Verizon goes under concrete to bolster NRG Stadium DAS for Super Bowl LI

Nodes on wheels, or NOWs, provide extra coverage for Verizon Wireless in Houston for Super Bowl LI. Credit: Verizon Wireless

Nodes on wheels, or NOWs, provide extra coverage for Verizon Wireless in Houston for Super Bowl LI. Credit: Verizon Wireless

In a slight twist from its strategy for last year’s Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless has installed DAS antennas underneath the concrete flooring of lower-tier seats at Houston’s NRG Stadium, to provide extra bandwidth for the expected high wireless data usage at Super Bowl LI.

Last year at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Verizon beefed up its distributed antenna system (DAS) with under-seat antennas it designed specifically for use in stadiums. The idea of mounting antennas under seats, a growing trend in the stadium Wi-Fi world, is gaining traction as another method of bringing signals closer to fans, especially in places (like lower bowl seats) where there are no overhangs or other places to mount gear.

And while Verizon has been preparing for Sunday’s big game at NRG Stadium for years, that didn’t stop the company from “continually tweaking” its network preparations, according to Leo Perreault, executive director of network operations for Verizon’s South Central market, a region that stretches from west of Florida to Arizona, including Houston. In a phone interview this week, Perreault said that Verizon installed the under-concrete antennas during the middle of the 2016 football season, giving the company “some good experience” with the deployment ahead of Sunday’s game.

Under concrete = easier install and maintenance

A view inside the head end room that runs Verizon's NRG Stadium DAS. Credit: Verizon Wireless

A view inside the head end room that runs Verizon’s NRG Stadium DAS. Credit: Verizon Wireless

It might not be well known outside of wireless networking circles, but signals will travel through concrete; many early stadium Wi-Fi designs (and some current ones, including a new network installed at the Pepsi Center in Denver) use antennas mounted under concrete floors, pointing up. Though fixed under-seat antennas can provide better coverage, Perreault said the ease of deployment made putting the additional DAS antennas underneath the floor a better option in Houston.

“This way [under the concrete] is non-intrusive,” Perrault said, noting that the devices are also not affected by stadium power-washing units. The decision may have been influenced by the fact that NRG Stadium’s new Wi-Fi network had a big issue with moisture in under-seat AP placements, forcing a mid-season rip and replace for all the under-seat Wi-Fi APs.

Even though antennas under concrete are not as powerful, Perrault said Verizon is “very pleased with the performance. It’s a good compromise.”

Biggest stadium DAS?

Between the game being the Super Bowl and it being in Texas, there’s no shortage of hyperbole surrounding the game and all its attendant facets, including the network technology. But when Perreault claims that the DAS Verizon has installed for NRG Stadium “might be the largest we have anywhere,” that might be true since it also serves adjacent properties including the NRG Convention Center, the NRG Arena and an outdoor DAS in the surrounding spaces. In addition to Houston Texans games, NRG Park (which includes the stadium) is also host to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which humbly bills itself as the “world’s largest livestock show and richest regular-season rodeo.”

An alien spaceship, or a temporary cell tower from Verizon? You choose.

An alien spaceship, or a temporary cell tower from Verizon? You choose.

Inside NRG Stadium, Perreault said the new Verizon DAS (built before the 2015 season) has more than 900 antennas. As neutral host, Verizon will also provide access to AT&T and T-Mobile on its network; Sprint, which built a previous DAS at NRG, will continue to run on that system.

Outside the stadium and around Houston, Verizon has done the usual big-event preparations, with lots of permanent and temporary macro network improvements, and portable units like COWs (cells on wheels) and smaller NOWs (nodes on wheels). You can review all the Verizon preparations in a company blog post.

As previously reported in MSR, Verizon also helped foot part of the bill for the new NRG Stadium Wi-Fi network, a deal that will give Verizon a reserved claim to 40 percent of the Wi-Fi network’s capacity, according to Perreault.

Whether or not Super Bowl LI breaks the wireless data consumption records set at last year’s game remains to be seen, but Perreault said there doesn’t seem to be any slowing down yet of the perpetual growth in wireless data use at stadiums, especially at big events like the Super Bowl.

“Fans just seem to find ways to consume whatever additional bandwidth you provide,” he said.

NRG Stadium hit 4.11 TB on Wi-Fi for Texans-Raiders playoff game

NRG Stadium. Credit: Houston Texans Instagram

NRG Stadium. Credit: Houston Texans Instagram

In what became the last live tune-up before the Super Bowl, NRG Stadium in Houston saw fans use 4.11 terabytes of data on the venue’s new Wi-Fi network during Houston’s 27-14 playoff victory over Oakland on Jan. 7, according to the Texans.

