, AT&T has sure been busy launching them. I guess we can alter the “no Wi-Fi” plan to “we’ll put in Wi-Fi if we get to own the network.” For TCU, AT&T’s implementation looks pretty robust, with 345 Wi-Fi access points and another 140 DAS antennas. At 45,000+ seats, the TCU stadium is what you might call middle-big, but 345 APs and 140 DAS should do pretty well, especially with an AT&T operation behind the scene.

Looks like our friends from Cisco might have a win in purple-land too, since the AT&T press release said the facility also now has a StadiumVision deployment, bringing high-definition information to all the digital displays in the stadium. No mention of Cisco in the release, but that’s pretty standard. We’ll circle back with Cisco folks to see if they can shed more light.

If we were doing a BCS-type ranking for college stadium deployments, you’d have to make AT&T the Alabama equivalent at No. 1, right? Any Verizon networks going in at colleges that we haven’t heard about? Let us know…

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Cisco, DAS, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: SensoGlove wins award, Nike+ grows

October 25, 2013 by

The Nike+ Fuel Lab, the recent expansion of Nike’s effort to get a larger body of developers working on its Nike+ technology has started to invite a select group of tech companies to work with it on the platform.

The 2014 Nike+ Fuel Lab in San Francisco is a 12-week program for which the company said it will select 10 companies to partner with it in developing apps. Among the resources it will provide are access to Nike+ and NikeFuel APIs and SDKs, work space and mentorship a well as $50,000. Send in your application now!

Patent trolls under attack in Congress
Companies that are fighting patent trolls, individuals or corporations that file frivolous patent infringement lawsuits may have a new, potent tool in the defensive arsenal as the U.S. Congress may consider a bill intended to curb such behavior.

Introduced by Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee one aspect of the law would be that winners would receive fees from the loser unless the loser had a ‘substantially justified’ position.

Baseball teams worth more than you thought
Bloomberg News spent nine months working out how valuable each Major League Baseball franchise was by looking at all forms of revenue and came to the determination that the teams have been undervalued by an average of 35%.

The team that came out on tops was the New York Yankees, pegged at $3.2 billion. In the breakdown it shows that the teams’ regional sports network accounts for almost $1 billion of that value, or more than many of the bottom teams totals.

Sensoglove wins Tech award
Sensosolutions digital golf glove, SensoGlove, has won Golf Magazine’s 2013 Techy Award as announced in the publication’s November 2013 issue. The Techy Awards cover 20 different categories that span all aspects of the game of golf.

So it’s not a surprise that the category that the SensoGlove won was Techiest Glove. The glove is filled with sensors that help you adjust your grip by position and power so that your hands are in the correct place and exerting the right amount of pressure.

Web connected video devices to outnumber world population soon
If it seems that everyone next to you at a sporting event is using their camera, tablet or heaven forbid, camera to take still images and video to put onto social media you are not far off. According to a recent study by market research firm HIS, as reported by Home Media Magazine, devices may outnumber humans soon.

The study estimated that by 2017 the total installed base of Internet-connected devices that can play video is expected to reach hit 8.2 billion a 90% increase from the 4.3 billion that is estimated to be connected by this year’s end. The planet’s population in 2017 is estimated at 7.4 billion.

Filed Under: Baseball, Bloomberg Sports, Lawsuit, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Nike Tagged With: , , , ,

AT&T Bosox fans set wireless data records during World Series opener

October 24, 2013 by

It’s a bit of a broken record — another big sporting event, another huge wireless data usage event — but the numbers never fail to amaze me: According to our friends at AT&T, fans at Fenway Park Wednesday night set new records for wireless data usage during the Red Sox victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening game of the 2013 World Series. How much data? Try 248 GB of data, bigger even than the Bosox’s Big Papi.

