Stadium Wi-Fi – Page 64

Stadium Tech Report: Indian Wells Tennis Garden serves up an ace with Ruckus Wi-Fi for BNP Paribas Open

March 12, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Indian Wells Tennis Garden, home of the BNP Paribas Open. Credit all photos: IWTG (Click on any photo for a larger image)

In tennis, a player gets two chances to serve the ball in. Mark McComas, lead project manager for the public Wi-Fi installation at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in southern California, knew he’d have just one shot to get it all to work properly.

McComas, VP for systems integrator West Coast Networking of Palm Desert, Calif., began working on a wireless system to handle IWTG’s administrative and corporate offices as well as handle box-office scanning in July 2013. But then a smartphone app for the famed BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament with schedules, results, player bios and live streaming video got added to the mix, and IWTG’s public Wi-Fi network wasn’t so much born as mushroomed into being.

At this year’s tournament, where play in the women’s main draw started today, the 400,000-plus fans who attend over the two weeks of play will be able to once again use the app to enhance their on-site visit, with features like live video from different courts, updated stats and play-by-play audio coverage. It all runs on the free Wi-Fi service available at the venue, a project McComas and West Coast Networking helped deploy in time for last year’s event.

Building a net for tennis fans

McComas, working with engineering help from Hewlett-Packard, went to work building out the venue’s network elements, spending slightly more than $1 million along the way on things like:

— The design and installation of wireless switches, antennas and 138 access points from Ruckus Wireless;

PR view of the BNP Open app. Usually you can’t see the Wi-Fi!

— Ensuring sufficient bandwidth for the BNP Paribas smartphone app, developed by The App Company of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

— Figuring out how to stream video from the four stadiums, and whether they should produce their own video locally; pick up feeds from the Association of Tennis Players and the Women’s Tennis Association; or work with a third-party. (They went with the ATP/WTA feed.)

— Configuring the subscriber gateway from RG Nets, Reno, Nev., that rate-limits onsite users to 5 Mbps upstream and 5 Mbps downstream.

In addition to staff and thousands of spectators to satisfy, there was also the man who owns IWTG and the BNP Paribas tournament: Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, who’s not exactly known for initiating group hugs. According to McComas, the tournament staff was great to work with and very technology-fluent. “They gave us the tools and expected us to perform and do it right the first time,” he added.

Fine tuning the bandwidth

McComas also credits all the vendors involved for their input and cooperation. As a result, the network easily handled the demands from densely packed users and the steep pitch of each stadium. Predictably, that’s where the toughest engineering problems emerged. “The biggest problem was density and co-channel interference at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz,” McComas said. “We used directional antennas and a corkscrew pattern in the upper and lower levels of Stadium 1 and Stadium 2, with directional antennas pointing at banks of seats.”

Overhead view of the IWTG complex

The capacity of Stadium 1 is 16,000 fans; Stadium 2 has 8,000 seats.

In addition, if a user connects at 2.4 GHz, if their device can support it IWTG pushes them to 5 GHz, which McComas said was critical since the overlap on the 2.4 GHz part of the spectrum is only three channels.

Another critical piece in the network was the platform from RG Nets, which in addition to rate-limiting, also handles clustering, failover and load balancing. McComas said the box acts as a “captive portal,” so that once the user connects there and agrees to the terms and conditions, they get Internet access based on a group policy that throttles their connection. “Public Wi-Fi needs rate-limiting,” he said. “You could make the best wireless network out there, but if you’re not throttling the connection on a per-user basis, you’re going to fail.”

Video streaming, video encoding and app hosting are all handled off-premises; that reserves bandwidth and processing power for onsite users, rather than hosting those functions for the entire world, McComas said.

In 2014, McComas said IWTG had as many as 9,000 concurrent users on the tournament app, accounting for nearly 3 TB of data per day from the public Wi-Fi network alone. “It was insane how may people downloaded the app and were using it,” McComas laughed. In addition, IWTG had 4 Gbps of fiber in 2014 dedicated to the public Wi-Fi network; McComas said they’ll bump that up to 5.5 Gbps this year. They’re also adding about 20 additional APs around the venue to relieve potential congestion points.

“It was very clear that the Indian Wells organization wanted to do it once and do it right the first time, and also accommodate their growth over the next 10 years,” he added. “We engineered the network for growth.”

Terry Sweeney is a Los Angeles-based writer who’s covered IT and networking for more than 20 years. He is also founder and chief jarhead of Paragon Jams.

Filed Under: Apps, Tennis, Wi-Fi Tagged With: BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, live video streaming, Mobile Sports Report, Ruckus Wireless, Stadium Wi-Fi, tennis apps, Terry Sweeney, Wi-Fi

Avaya boots Ruckus from San Jose Earthquakes’ new stadium Wi-Fi deal

March 11, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Crowds at Avaya Stadium during the venue’s first game on Feb. 28. Credit all photos: Avaya

While it hasn’t been announced publicly, the year-ago agreement to have Ruckus Wireless provide the Wi-Fi gear at the new San Jose Earthquakes stadium got the boot when networking gear and services provider Avaya stepped up with a $20 million naming-rights deal that also apparently includes using Avaya equipment, not Ruckus, for the in-house wireless network.

