Final Four final score: 17.6 TB (at least) of wireless data used at University of Phoenix Stadium

We finally have the Wi-Fi numbers from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Final Four weekend at the University of Phoenix Stadium, and they are big — a total of 11.2 terabytes of data used during the two days of competition, according to the stadium network crews running the operations for the NCAA. Combined with AT&T’s reported DAS total of 6.4 TB, that means the total wireless usage so far is at least 17.6 TB — and that’s not including DAS numbers from Verizon Wireless, Sprint or T-Mobile, which if we had them would probably push the total far higher.

Just on the Wi-Fi side of things, the Saturday semifinal games this year produced enough single-day traffic (6.3 TB) to sneak into our unofficial Top 5 list for Wi-Fi events, barely edging Super Bowl XLIX, which saw 6.2 TB of traffic in the same building a couple years earlier. Granted, the Final Four has more fans in attendance and more time with two games compared to one, but it’s still a sign (to us, anyway) that wireless use by fans at big games of all types is continuing to grow. (It’s cool to see the comparison between a Super Bowl and a Final Four in the same venue, as well. Looks like the network operators there keep improving from big game to big game.)

According to the network stats provided to us, the Final Four crowd on Saturday saw 38,520 unique users connected to the Wi-Fi at some point, with a max concurrent user total of 20,675. On Monday night’s championship game, those numbers were 31,458 uniques and 19,861 max concurrent users. Attendance for the two sessions was 77,612 for Saturday’s semifinals and 76,168 for Monday’s championship, which were both second-highest ever numbers, according to a cool NCAA infographic that has some more stats on TV and internet viewership.

See you next year in San Antonio, NCAA… to see if the connectivity pace keeps increasing!

THE NEW TOP 8 FOR WI-FI

1. Super Bowl 51, NRG Stadium, Houston, Feb. 5, 2017: Wi-Fi: 11.8 TB
2. Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016: Wi-Fi: 10.1 TB
3. Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys, Divisional Playoffs, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Jan. 15, 2017: Wi-Fi: 7.25 TB
4. WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, April 3, 2016: Wi-Fi: 6.77 TB
5. NCAA Men’s Final Four, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., April 1, 2017: Wi-Fi: 6.3 TB
6. Super Bowl 49, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015: Wi-Fi: 6.23 TB
7. Alabama vs. Texas A&M, Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, Oct. 17, 2015: Wi-Fi: 5.7 TB
8. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, AFC Championship Game, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Jan. 22, 2017: Wi-Fi: 5.11 TB

Listen at your leisure: Live interview webinar with Vivint Smart Home Arena, Boingo and Solid, April 11

If you missed Tuesday’s event, you can still hear from the experts to learn how to deliver a seamless connectivity experience for the thousands of people coming through your venue. Listen to the replay of this Mobile Sports Report “Live Interview” webinar for exclusive access to insights from March Madness host Vivint Smart Home Arena and connectivity partners Boingo and SOLiD.

(Editor’s note: The recording starts a few minutes into the event, after your host remembered to push the “record meeting” button.)

Participants:
Vivint Smart Home Arena: Frank Zang, SVP Communications
SOLiD: Shane Hague, Director Business Development
Boingo: Doug Lodder, SVP Business Development
Mobile Sports Report: Paul Kapustka, Editor in Chief

If you have any questions please contact Paul at kaps@mobilesportsreport.com. Come hear what was an interesting discussion!


Vivint Smart Home Arena. Credit: Utah Jazz

AT&T sees 6.4 TB of data used on stadium DAS for Final Four weekend

AT&T’s cell on wheels tower outside the University of Phoenix Stadium for the Final Four. Credit both photos: AT&T (click on any photo for a larger image)

AT&T said that it saw 6.4 terabytes of wireless data used on its cellular networks inside the University of Phoenix Stadium during this past weekend’s Final Four games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, one of the biggest numbers yet for AT&T during the biggest weekend of college hoops.

While we don’t have full wireless-use totals from last year, totals of DAS and Wi-Fi from this year’s semifinal games from Saturday and Monday’s championship game (won by North Carolina, a 71-65 victory over Gonzaga) should surge past the last official mark we have, of almost 11 TB recorded at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis back in 2015.

That weekend saw 5.3 TB on the stadium’s Wi-Fi network and the rest on DAS systems; we are currently waiting for both the Wi-Fi numbers from UoP Stadium as well as any DAS stats from Verizon or Sprint (or T-Mobile, which wouldn’t give us a total usage number from the Super Bowl so we are guessing we won’t see any from Final Four weekend either).

