SignalShare – Page 2

Golden State Warriors’ Wi-Fi network lease part of planned SignalShare assets auction

June 29, 2016 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Screen shot of nGage Fan Feed. Credit: SignalShare

The contract covering the operation of the Wi-Fi network at the Golden State Warriors’ Oracle Arena is up for auction, as part of the fallout from a lawsuit involving alleged fraudulent business practices by Wi-Fi deployment concern SignalShare.

UPDATE, 7/7/16: According to the auctioneers, the auction is currently postponed, due to their claims of a bankruptcy filing by SignalShare. More details as we learn more.

SignalShare, which has installed and operated Wi-Fi networks in a number of large sports venues, including arenas used by the Detroit Red Wings, the Houston Rockets, the Sacramento Kings, the University of Maryland and others, is being sued for $7.8 million by NFS Leasing, an equipment leasing company, over a dispute involving allegedly fraudulent leases by SignalShare and SignalShare’s default on an agreement to pay back money obtained through those leases. As part of the ongoing legal proceedings, NFS has apparently scheduled an auction of SignalShare assets it claims, including leases, software code and hardware, for July 14 through Paul E. Saperstein Co., Inc.

So far, Mobile Sports Report has not been able to get any comments on the lawsuit or the auction from SignalShare, NFS, or any of the venues where SignalShare had installed networks. According to the auction site, NFS will make available for auction the contracts between SignalShare and the following list of teams and venues: The Golden State Warriors and Oracle Arena; the Carolina Hurricanes and PNC Arena; the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center Arena; the Detroit Red Wings and Joe Louis Arena; the Jacksonville Jaguars and Everbank Field; the Milwaukee Bucks and Brady Harris Arena; and the Las Vegas Sands Convention Center.

According to sources familiar with some of the SignalShare deals, some of the networks were run under a lease agreement, where the team or venue owners paid SignalShare a monthly fee for operation of the Wi-Fi network, with SignalShare retaining ownership of the actual equipment. According to legal documents filed in the case, NFS provided the financing for many of the existing SignalShare deals, as well as millions more in financing for deals NFS claims never actually existed. So far, there has been no public accounting for where the millions provided by NFS for the allegedly fraudulent leases ended up.

Live-Fi code also up for auction

While the leases are potentially interesting to many possible parties — firms who could take over the network operations, or who might be interested in purchasing the leased equipment — the asset with perhaps the most tangible worth is SignalShare’s “Live-Fi” software, a kind of customer portal program meant to help teams and venues engage more closely with fans and to also facilitate advertising sales. According to legal documents filed in the case, SignalShare owners apparently attempted to transfer the ownership of the Live-Fi code to a subsidiary firm to apparently keep it out of any claim proceedings, a move that was recently blocked when the courts granted an injunction requested by NFS.

Aside from whatever happens in the ongoing legal case and at the auction, for the venues involved the bigger question is more likely what happens to their existing or planned networks. In several of the mentioned deals, including the Jaguars, the University of Maryland and the Detroit Red Wings, SignalShare publicly partnered with Wi-Fi gear provider Extreme Networks; Extreme representatives declined to comment on any specifics of the SignalShare lawsuit.

One common trait shared by several of the SignalShare deals was that they involved Wi-Fi networks at arenas that were scheduled to be replaced or abandoned by the teams in the near future — the Warriors, Kings and Red Wings are all already building or planning to build new stadiums. The SignalShare “leasing” model may have seemed more attractive than spending the potentially millions in upfront costs for a network that may only have been used for a few years. The only thing for sure now is that the future of Wi-Fi at the venues mentioned seems to be on hold until the legal questions around SignalShare’s operations are answered.

Filed Under: Basketball, Extreme Networks, NBA, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Detroit Red Wings, Extreme Networks, Golden State Warriors, Live-Fi, Mobile Sports Report, NFS Leasing, Paul Kapustka, Sacramento Kings, SignalShare, Stadium Wi-Fi, University of Maryland, Wi-Fi

Thinking out loud: When will stadium apps use voice commands?

May 26, 2015 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t it be great to have a stadium app that asked this question, out loud?

In the overall world of smartphones, voice commands and help-me services like Apple’s Siri are commonplace. So when will voice commands become part of stadium apps, a place where they could be really useful?

Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer and I bet if I asked Siri I wouldn’t get a clear reply. But as the kickoff column in what is planned as a weekly “thinking out loud” feature here, maybe the reading audience can chime in: Are voice commands coming to stadium apps anytime soon? What are the sticking points? Are there technical reasons why fans can’t use voice commands to help make the game-day experience a better one?

After spending a year really pondering how technology can help the fan situation, I now understand why most stadium apps have low usage rates: They simply aren’t addressing the main pain points of attending a live event, which primarily have to do with waiting in a line, or wasting time. Sometimes that line is in the parking lot or at the public transportation station, and sometimes it’s at a concession stand. Sometimes it’s a restroom line. Wasting time not in a line usually comes from not being able to find something, or somebody. I think voice commands could help make things easier, and would provide a real reason for fans to download and use a stadium app.

Listen to me, don’t tell me

As most of us who use smartphones know, the combination of features like voice commands and a powerful app like Google Maps is drop-dead simple and extremely helpful. I’m still amazed by the fact that I can sit in my car, tell my phone “directions to xxx address,” and then the phone will talk me through the way there, so I’m not endangering myself or others by looking at a screen while driving. (Which may be the stupidest thing a living being can do.)

Siri can answer lots of things, but she can’t tell you why sports apps don’t have voice commands.

So… why can’t that functionality be a part of a stadium app? Last year while attending multiple games I noticed that sometimes trying to type things on my smartphone was near impossible, especially when you are holding a drink in one hand. I also noticed that screens were sometimes hard to read in the bright sunlight of an outdoor event. Voice commands and voice replies could go a long way to making a stadium app more useful; I’m especially thinking about it when you combine it with a powerful action feature — like the Levi’s Stadium app’s ability to let you pre-order food and drink for express pickup or delivery — wouldn’t it be great if you could just click the talk button and say, “I’d like a hot dog and a beer,” and then have the phone ask you, “pickup or delivery?”

I’ve got a lot more ideas how voice commands could help improve a game-day experience — like using it to help me find friends who I know are at the stadium — but I’m interested in your thoughts here as well. First of all, from a technology standpoint is this idea doable? Can the resources that work for Google Maps be replicated in stadiums? What’s needed — maybe more beacons or some kind of better Wi-Fi location system? Chime in here. Since this blog isn’t yet voice-enabled, you can leave comments below or shoot me an email to kaps at mobilesportsreport.com. Like Siri, I will thank you personally if you do.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apple, Apps, Levi's Stadium Tagged With: Apple, iPhone, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, SignalShare, Siri, stadium apps, voice commands

Extreme, SignalShare team up to bring Wi-Fi to Detroit Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena

January 29, 2015 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Joe Louis Arena, Detroit. Credit all photos: Dave Reginek / Detroit Red Wings (click on any photo for larger image)

Extreme Networks and SignalShare, which earlier this year collaborated to bring Wi-Fi networks to an NFL stadium and a college football stadium and basketball arena, have scored a new goal, teaming up to bring fan-facing Wi-Fi services to the Detroit Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena.

Announced today, the deal trails the actual Wi-Fi network, which has been active at the 20.066-seat arena since at least earlier this month. According to Extreme Red Wings fans have already been consuming wireless data from the about 290 Wi-Fi access points currently installed in the venue, with a few more on the way as final network tuning takes place.

Tod Caflisch, director of information technology for the Red Wings, said there had been some previous attempts to bring Wi-Fi into the “Joe,” as it is known locally since opening in 1979, but those efforts didn’t pan out. The latest push, however, found what Caflisch called “an easy choice” in picking the Extreme/SignalShare team to bring Wi-Fi to the stadium, following similar tag-team deals this past year for networks at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field and the University of Maryland’s football and basketball facilities.

“Everybody who we talked to had nothing but great things to say” about the Extreme IdentiFi Wi-Fi technology platform, and its combination with SignalShare’s network optimization skills and its LiveFi audience engagement application. Though there is no mention in the press release about plans to use Extreme’s Purview analytics software or SignalShare’s new LiveFi nGage product suite, some of that may have to do with the fact that the current network at Joe Louis Arena is a bit of a stopgap solution, since the Red Wings are scheduled to move to a brand new home in time for the 2017 season.

Wi-Fi antennas at the “Joe” displaying the cleverly named SSID

From the sounds of happy collaboration that echoed through a joint phone call with representatives from the Red Wings, Extreme and SignalShare, it seems like this is a networking partnership that’s just getting started, with lots of promise for the future. Even though it is a bit of a stopgap network, the Wings are still looking to add features like instant replays and in-game contests via the YinzCam-developed app platform that the Red Wings currently have in use.