Since we haven’t yet been to the new Avaya Stadium we weren’t able to look around to see whose label was on the Wi-Fi APs when we reported that the network was live for the team’s “soft” opening, a preseason game on Feb. 28. As it turns out, we erroneously said Ruckus gear was being used for the network but have since been contacted by Avaya folks who told us that wasn’t the case. According to an Avaya spokesperson, the entire Wi-Fi network at the stadium, including APs, is Avaya gear.

When we asked a Ruckus spokesperson earlier this spring about the network, the only thing that person said was that the Earthquakes asked Ruckus not to comment on the network; until today, Ruckus had not announced publicly that it was no longer the Wi-Fi supplier at the now-named Avaya Stadium.

Here was the email reply we got today from Mark Priscaro, global public relations manager for Ruckus:

The San Jose Earthquakes recently consummated a naming deal for their new stadium, and it’s our understanding that Avaya is in charge of all networking, including Wi-Fi. It was a marketing deal on behalf of the Earthquakes, and not technology-driven. Avaya, with the approval of and authorization from the San Jose Earthquakes, chose to deploy their own Wi-Fi network infrastructure, which does not include Ruckus Wireless products or technology.

The Avaya spokesperson said the Wi-Fi network at the new arena worked well for the preseason opener, and will be fully operational at the team’s MLS home season opener on March 22. Mobilitie is the neutral host provider for the stadium’s DAS deployment, which is still under construction.

Filed Under: DAS, MLS, Soccer, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Avaya Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Ruckus Wireless, San Jose Earthquakes, Soccer, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

Mobilitie gets DAS contract for San Jose Earthquakes’ Avaya Stadium

March 9, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Good look at the steep pitch of stands at Avaya Stadium. Credit: Avaya Stadium

It’s not deployed yet and there’s not a lot of details yet but we can confirm that Mobilitie will be building the neutral host DAS deployment at the San Jose Earthquakes’ new Avaya Stadium in San Jose, a facility that gets its “official” launch later this month.

The new $100 million Avaya Stadium, which hosted its first event in a preseason game on Feb. 28, will officially open with the Quakes’ home MLS opener against Chicago on March 22. While the Ruckus Wireless-powered Wi-Fi network in the stadium is reportedly already live, the DAS isn’t yet complete and may not be in time for the season opener. Mobilitie officials confirmed the deal Monday but didn’t have more details to share but we are sure we’ll hear more as antennas get connected and contracts get signed.

The Mobilitie deal was first “reported” in an advertorial that ran in Sports Business Journal, where the Earthquakes also talked about bringing in-seat food and beverage ordering to their still-under-development stadium app. Mobile Sports Report will be at the home opener, so look for a Stadium Tech Report after that visit. Any Quakes fans who were at the preseason game, feel free to add your observations about the new arena in the comments.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, MLS, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, Avaya Stadium, DAS, Mobile Sports Report, Mobilitie, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Stadium Tech Report: NBA, NHL teams deploying more Wi-Fi without league-wide help

March 9, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

So who needs a league-wide stadium networking strategy, anyway? Neither the NBA nor the NHL has such a beast, but it doesn’t seem to be stopping the deployment of fan-facing Wi-Fi services that now reach almost every NBA arena and almost two-thirds of NHL venues.

That’s one of the main themes explored by our latest STADIUM TECH REPORT, the HOOPS AND HOCKEY ISSUE, now available for free download from our site. If you’re new to our site, our quarterly long-form reports are designed to give stadium and large public venue owners and operators a way to dig deep into the topic of stadium technology, via exclusive research and some profiles of successful stadium technology deployments.

We’d like to take a quick moment to thank our sponsors, which for this issue include Mobilitie, Crown Castle, SOLiD, CommScope, TE Connectivity, Extreme Networks, Aruba Networks, and JMA Wireless. Their generous sponsorship makes it possible for us to offer this content free of charge to our readers.

In this issue we take a look at NBA and NHL arenas, with profiles on how some of the leading teams and stadium owner/operators are using technology to improve the fan experience, even without a stated, public direction on stadium technology from their respective leagues. What did we discover? First, that the lack of such strategies may not be such a bad thing, with 24 out of 29 NBA venues and 19 out of 30 NHL venues all offering some comprehensive form of free fan-facing Wi-Fi.

And while the lack of a single strategic direction also means there’s a bit of chaos when it comes to picking technology or building a team app strategy, we also think that scramble could also be a bonus right now, providing more choice and competitive pricing as the industry starts to grow as a whole. Inside our 40-page-plus issue you’ll find four in-depth profiles of Wi-Fi and DAS networking deployments, and the kinds of things those deployments make possible, like greater granularity when it comes to knowing who the fans are. There’s also analysis on the situation from yours truly and some key thinking on DAS deployment strategies from industry thought leader Seth Buechley. Again, all this is yours for the free reading, just download your copy today!