AT&T COW in downtown Phoenix

And while we always take those estimates about how much big events contribute to the local economy with a huge grain of salt, there is no disputing that big events bring big wireless usage to an entire host city, especially when like at a Final Four or Super Bowl, there are official events just about everywhere you look.

AT&T said its temporary and fixed networks around Phoenix saw more than 10.5 TB of traffic over the weekend, a sign that cities with big-event venues probably need to start thinking of how they might need to beef up macro and small-cell networks around town — or help the carriers deploy towers and other devices more quickly so that fans can stay connected throughout their visits.

Our favorite tweet from Monday’s championship game was one where someone we follow had a picture of himself watching live baseball on his phone while at the UoP stadium during the championship game. While it may be a subtle comment on the painful play (and refereeing) it was certainly a vote in favor of the great connectivity in the building, whether it was on Wi-Fi or cellular. Stay tuned for more figures as we get ’em.

AT&T: Fans used 2.28 TB of cellular data during Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 11.45.34 AMAs the march toward the Final Four continued, fans at the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 venues for the men’s NCAA basketball tournament used a combined 2.28 terabytes of data on the AT&T networks in those venues, according to AT&T. The highest weekend total came from games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, where 680 GB were used, according to AT&T.

Combined with the 3.6 TB of data AT&T said was used on its networks at first- and second-round sites, that makes a total of 5.88 TB used so far on AT&T cellular and DAS networks at the various hoops arenas. We’d like to hear from other carriers as well, but none have contacted us so far.

Data totals at this weekend’s Final Four in Houston should be interesting, since the host venue, NRG Stadium, doesn’t yet have a Wi-Fi network. Both AT&T and Verizon have beefed up cellular coverage in and around the arena, but without Wi-Fi it may be hard for fans to top last year’s total of 11 TB used at the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Remember — all Final Four games this weekend are on TBS, not CBS! Of course you can also stream the games if that’s easier.

AT&T: NCAA Men’s hoops sites used 3.6 TB of cellular data

Screen shot 2016-03-21 at 10.45.42 PMWhile your bracket was busy getting busted, AT&T said it saw more than 3.6 terabytes of cellular data cross the networks at the eight stadiums hosting the first rounds of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament last weekend.

In Providence, R.I., at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, AT&T said it saw 926 GB of cellular data cross its networks there during the first round games, a total perhaps helped by the Yale-Duke game in the second round. Stay tuned for more data updates from NCAA regionals as well as from the Final Four. And any other carriers that want to send their numbers along, please do so!

NCAA hoops sites get wireless upgrades to handle tourney traffic

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. Photo: AT&T

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. Photo: AT&T

In addition to ticket sales and hotel revenues, you can count on an NCAA basketball tournament crowd to bring wireless demands to host stadiums these days. To prepare for the expected crush, wireless carriers, third-party integrators and venues themselves have bolstered both DAS and Wi-Fi networks, especially at NRG Stadium in Houston, site of the men’s Final Four April 2 and 4.

NRG Stadium, also home to the NFL’s Houston Texans, is slated to host Super Bowl LI next Feburary, and as such will be getting a new Wi-Fi network built by 5 Bars with gear from Extreme Networks ahead of the biggest big game. Unfortunately for data-hungry hoops fans, construction on that network won’t start until after the Final Four, meaning it will be cellular-only for the fans and followers at the championship weekend games.

But connections for customers of major carriers should be fine, since AT&T has already spent $25 million on Houston-area DAS upgrades, including at the stadium itself as well as at the convention center and other areas hosting Final Four activities. There will also be a portable Cell on Wheels, or COW, outside the convention center, where AT&T’s ball-shaped directional antennas will be bringing extra capacity to the scene.

Verizon said that it has already spent $40 million on improving its cellular infrastructure in and around NRG Stadium; inside the venue Verizon said its updated DAS deployment has 783 antennas, able to handle four times the capacity of the previous infrastructure. Outside the stadium Verizon said it has implemented an outdoor DAS to cover parking lots and tailgating areas. Verizon said it is also targeting downtown areas and the Houston airport for improvements ahead of Super Bowl LI.

At some of the regional tourney sites, third-party neutral host ExteNet Systems has been busy as well, adding capacity to some of its stadium DAS deployments as well as to one Wi-Fi network it runs at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. At the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, ExteNet recently added U.S. Cellular to its DAS deployment, the first venue in which U.S. Cellular has been an ExteNet customer. Other ExteNet deployments that will see men’s or women’s NCAA games this year include the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; and the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.

In Denver at the Pepsi Center, a new (but not yet publicly announced) Wi-Fi network using Avaya gear should get a good test if it is live for the regional games there this weekend. With all these and more, if any fans or venues want to send speedtests in or post-games stats, we’ll happily print them.

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