New Report: Wi-Fi arrives at Ohio Stadium

September 30, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

MOBILE SPORTS REPORT is pleased to announce the Fall 2019 issue of our STADIUM TECH REPORT series, the ONLY in-depth publication created specifically for the stadium technology professional and the stadium technology marketplace.

Our latest issue contains an in-person report on the new Wi-Fi 6 network installed at Ohio Stadium, which is already the top collegiate Wi-Fi network in the country, producing record results. This issue also has an in-person profile of the Wi-Fi network at the new Las Vegas Ballpark, as well as a “first look” at Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors! Download your FREE copy today!

Inside the report our editorial coverage includes:
— An in-depth look at the new Wi-Fi 6 network installed at Ohio State University’s Ohio Stadium;
— An in-person report on the Wi-Fi network at the ‘hottest’ stadium in minor league baseball, the Las Vegas Ballpark;
— A look at the single, converged fiber network infrastructure at the soon-to-open Dickies Arena in Fort Worth;
— A “First Look” at the Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors.

Download your free copy today!

We’d like to take a quick moment to thank our sponsors, which for this issue include Mobilitie, JMA Wireless, Corning, Boingo, MatSing, Cox Business/Hospitality Network, Connectivity Wireless, and American Tower. Their generous sponsorship makes it possible for us to offer this content free of charge to our readers. We’d also like to welcome readers from the Inside Towers community, who may have found their way here via our ongoing partnership with the excellent publication Inside Towers. We’d also like to thank the SEAT community for your continued 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.

Filed Under: About MSR, AmpThink, Aruba, Baseball, Cisco, DAS, Digital displays, Golden State Warriors, MSR Guides, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, Samsung, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Allegiant Stadium, AmpThink, Aruba, Chase Center, Cisco, Cox Business, DAS, Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Golden State Warriors, Hewlett-Packard, Las Vegas Ballpark, Mobile Sports Report, NBA, NCAA, NFL, Ohio Stadium, Ohio State University, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

Aruba’s Chuck Lukaszewski talks Wi-Fi 6 and venues on the Stadium Tech Report Podcast!

September 20, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

Welcome back to the Stadium Tech Report podcast! We are extremely happy to kick off the new series of recorded chats by welcoming Chuck Lukaszewski to talk about the new Wi-Fi 6 standard and how it’s going to help networks inside large public venues like sports stadiums. If you don’t know Chuck, he is Vice President of Wireless Strategy & Standards at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, and has been working with Wi-Fi for a long, long time.

Chuck has also been a fantastic contributor to MSR’s ongoing attempt to educate our readers — his essay on LTE over unlicensed spectrum is always worth a read — and this conversation continues on the learning path. We open up with some general descriptions of what Wi-Fi 6 is, and then dive down into what its new features mean for venues specifically. About halfway through, you can even hear Chuck give me a lesson on the misconceptions I had about security comparisons between Wi-Fi and LTE networks — click above and start listening!

Chuck Lukaszewski is Vice President of Wireless Strategy & Standards at Aruba Networks, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. For over a decade he has engineered and deployed large-scale 802.11 networks, joining Aruba in 2007.

Chuck has built Wi-Fi systems in stadiums, seaports, rail yards, manufacturing plants and other complex RF environments, including serving as chief engineer for many stadiums ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 seats that provide live video and other online amenities. He is the author of six books and design guides including Very High Density 802.11ac Networks and Outdoor MIMO Wireless Networks.

Filed Under: Aruba, Hewlett-Packard, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Aruba, Chuck Lukaszewski, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6

Ohio State sees 13.3 TB of Wi-Fi data used at home opener

September 18, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

The Ohio Stadium scoreboard tells fans how to use the new Wi-Fi network. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

With almost 2,000 access points and the possibility of more than 100,000 Ohio State fans logging on, it was a good bet to think that the new Wi-Fi network at Ohio Stadium would produce some big numbers when it went live. And now, we have numbers to back up that bet, as according to the school, the new Wi-Fi network saw 13.3 terabytes of data used during the season home opener Aug. 31 vs. Florida Atlantic.

We’ll have a full profile of the network from our in-person visit to the home opener in our upcoming Fall Stadium Tech Report issue, but we wanted to share these numbers with our readers as soon as we got them, because we know interest in the network at “the Horseshoe” is high. Using Wi-Fi gear from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, in a design and deployment by AmpThink, the network saw 47,137 unique connections at the hope opener, out of 103,228 fans in attendance. The peak concurrent connection number for the day was 28,900, according to the school.

The network performed similarly a week later in a home game against Cincinnati, with 12.7 TB recorded from 47,579 unique connections (out of 104,089 in attendance). The peak concurrent connection number for the second game was 29,500, according to the school.

The big, open lower bowl at Ohio Stadium was covered mainly by handrail AP enclosures, of which there are approximately 600 across all levels of the stadium, many with two APs in each enclosure. Look for more details (and lots more pictures!) in our upcoming profile!