“We wanted to put in [a network] that would be economical and flexible, since we knew it was going to be short term,” Caflisch said. But in a few years, he joked, “we’re going to go from the Flintstones to the Jetsons” with the new arena. Extreme and SignalShare, he said, “are a very good group of people, who are interested in our specific solution. They made it easy to move forward with this.”

Norman Rice, senior vice president of corporate development for Extreme Networks, said bringing Wi-Fi to a closed-roof hockey arena was a little bit different project for Extreme, which has made its mark in big, open-air NFL stadium deployments that include Gillette Stadium in New England, Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, and Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, among others.

Getting Wi-Fi seems a good reason to celebrate and toss an octopus or two

“But we were able to work very closely with Tod and his team, and we are very pleased to be working with the Red Wings as our first NHL venue,” said Rice. He compared the Red Wings’ owners, the Ilitch family, to the Kraft family in New England, as holding an influential position among league owners, giving Extreme another “strategic reason” to pursue the Wi-Fi deal.

SignalShare founder Joe Costanzo said that he expects hockey crowds to behave in similar fashion to other crowds using mobile devices at large public venues, mainly spending time connecting with friends via social media. “I think it [the fan activity] will be true to what we see across other venues, mainly skewed toward social media,” Costanzo said. “We’ll learn more as we do the official launch.”

The Red Wings’ Caflisch has already started to learn about wireless fan activity at hockey games, which perhaps not surprisingly has shown peaks when the Zamboni is out clearing the ice. “There are also some noticeable [traffic] spikes right after the Wings score,” Caflisch said. “It’s kind of cool to see that.”

Filed Under: Extreme Networks, NHL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Detroit Red Wings, Extreme Networks, Joe Louis Arena, Mobile Sports Report, NHL, Paul Kapustka, SignalShare, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

SignalShare ‘relaunches’ with new fan-engagement platform for large-venue Wi-Fi

November 21, 2014 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

SignalShare announced today its new LiveFi nGage product suite, a system that combines content, analytics and advertising links to give venue owners and operators a turnkey method to improve fan engagement and perhaps increase revenue opportunities for large-venue Wi-Fi networks.

The product launch coincides with a redesign of the company’s website in what company leaders are calling a bit of a public relaunch, one that includes tweaks like a new logo and subtle changes to main product naming as well as streamlining explanations of what exactly the mobile mass-audience engagement specialist SignalShare does. The Raleigh, N.C.-based SignalShare is also set to significantly increase its operational size soon, as the 20-person privately held company is in the final stages of a “reverse IPO,” going public by acquiring another company that is already trading on the public markets.

Though small, SignalShare has racked up an impressive list of customers for its high-capacity Wi-Fi network design, deployment and management systems and services. Professional teams including the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets all use SignalShare in some capacity for their Wi-Fi network operations, as does the U.S. Open tennis tournament, as well as major entertainment acts like Bon Jovi. The new nGage suite is a top-layer addition to the company’s existing proprietary LiveFi audience engagement platform, which according to SignalShare “leverages real-time analytics and dynamic messaging to deliver location-aware customized content – including offers, discounts and call-to-actions – to attendees’ mobile devices during events.”

In a phone interview this week prior to the announcement, SignalShare founder and chief technology officer Joe Costanzo said that in its operation of stadium and other large-venue networks, SignalShare often found that attendees were using the local networks far more for independent apps like Twitter and Facebook, and in many cases were basically ignoring the team or stadium app.

“The reality in a lot of places is that the mobile app [for that venue] is floating to the bottom of the pile,” Costanzo said. To help remedy that situation, SignalShare came up with LiveFi nGage, which has as its linchpin an HTML5-based portal site that fans are directed to after logging in to the local network.

Increasing ways to monetize the network

Screen shot of nGage Fan Feed. Credit: SignalShare

In a demonstration prior to the announcement, the nGage “Fan Feed” component appeared on the device like any other smartphone app, with graphic and text links that could be vertically scrolled through. Through its ability to combine event content, fan social media contributions and advertisements or promotional links, Costanzo said nGage Fan Feed could act as a funnel directing fans to a team or stadium app or website, while also providing up-front engagement opportunities that could go a long way toward helping venues monetize their Wi-Fi network investments.