Jeff Schmitz, vice president of information technology for the Texans, said that NRG Stadium also saw approximately 35,000 unique users on the network at the playoff game, a 48 percent take rate against the total attendance of 71,790. The peak concurrent user number for the game was almost 24,000 users, with all numbers setting season highs for the network that debuted at the NFL season start, according to Schmitz.

“The playoff game was definitely the biggest” network-traffic day for the Texans, said Schmitz in a phone interview. During the talk Schmitz clarified that the network went through a serious up-and-down stretch during the middle of the season, due to under-seat Wi-Fi AP enclosures that didn’t completely seal out moisture.

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

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

While MSR had previously reported on the issue, Schmitz clarified that the full replacement of the APs took place in late October, meaning that the network staff had to basically re-tune and adjust the network in the later months of the season.

But the 4.11 TB mark and the large number of connected users for the playoff game was a sign that the network was in fine shape for Sunday’s Super Bowl LI, where if history offers any guidance there might be another new record set for single-day Wi-Fi usage.

The number to beat is the 10.1 TB mark from Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium last February, part of a 26 TB wireless day (with 15.9 TB recorded on cellular and DAS networks).

Wi-Fi coaches staying for Super Bowl

Schmitz also said that the Extreme Networks “Wi-Fi coaches” would be on hand for Super Sunday, helping fans figure out how to connect to the Extreme-based network and its 1,250 APs.

“We thought we’d only keep the coaches (who roam the stadium helping fans with network issues) for half a season, but with the switch [in APs] we ended up having them there for every game,” Schmitz said.

Wi-Fi gear visible above concourse kiosk. Credit: 5 Bars

Wi-Fi gear visible above concourse kiosk. Credit: 5 Bars

Having the Wi-Fi coaches at the Super Bowl also makes sense since many fans at that game will likely be visiting NRG Stadium for the first time, as opposed to Texans season ticket holders.

Though NRG Stadium won’t have to contend with temporary structures like those built on the concourses at Levi’s Stadium last year, Schmitz said there is some extra network work ahead to make sure the auxiliary press box area has “beefed up” Wi-Fi as well as wired connections for media use.

Another thing missing from last year’s Super Bowl is the ability for fans in any seat to order beverage delivery via the game-day app. Though details of services for the Super Bowl app have yet to be fully announced, Schmitz said the only in-seat delivery would be for premium club-level seats, which in addition to app-based ordering will have live humans who can take orders from fans for in-seat delivery, something Texans fans have available during regular-season games.

“That service [fans ordering from servers] gets used the most,” Schmitz said.

New Report: First look at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center

q4 thumbMOBILE SPORTS REPORT is pleased to announce the Winter 2016-2017 issue of our STADIUM TECH REPORT series, with a first look at the pervasive stadium technology built into the Sacramento Kings’ new home, the Golden 1 Center.

Also in our latest in-depth publication created specifically for the stadium technology professional and the stadium technology marketplace is a profile of a new Wi-Fi deployment at the Indiana Pacers’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and a profile of new Wi-Fi and DAS networks deployed at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium. We also provide an update on how the new Wi-Fi network at Houston’s NRG Stadium is getting ready for the upcoming Super Bowl LI.

Renting a Wi-Fi network?

In addition to our historical in-depth profiles of successful stadium technology deployments, our fourth issue for 2016 has additional news and analysis, including a look at whether or not stadiums will soon be able to lease their Wi-Fi networks. Download your FREE copy today!

We’d like to take a quick moment to thank our sponsors, which for this issue include Mobilitie, Crown Castle, SOLiD, CommScope, JMA Wireless, Corning, Samsung Business, Xirrus, Huber+Suhner, ExteNet Systems, and Extreme Networks. Their generous sponsorship makes it possible for us to offer this content free of charge to our readers. We’d also like to thank you for your interest and support.

As always, we are here to hear what you have to say: Send me an email to kaps@mobilesportsreport.com and let us know what you think of our STADIUM TECH REPORT series.

NRG Stadium Wi-Fi ‘soft launches’ at Texans preseason game

Screen Shot 2016-08-26 at 10.35.17 AMThe Houston Texans gave their fans more to cheer about with a 16-9 preseason victory over the New Orleans Saints last Saturday, but what might have made a lot of people happy at NRG Stadium was the unofficial debut of the stadium’s new Wi-Fi network, which was available in a sort of “soft launch” mode.

We say “sort of,” because according to people who were at the game there was pretty heavy promotion of the new network’s availability, with bandwidth sponsor Comcast distributing flyers in seat cup-holders as well as making in-stadium announcements about the wireless connectivity. NRG Stadium had been one of the few NFL venues without Wi-Fi, but with the Super Bowl headed to Houston at the end of this season installing Wi-Fi became a priority.

Starting after the Final Four concluded this past spring, integrator 5 Bars and Wi-Fi gear provider Extreme Networks got busy, eventually installing approximately 1,250 Wi-Fi APs inside NRG Stadium. According to 5 Bars representatives, many of the APs in the seating bowl were installed under the seats, a deployment method that is becoming a trend in larger stadiums.