One of the AmpThink AP enclosures at the home opener

THE MSR TOP 23 FOR WI-FI

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

Filed Under: AmpThink, Aruba, Hewlett-Packard, NCAA Football, Wi-Fi Tagged With: AmpThink, Aruba, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Ohio Stadium, Ohio State, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, The Ohio State University, Wi-Fi

Patriots see 11.58 TB of Wi-Fi data used at home opener

September 10, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

Fans using phones to record the new Super Bowl banner unveiling at Gillette Stadium. Credit: New England Patriots

The unveiling of the latest Super Bowl banner by the New England Patriots helped lead to another record night of Wi-Fi usage at Gillette Stadium, with 11.58 terabytes of data used by fans at Sunday night’s 33-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to figures from Gillette Wi-Fi provider Extreme Networks, 44,906 of the 65,878 in attendance Sunday night connected to the Wi-Fi network at some point, a take rate of 68 percent. The peak concurrent number of users on the network was 34,982, which according to Extreme happened when the Patriots unveiled their latest championship banner.

Of the 11.58 TB total, Extreme said 4.56 TB was used during pregame, followed by 6.58 TB used during the game and another 440 GB used during postgame. Extreme also said the stadium network saw a peak data transfer rate of 23.24 Gbps. The 11.58 TB mark is the highest recorded at the well-connected Gillette, topping the 9.76 TB mark seen during a Taylor Swift concert last year. In our unofficial records of top Wi-Fi single-day events, Sunday’s total is now the biggest non-playoff NFL game performance, and another sign that fan wireless data demands continue to grow.

Good night. pic.twitter.com/JjLiXtpDjn

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 9, 2019

THE MSR TOP 21 FOR WI-FI

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

Filed Under: Extreme Networks, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Extreme Networks, Gillette Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, New England Patriots, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi

AT&T launching 5G-powered ‘fan experiences’ at AT&T Stadium for Cowboys opener

September 5, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

Dallas fan in mobile action at AT&T Stadium (not using 5G). Photo: Phil Harvey, MSR

AT&T is launching what it calls ‘5G experiences’ for fans at AT&T Stadium on Sunday during the Dallas Cowboys’ NFL home opener, including some augmented-reality experiences that will let fans take selfies with huge-sized virtual NFL players or dodge virtual tacklers in an AR-type game.

While the 5G network powering the experiences inside the stadium won’t be open or available for general use, AT&T said it will have Samsung Galaxy S10 5G phones on hand in several places around the venue for fans to test out the applications that AT&T claims “couldn’t be done wirelessly at this level before 5G.” And even though 5G networks are still a long ways away from being a mainstream reality for most wireless customers, you can expect the largest U.S. carriers to fight a 5G marketing battle all fall around football stadiums, especially at NFL venues where NFL partner Verizon is already at work installing 5G test networks for use this season. In fact, Verizon also has a press announcement out today about having installed 5G services in 13 NFL stadiums. So get ready, wireless types, it’s 5G season.

Here at MSR we will try to keep our heads above any claims of stadiums being the “first” 5G-enabled or 5G-ready until such networks are prevalent and available for any and all visitors. That being said, the activations planned by AT&T for Sunday’s Cowboys home opener against the New York Giants sound kind of cool, so if any MSR readers are on hand for the game please do try them out and send us a field report or at least a selfie or two.

According to an AT&T press release, the 5G-powered experiences available at the game Sunday will include a thing called “Hype Up Chants,” where fans will be able to see a 36-foot tall version of Cowboys players Dak Prescott and Ezekial Elliott among others by viewing them through the camera of a provided Samsung phone. Fans will also be able to record their own end zone dance next to virtual teammates, over a provided 3-D video again powered by the 5G network and a Samsung phone.

On the stadium’s east side fans will be able to “pose with the pros,” again recording a virtual video with players like Elliott in what AT&T is calling an “immersive column,” a setup connected to the 5G network via a Netgear Nighthawk 5G mobile hotspot. And at the stadium’s club level, another set of Samsung phones will be available to show off live player and team stats in a broadcast-like AR format, while other fans will get to play a virtual football game where they will dodge “virtual defensive robots,” who may or may not be more effective than the real humans on the football field.

We have an email in to AT&T to find out more details if possible, including any other vendors involved in AT&T’s millimeter-wave 5G setup inside its namesake arena. Stay tuned for updates as they become available. Below are some renderings of how the experiences are supposed to look.

The ‘Pose with the Pros’ column

The ‘Hype Up Chants’ look

Filed Under: 4G LTE, 5G, AT&T, Dallas Cowboys, DAS, NFL, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: 4G LTE, 5G, AT&T, AT&T Stadium, Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, DAS, Ezekial Elliott, millimeter wave, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Samsung, Samsung Galaxy Note, Verizon Wireless

First Look: Inside Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors’ new home

August 26, 2019 by Paul Kapustka

The exterior of Chase Center, with its humongous video board. Credit all photos: Brian Nitenson, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

The first event is coming up fast, but Mobile Sports Report got a sneak peek inside Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors, thanks to the photographic efforts of one of our “field scout” team members, Brian Nitenson, who attended a season ticket-holders event this weekend. Our first reaction to the photo stream is simply ‘wow!,’ and we can’t wait until we can see an event there live.

Since the wireless networks aren’t really fully operational yet we don’t have any speed tests from Brian’s visit but from his pictures we can see multiple Wi-Fi and DAS antenna deployments so it’s a safe bet that the connectivity will be first-rate. There is also some hint of advanced technology being used in the concessions department — note the photo of a sign instructing fans toward a credit-card kiosk operation — which makes sense given the main business of the arena’s title sponsor.

Much more coverage from Chase Center to follow this fall, but for now take a look at the NBA’s newest arena, a privately financed jewel on the San Francisco bay.

A good look at the Samsung center-hung scoreboard