The HTML5 construction of nGage Fan Feed, Costanzo said, makes it easier for venue owners to change the content feed quickly — an important factor for venues that may host a lot of different events, such as basketball arenas that also have hockey games or concerts. The nGage suite also includes an analytics engine to capture usage patterns across the Wi-Fi network, a feature rapidly being seen as a necessary component for any large venue networking operation.

While the splash-page feel of the Fan Feed could be seen as competition for an arena or team’s own app, Costanzo said that the low engagement rates for stadium or team apps seem to be calling out for some kind of help to keep fans from just using outside apps.

“We’re just reacting to the data we’re seeing,” Costanzo said. “Our goal is to help venues close the circle of engagement, and evolve how you get fans to engage with the event.”

Owning the network

According to Costanzo, SignalShare makes money by being a sort of neutral third-party host for venue Wi-Fi networks, providing the Wi-Fi as a managed service instead of a capital expense. In a recent deal at the University of Maryland where SignalShare partnered with Wi-Fi gear and analytics provider Extreme Networks, Costanzo said SignalShare “owns the network,” and will work to bring in sponsors to share revenue with the school. The LiveFi nGage suite, Constanzo said, will help both SignalShare and the venue owner find a faster ROI.

“We’ve taken the concept of a managed service approach, which is an off-the-books approach for teams and venues,” Costanzo said. Trying to justify the ROI for a stadium Wi-Fi network, he noted, “can get pretty hefty when [the venue] only has six events a year.”

By using nGage and its Fan Feed component, Costanzo said operators can “make sure the sponsor content gets elevated, but that fans are not just slammed by ads, ads, ads.” Costanzo said the LiveFi nGage platform can also be used to push synchronized messaging to other stadium displays, like big screens or LED ribbons.

Reverse merger takes SignalShare public

On the business side, SignalShare is near completion of a planned “reverse merger” with a company called Roomlinx, Inc., a Broomfield, Colo.-based provider of interactive TV applications for the hospitality industry. Roomlinx, which trades on the “pink sheets” over-the-counter market, will own (along with its investors) 14 percent of the new company, which will be called SignalShare Inc. SignalShare will own the balance, and will give $1 million in cash to Roomlinx, according to a news release from last spring that announced the deal.

Filed Under: Apps, Basketball, NBA, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Extreme Networks, Mobile Sports Report, New England Patriots, Paul Kapustka, SignalShare, Stadium Wi-Fi, University of Maryland, Wi-Fi

Maryland taps Extreme, SignalShare for Wi-Fi at football and basketball venues

November 12, 2014 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Xfinity Center, home of University of Maryland basketball. Credit all photos: University of Maryland website

In the second tag-team deal that we know of, the University of Maryland has selected the combination of Extreme Networks and SignalShare for Wi-Fi network and services deployments at both its football and basketball venues, according to a news release today.

Hoops fans will get to test the services first, as according to the press release the network inside the Terrapins’ Xfinity Center will be live for games this season, starting later this month. A Wi-Fi network for the 54,000-seat Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, which is used by Maryland for football and lacrosse, will be fully installed by next season. According to the release, Extreme and SignalShare have already deployed Wi-Fi for luxury suites and press areas in the football facility, and will add services for upper and lower bowl seating by the start of football next year.

Since we haven’t yet had time to talk to anyone from either Maryland or the participating companies, we’ll crib from our previous story about the Extreme-SignalShare collaboration in use at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field.

Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium

If you are a regular MSR reader you probably know about Extreme and its IdentFi Wi-Fi deployments; the more unknown of the duo is likely SignalShare, a Raleigh, N.C., concern that has both Wi-Fi integration and deployment expertise, as well as an “audience engagement platform” called “Live-Fi” that the company says “leverages real-time analytics and dynamic messaging to deliver location-aware customized content – including offers, discounts and call-to-actions – to attendees’ mobile devices during events.”

SignalShare says it has systems at work for sports clients including the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and Indiana Pacers, and has also deployed its systems at other large venues and events, including the U.S. Open tennis tournament and several large outdoor concert venues.

We will, of course, do our best to dig deeper into the whys and hows of the deal, but for now a canned comment from the press release will have to suffice:

“At Maryland, like at many universities across the country, our students live and breathe with their mobile devices,” Maryland director of athletics Kevin Anderson said in a prepared statement. “We want to make sure that when students come to a game, not only can they remain connected to their favorite social networks, sites and apps, but that we can entertain them with new fan engagement initiatives, including the eventual addition of in-seat ordering, game day jersey sales and other interactive experiences and promotions. The solution from SignalShare and Extreme will elevate our game day experience to an enhanced level.”