Mind you, none of these figures represent traffic that might have traversed over the Meru-supplied Wi-Fi network inside Fenway. The following figures are all from AT&T’s Distributed Antenna System (DAS) network, the collection of small cellular antennas that bring better connectivity to crowded public places. And this is only AT&T carried data, which means that the total of all wireless customers in the park is almost certainly a multiple larger. But for your enjoyment here are the AT&T stats, direct from our AT&T sources:

— Data usage on the AT&T in-stadium network during Game 1 was 248 GB (gigabytes) of data
— 248 GB of data is equal to more than 700,000 social media posts with photos
— AT&T fans made more than 17,361 voice calls and sent more than 56,335 SMS text messages Wednesday night on our in-stadium network
— The peak hour for data traffic on the in-stadium network was from 10–11 p.m. EST
— The 248 GB total surpassed the record for data usage for the AT&T in-stadium network at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in 2013, which was 183 GB set on 10/11/13

We’ll see if the Meru folks can provide any Wi-Fi stats before the series ends. Like football, baseball is perfect for data dalliances because of all the downtime between action. Just more proof that this mobile sports thing is more than just a fad.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Baseball, DAS, Major League Baseball, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Nokia delivers tablet as market continues to diversify

October 24, 2013 by

nokia

Nokia has introduced its Lumia 2520 tablet, a $499 offering that will run Microsoft’s Windows RT 8.1 operating system and is destined for the consumer marketplace, a space that is already saturated by the likes of Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung.

The Lumia 2520 futures a 10-inch 192 x 1080 display and is powered by Qualcomm’s 2.2GHz Snapdragon 80 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage with an expansion slot that enables the addition of 32GB more.

The tablet has a 6.7 megapixel rear-facing camera ad a 2 MP front-facing camera and an app that it has included called Storyteller that enables users to plot their photos on a map. The tablet is expected to be available later this quarter.

The company has included other technology brought over from its handset division and with that and its use of a different processor is differentiating its offering from the Microsoft Surface 2 that was also introduced this week.

That is an interesting move by the company since Microsoft is in the process of buying Nokia’s handset business for $7.2B and will get the tablet business as well, if and when the deal closes next year. So now it will have two similar, yet slightly different offerings for the same market segment.

I can understand Nokia wanted a product that helps generate revenue in the time between now and the closing of its sale but it seems that both parties would have benefited if it had focused elsewhere, no matter how nice the Lumia 2520 is.

The move by Nokia comes as tablet prices continue to drop and the number of players continues to grow. One of the surprising moments in Apple’s rollout of its new iPads this week was that one of them was actually more expensive than the last generation.

According to market research firm ABI, as reported in Mobile Marketer, tablet prices have been dropping and will continue to do so. Apple had been falling from its premium priced spot and its recent move was an attempt to move back into that space.

The report went on and discussed how the high end is pretty well saturated by existing manufacturers and that most new products in that space simply enhance existing features rather than add bold new capabilities. However it pointed out that there are several market segments that are currently underserved by developers.

Those spaces include the educational and business markets. The business segment is one of the last strongholds of the PC but that dominance is slowly changing, mostly driven initially by the BYOD (bring your own device) movement.

So with these large and relatively unexploited markets available why did the company make a “me too” offering that will compete with Microsoft and others in the heavily competitive consumer space? It will also be competing with them in the business and education markets but since those spaces appear to have the most room for growth it seems that they present the best opportunity for Nokia to establish itself.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Google, iPad, Microsoft, Nokia, Surface, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Soldier Field gets upgraded DAS from AT&T, Boingo

October 23, 2013 by

We’re not sure exactly how much better the new DAS install is at Soldier Field in Chicago, but we are convinced that it may take some time for the mainstream media to learn the difference between better cellular and Wi-Fi.

(What do we mean? One Chicago TV station and the Chicago Tribune think that a new DAS means faster Wi-Fi. Ah well. In the meantime, keep reading MSR if you need clarity and details about stadium technology.)

In a somewhat confusing press release, Boingo and AT&T, in partnership with venue management services provider SMG, announced an “enhanced distributed antenna system network” at the home of the Chicago Bears, that wonderful old/new facility located hard along Lake Michigan’s shore just south of downtown.

What’s confusing about the release is that it doesn’t quite explain how and why Boingo and AT&T are partnering with SMG as neutral-host operators. Plus, it seems that both Boingo and AT&T have already been operating DAS installs at the stadium, so who knows how “new” the enhancements really are. Our best guess (we have emails in to both companies so expect more clarity soon) is that since Boingo has been operating Soldier Field’s Wi-Fi and AT&T is bullish on DAS installs everywhere, it makes sense to team up with an upgrade that will now provide better coverage, probably with more antennas and new coverage for AT&T’s 4G LTE network. We’d call this arrangement a win for Boingo, which is intent on building up its stadium DAS and Wi-Fi business. Plus, the companies have done business together before so maybe partnering for a DAS isn’t so confusing after all.

