Extreme Networks, NFL announce deal for Wi-Fi analytics

Extreme Networks and the NFL today announced a deal that makes Extreme the league’s official provider of Wi-Fi analytics, a non-binding agreement that simply makes Extreme’s diagnostics technology available to teams with Wi-Fi networks in their stadiums.

Extreme will also be the official provider of Wi-Fi analytics for the upcoming Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, one of four NFL facilities currently using Extreme’s analytics technology. Two of those stadiums, the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, use Extreme equipment for their entire Wi-Fi installation.

While the deal does not mean that the NFL will be paying for any team to install full Wi-Fi networks using Extreme technology and equipment, it does give Extreme a bit of a leg up and some league-approved exposure as teams continue to look for suppliers to help them build out their internal wireless infrastructures. Wi-Fi analytics technology, typically housed in back-end networking gear, helps provide real-time looks into network performance, along with detailed statistics about how customers are using the networks, from what types of content they are uploading or downloading, to how long they are staying engaged. Operators can use such performance statistics to fine-tune networks as well as to figure out strategies for providing compelling, engaging content and a better overall fan experience with wireless.

“Enhancing the fan experience is one the NFL’s top priorities and the decision to team up with Extreme for Wi-Fi analytics is a great step forward in achieving our goals,” said NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, in a prepared statement. “We were impressed with Extreme’s implementations with the Patriots and the Eagles and we believe this agreement will help our clubs deliver on the high standards we have put in place to give our fans the type of experience they deserve.”

In addition to its own deployments for the Eagles and Patriots, Extreme is also providing Wi-Fi analytics at MetLife Stadium and at Ford Field in Detroit, even though the overall Wi-Fi infrastructure at those fields uses equipment from different providers. John Brams, director of sports and entertainment at Extreme, said analytics provide a key component of stadium networks, giving operators valuable insight into performance metrics and into how and what users are using the network do to.

“When you ask questions like how do you measure the return on investment for the network, to answer those questions you need the stats,” Brams said in a phone interview. “One of the biggest things teams can leverage is visibility into their environment.”

Stadium Tech Report: Wi-Fi ‘coaches’ help fans find network in New England and Philly

Wi-Fi coach in the stands at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Extreme Networks

Wi-Fi coach in the stands at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Extreme Networks

What good is a stadium Wi-Fi network if the fans don’t use it? To help avoid the obvious answer, the providers of wireless services in the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field are now supplying “Wi-Fi coaches,” roaming groups of helpers who help fans get connected to the in-stadium network. With assistance from the digital sidelines, fans at those two stadiums can now conquer what may be the biggest hurdle to in-stadium connectivity: Just figuring out how to make your device work.

In a phone interview with John Brams, director of hospitality and venues with Enterasys (the stadium networking company recently acquired by Extreme Networks), we asked about what problems the providers had experienced with their new networks at Gillette and the Linc. Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the biggest concerns wasn’t technical, but simply user confusion.

“After we installed the networks, we quietly realized that the [biggest] fundamental issues weren’t with the design — it was user issues,” Brams said. When you consider that the average age of a Patriots fan at the game is 51 or 52, Brams said, it’s understandable that many of them might not know how to do things like download an app or find a Wi-Fi connection for their phone. Communicating with fans at the games is also problematic, he said.

“You can’t just pick up the phone and call people, and you can’t really have a help desk at the stadium,” Brams said. What the Enterasys/Extreme folks hit on was a plan familiar to any NFL fan, who knows all about the long list of assistants for things like offensive line play and special teams: Give the fans their own Wi-Fi coaches.

Coaches roam stands to help fans connect

Wi-Fi coach in the stands at the Linc. Credit: Extreme Networks

Wi-Fi coach in the stands at the Linc. Credit: Extreme Networks

Now at both Gillette and the Linc the Extreme folks have 16 or more Wi-Fi coaches roaming the stands and concourses during games, readily identifiable in team-color jackets that announce them as friendly types to help fans connect to Wi-Fi. According to Brams, it’s not just the fans who benefit from the outreach program — the teams and stadiums also get instant feedback from users, which can help them quickly pinpoint any network problems.

“From a team perspective, the coaches are a great way to interact with the fans,” Brams said. “You get immediate feedback and if there are any problems, you get the information from the fan and quickly close the loop.”

The personal show-me coaching works very well in a stadium situation, Brams said, because fans will quickly pass on successful tactics to those sitting nearby. “If one person learns how to do something, it spreads like a chain reaction,” Brams said. One problem the Extreme coaching team has been communicating to users was a known bug with the team app and Android platforms, which could be fixed with a simple download. The bottom line, Brams said, is to ensure a good network experience the first time out — otherwise, fans might never try to connect again.

“I ran into one fan at Gillette who said the network didn’t work — but the last time he tried it was 2 years ago,” Brams said. “You need to deliver the first time they use it.”

Steady increase in Wi-Fi usage

At both Gillette, where the network was installed last season, and at Lincoln Financial, which is in its first year of Wi-Fi, Extreme is seeing a steady increase in usage, Brams said. An interesting side note is that while numbers of users are rising steadily, the amount of data being consumed overall is growing more rapidly, suggesting that the fans who do connect are starting to do more.

On the coaching front, Extreme is looking into helping its team customers find ways to expand the program, perhaps with some device-charging stations staffed by more Wi-Fi coaches. The idea is also open to possibilities for branding and advertising on the coaches’ jackets as well as at the charging stations, Brams said, with the final options limited only by the stadium owner and operators’ imaginations.

The best part of the program is when a coach helps a fan connect to the Wi-Fi, which is often a game-changing experience in the world of stadium connectivity. “These places [stadiums] used to be such a connectivity black hole,” Brams said. “Now people are excited when they connect.”

Wi-Fi News: Big Traffic Surge at AT&T Stadium, New Network in Philly, Cisco Video at Barclays

Jerry jonesStill think the Wi-Fi in stadiums thing is a fad that will pass with time? If so we’re not at the peak yet; according to the folks at AT&T, wireless traffic for the NFL season opener at their new namesake AT&T Stadium (aka Cowboys Stadium in Dallas) jumped considerably from last year, with three times the amount of Wi-Fi data used this year compared to last year’s opening game.

According to AT&T network statistics, fans at the Cowboys-Giants Sunday night game made more than 25,000 Wi-Fi connections, using up 1.3 million Mbytes of data in the process. Another 207,000 MBytes were used on the cellular and DAS networks in the building, 30,000 more MBytes than used during last year’s opener, according to AT&T. Good thing AT&T spent the offseason improving the networks inside the stadium, which were almost brand new. So even if your facility has Wi-Fi, it might already need an upgrade. Blame the device makers!

Enterasys Scores Network Win at Philly’s Linc

When Enterasys emerged as the network builder for the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium last year, there were questions throughout the industry wondering whether the company was a player in the big-stadium game, or whether it got the deal because of its local presence in New England. Now Enterasys can talk about its next big win, a network for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field. Todd Weiss has a good story with all the details over at CITEWorld, one of our new favorite sites for enterprise IT information.

Cisco Video at Barclays

It’s not exactly news, but the video embedded below is a good explanation of how Barclays Center and its technology leader Chip Foley is making use of Cisco’s stadium video technology to be one of the few cutting-edge arenas that is really offering powerful applications to fans in the building. Look for an extended interview with Chip in our upcoming Fall Technology Review. We met Chip at the SEAT Conference last month, and can’t wait to share his enthusiasm and ideas for bringing a better experience to fans.

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