Xfinity Center indoors

Filed Under: Basketball, NCAA Football, NCAA Hoops, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Basketball, Capitol One Field at Byrd Stadium, Extreme Networks, Football, lacrosse, SignalShare, Stadium Wi-Fi, University of Maryland, Wi-Fi, Xfinity Center

Extreme, SignalShare team up for Wi-Fi deployment at Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field

August 8, 2014 by Paul Kapustka 7 Comments

Extreme Networks and SignalShare are teaming up to bring a full-featured Wi-Fi deployment to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field for the coming NFL season, in what is perhaps a sign that teams may already be seeking more than just pure connectivity when it comes to putting Wi-Fi in stadiums. In a press release Friday (which was actually pre-announced by the Jaguars on Wednesday), the companies said they have entered into a strategic partnership that will bring both high-density Wi-Fi as well as advanced analytics and network-monetization opportunities to the Jaguars and their 67,246-seat stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Extreme is no stranger to the NFL, with deployments of its “IdentiFi” Wi-Fi gear and analytics software already working at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium and at the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field. Last month, Extreme announced it would be the primary provider of Wi-Fi services for the Tennessee Titans’ LP Field.

But at Jacksonville, Extreme will be partnering with the much smaller SignalShare, a Raleigh, N.C., concern that has both Wi-Fi integration and deployment expertise, as well as an “audience engagement platform” called “Live-Fi” that the company says “leverages real-time analytics and dynamic messaging to deliver location-aware customized content – including offers, discounts and call-to-actions – to attendees’ mobile devices during events.” SignalShare says it has systems at work for sports clients including the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and Indiana Pacers, and has also deployed its systems at other large venues and events, including the U.S. Open tennis tournament and several large outdoor concert venues.

New huge video boards at EverBank Field

New network, huge video boards… and pools!

Even though much of the sports-tech world is watching the San Francisco 49ers’ technology deployments at the brand-new Levi’s Stadium, the combination of the Extreme/SignalShare network and other enhancements like the two new humongous LED screens at EverBank (and perhaps the two pool party areas) may make the Jaguars’ stadium another tech jewel in the NFL realm. To us the most interesting part of the partnership is its potential to empower network monetization schemes, either through targeted mobile-ad insertions, or some deeper analytic- or location-based network awareness. Though many stadium deals typically involve multiple “silent” partners who do lots of work with little to no public recognition, the very public announcement of this partnership also shows perhaps a maturation of the industry at large in allowing credit (and profits!) to be more equally shared. Let’s see what happens in the near future, eh?

We’ll do our best to get a deeper profile of the hows and whys of the deployment in the near future, but for now some bullet points from the press release should help get the conversation started. According to Extreme and SignalShare, here are some of the key points about the coming deployment:

● Extreme Networks and SignalShare will install the 802.11ac high-density IdentiFi Wireless solution for outdoor venues to provide Wi-Fi access free of charge to all fans at EverBank Field.
● The Extreme Wi-Fi system is designed to allow fans at EverBank Field, which has a seating capacity of over 67,000, the bandwidth to concurrently access and use multimedia applications without interruption.
● Extreme Networks technology will power a dedicated social hub and moderated social feed that will display relevant content from Instagram and Twitter.
● SignalShare’s LiveFi digital network enables the Jaguars to engage and monetize fans by pushing targeted in-browser messaging and advertising to their mobile devices.
● SignalShare is providing the Jaguars consulting and project management for the overall networking deployment, optimization and support.
● Extreme Networks is commitment to enhancing the in-stadium experience for fans and the critical role big data and analytics play in delivering on that goal for today’s highly connected fans.

Party on at the EverBank pools!

What will be interesting to see is whether or not the Wi-Fi network will extend beyond stadium boundaries (to parking lots and other outside areas), whether it will handle the “overflow” events like the Georgia-Florida game (which can push attendance into the 82,000 mark with temporary seats) and how if at all the Jaguars’ team app will incorporate the new connectivity. (And, what about the DAS deployment?) If any Jags fans have a preseason field report from using the network at EverBank (which we expect has probably already been in operation in some areas) please let us know… and send along any SpeedTest results as well!

Filed Under: NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: EverBank Field, Extreme Networks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, SignalShare, Stadium Wi-Fi