No word yet whether Verizon or Sprint or T-Mobile has signed on to participate in the DAS, or whether the new DAS will keep Bears fans online longer, distracting them from worrying about the health of Jay Cutler’s groin. Good thing to have as the snowflakes start flying in the Windy City.

UPDATE 1, 10/24: We are still seeking clarity on the business arrangement, but an AT&T spokesperson confirmed our guess about the LTE addition. Here is an official AT&T breakdown of the enhancements to the DAS: “The DAS equipment at Soldier Field is equivalent to about 7 individual cell sites, or enough to service a town about the size of 88,000. The DAS contains more than 250 stealth antennas inside and outside the stadium which have increased AT&T’s network capacity by approximately double (100%). The design changed when we added layers to the wedge shape that was previously used. The old system had 16 sectors, sliced like a pie. The new system has 22 sectors that service each section of the stadium as well as each level of the stadium.”

Sounds good. But now I’m thinking about pie. Pumpkin, with whipped cream. Hmmm.

UPDATE 2, 10/25: Now from the Boingo folks, who wouldn’t say more about operational details other than that Boingo and AT&T worked together on the upgrade. More from Boingo, which answers our question about whether there are other carriers using the DAS: “Boingo is responsible for the ongoing operation and management of the DAS network, working closely with both SMG at Soldier Field and AT&T. Boingo also manages Soldier Field DAS network access contracts for Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular.”

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Forget ‘standards,’ NFL should just pay for stadium networks

October 23, 2013 by

When I read the report that outlined the NFL’s requirement that its teams need to build wireless networks that meet a certain undefined level of performance, my first thought was: Where do I apply to be one of the testers? Sounds like a never-ending job, with plenty of billable hours.

Putting aside the testing and minimum standards challenges for a second, what should really happen here is for the Shield to step forward and drop some of its millions in revenue to help build networks for each stadium, no matter who the owners and operators may be. It’s pretty clear to me that the NFL is moving in a direction where the league will control mobile stadium apps and grab the lion’s share of revenues generated. Requiring teams to pay for the networks to run the league apps seems like a process sure to hit snags, since you’re basically asking owners and operators to build an asset that the league will benefit from, for free.

Should stadiums be building networks anyway? I think so, because I see wireless connectivity as a basic part of infrastructure, especially for any place that expects (and profits) from attracting large crowds of attendees. It’s a fact of life now that people expect to be able to use their mobile devices wherever they go. Team owners and operators are already feeling heat from fans frustrated by poor or no network connectivity. Though it hasn’t yet been proven, the general feeling in sports and entertainment circles these days is that if you don’t give fans network access, they might not come back.

But expecting teams to step up and meet some aggressive league-determined goals — without the league chipping in — seems like a process doomed for conflict. Several stadium operators we’ve talked to are taking time to get Wi-Fi deployments right, since they are savvy enough to know that what passes for a minimum level of service today might seem hopelessly slow in 2 years. There’s also the advent of faster 802.11ac gear, which is just arriving to market. Why overspend now when you might have to do a total replace in less than 3 seasons? With mobile app and service development still in the earliest stages, teams aren’t likely to reap big rewards from network deployments that meet the NFL’s time frames.

The league, however, could make big bucks quickly if it’s able to sell a digital-content package to fans that would provide mobile access to live action, highlights and other goodies, with extra bells and whistles available when using a stadium game-day network. There’s no official plan yet to offer such a service, but reading the tea leaves it’s pretty easy to see that the NFL wants to go in an MLB-like direction, and reap the rewards of controlling the sport’s most popular asset, live or recorded game action. That’s going to happen well before teams figure out how to make significant returns on in-stadium wireless apps and services.

That’s why I think instead of putting the onus on the teams to build networks out, the league should fund most of the construction itself. With just its new $1 billion in fees from Verizon for rights to mobile broadcasts on cell phones, the league has plenty of cash to give each team enough to build networks that meet its initial standards, whatever they may be. And by establishing itself as lead integrator of a league-wide deployment, the NFL could exact plenty of favorable terms and conditions from technology suppliers that teams might not be able to get on their own.

As for that testing part, I’ll be looking for the league RFP for making sure each stadium’s networks are up to snuff — because given the complexity and uniqueness of each and every facility, testing each one to make sure it hits some asked-for level of performance seems like a never-ending task. Which is great if you bill by the hour.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, NFL, Wi-Fi
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