Though we don’t have any stats yet (since the network isn’t really “officially” launched) we did hear from network sources that there was a good uptake on the system, and we are looking forward to watching the Wi-Fi’s performance this season leading up to Super Bowl 51 in February. If any fans out there hit another Texans game anytime soon, send us a speedtest of the Wi-Fi!

Comcast bringing backbone bandwith to NRG Stadium Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi is something Houston Texans fans will be able to cheer about this season at NRG Stadium. Credit: HoustonTexans.com

Free Wi-Fi is something Houston Texans fans will be able to cheer about this season at NRG Stadium. Credit: HoustonTexans.com

With the new Wi-Fi network just getting ready to go live at Houston’s NRG Stadium, Comcast announced that it will provide backbone bandwidth to the network under a sponsorship deal, with two 100-gig pipes that will both be available to the stadium facility.

Michael Bybee, a Houston-based director of external affairs for Comcast, said the company has a large fiber network throughout the Houston area, and a longtime relationship with the NFL’s Texans, making the network sponsorship deal a great fit. Comcast supplies (or will soon supply) similar broadband bandwidth to a number of other large stadiums, including the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, the Sacramento Kings’ new Golden 1 Center, the Atlanta Braves’ new SunTrust Park, the Denver Broncos’ Sports Authority Field, the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Field and the Oakland A’s Oakland Coliseum, among others.

In Houston, where integrator 5 Bars is installing a new Wi-Fi network using Extreme Networks gear ahead of next February’s Super Bowl 51, Bybee said Comcast will have two 100-gigabit per second pipes coming into the stadium, where they will feed a main 10-Gbps circuit for the regular-season NFL Wi-Fi needs. Should the stadium require more circuits, Bybee said, the facility will be able to “seamlessly add additional circuits” given the surplus of bandwidth supplied by the 100-Gbps pipes.

Though there hasn’t yet been an official announcement of the network being ready for public use, sources tell us that fans at Saturday’s preseason game between the Texans and the New Orleans Saints should finally find fan-facing Wi-Fi (look for the xfinitywifi SSID), an amenity that had been missing at NRG Stadium in the past. Anyone who goes to the game — send us a speed test!

5 Bars finally gets official nod for Wi-Fi deployment at Houston’s NRG Stadium; but will use Extreme gear instead of Ruckus

NRGstadium_1It took a long time, but wireless deployment firm 5 Bars was finally given the official approval as the company leading the installation of Wi-Fi at Houston’s NRG Stadium, which is scheduled to host Super Bowl 51 in 2017.

Though construction won’t be started until after the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four — which also takes place at NRG — the network is scheduled to be completed in time for the next NFL season, according to 5 Bars. The only change from previous reports about this deal is that 5 Bars will be using Wi-Fi gear from Extreme Networks, and not Ruckus Wireless, apparently due to the NFL’s preference to have gear it is familiar with at a Super Bowl venue.

Given the sensitivity of the process and the gear-switch outcome, and the timing of the holidays, it’s perhaps understandable that calls and emails for comments to the stadium authorities, the NFL, and both Ruckus and Extreme have not yet been returned. The best we can guess is that with huge wireless demands expected at all Super Bowls going forward, the NFL — which gets extremely involved in Super Bowl venue preparations and management — didn’t want to have to work with gear it was unfamiliar with for a “big game.” Extreme, which has an exclusive-supplier deal with the league, is currently being used in nine NFL stadiums, though not in any that have recently held a Super Bowl.

Monnie McGaffigan, senior vice president for 5 Bars, who did confirm that 5 Bars originally submitted a joint bid with Ruckus for the NRG network, said 5 Bars remains “extremely happy” with the Ruckus gear it used in its Wi-Fi deployment at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. But now that the end result is a switch to Extreme, she said that 5 Bars is “getting ready to get boots on the ground” in January, doing local prep work for when the deployment will start in earnest at the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans.

According to McGaffigan, the network will use approximately 1,100 Wi-Fi APs, with under-seat deployments used for a majority of the in-bowl APs. Backhaul for the network will use 5-gigabit Ethernet pipes that are burstable to 10 Gbps, McGaffigan said. Verizon Wireless, which runs the DAS at NRG Stadium, is also apparently going to have its own Wi-Fi bandwidth at NRG like existing deals it has in place at NFL stadiums including Green Bay’s Lambeau Field and Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.

For 5 Bars, the deal is a signature win, a big second step up from its Wi-Fi and DAS deployment at Angels Stadium. While McGaffigan said the small startup-ish firm based in Irvine, Calif., has some other interesting projects afoot — including wireless infrastructure for tollroads and downtown city areas — she said the company is “excited to win a big deal like this.”

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