Filed Under: 4G LTE, DAS, Ericsson, MSR Guides, NBA, NHL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, Columbus Blue Jackets, DAS, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings, Joe Louis Arena, Mobile Sports Report, Nationwide Arena, NBA, NHL, Paul Kapustka, Portland Trail Blazers, Stadium Wi-Fi, the Moda Center, the Palace at Auburn Hills, Wi-Fi

Is Orlando’s Amway Center the next venue for VenueNext?

March 2, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Screen shot from VenueNext’s Levi’s Stadium app

Nobody’s talking officially, but a well-sourced news item today said that the Orlando Magic is seriously kicking the tires on VenueNext’s mobile stadium-app solution, as a possible addition to the in-stadium technology package already in use at the team’s home, the Amway Center.

According to Don Muret’s “Breaking Ground” column in today’s Sports Business Journal (subscription required to view), Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said the team is “in talks” with VenueNext to “upgrade mobile technology” at Amway Center for next season. While the report seems more than a little bit unclear on what exactly VenueNext does — it develops and deploys mobile applications, not Wi-Fi gear — the report did say that Magic officials and representatives from the Orlando concessionaire visited VenueNext at Levi’s Stadium for the recent Stadium Series hockey game.

If the report ends up becoming fact, it would represent the first venue outside of Levi’s Stadium to use VenueNext’s stadium-specific mobile application software. VenueNext, which said publicly that it is seeking multiple new customers for its software, hosted a steady parade of prospective customers during the football season at Levi’s Stadium this past fall.

The SBJ report also seems to think that VenueNext technology would somehow replace the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, which simply doesn’t make any sense. Our guess is that the Orlando team might look to add VenueNext’s ability to do things like instant replays and food ordering, which are fairly unique in the stadium app marketplace.

Jeff Lutes, the Orlando Magic’s vice president of technology, said in an email that “With respect to the article in the SBJ, the Orlando Magic are performing due diligence around the VenueNext mobile application. This does not impact nor replace the AmpThink portal for Wi-Fi registration and on-boarding.” Lutes also said that the stadium’s Cisco-based Wi-Fi network gear would not be affected by any new app. Louise Callagy, VenueNext vice president of marketing, said the company had no comment on the SBJ report.

Filed Under: Apps, Basketball, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Wi-Fi Tagged With: DAS, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, Orlando Magic, Paul Kapustka, stadium apps, Stadium Wi-Fi, VenueNext, Wi-Fi

HP buys Wi-Fi gear maker Aruba Networks for $3 billion

March 2, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

An Aruba AP inside the Moda Center

The rumors from last week were confirmed Monday, as computing giant Hewlett-Packard (aka “HP”) announced it was acquiring Wi-Fi gear vendor Aruba Networks for $3 billion. After cash and debt are accounted for, the actual value of the transaction is $2.7 billion, but what’s $300 million between friends?

Though the headline of the HP release pegs the reason behind the deal as the desire to “create an industry leader in enterprise mobility,” the acquisition will likely cause a lot of business activity in our corner of the world, namely wireless network deployments for large public venues, like stadiums. Over the past year, Aruba has been making a name for itself with high-profile Wi-Fi deployments in venues like the San Francisco 49ers’ new Levi’s Stadium, Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field, and the Dallas Mavericks’ American Airlines Center, among others. Perhaps the most interesting question from a business perspective is whether being part of HP will help or hurt Aruba when it comes to making stadium deals, and whether or not using HP core networking gear will become a required (or preferred) part of prospective stadium Wi-Fi deals.

On a business-wide view, the second $3 billion acquisition this year in the DAS/Wi-Fi space (following CommScope’s $3 billion purchase of DAS and networking supplier TE Connectivity) is perhaps a signal that consolidation is upon us in the greater Wi-Fi and local networking marketplace. Though we didn’t know exactly how and when such deals would shake out, on one hand it’s not that much of a surprise to us since we have always believed that the stadium networking market is really just a precursor to what will eventually happen in other large public venues as well as in large public places like cities and towns: Wi-Fi, which already carries more wireless data than cellular, will continue to expand and appear in more places, generating new business ideas like Wi-Fi phones and Wi-Fi first wireless plans.

The appearance of IBM as a strong entrant in the stadium wireless space can also be looked at as another signal that bigger players are entering the market, which usually means that smaller players — like the Arubas of the world — get snapped up, like a star player being traded mid-year to a team seeking a championship. Cisco, which is no stranger to acquisitions, has been quiet of late, and we are noticing that telecom gear giant Ericsson is making more moves toward Wi-Fi, especially in the arena of small cells and the idea of bringing LTE to Wi-Fi frequencies. Sounds like the Wi-Fi market is moving up from the $10 tables into the green- and black-chip territory.

Who’s next in the Wi-Fi world as an acquisition target? The easy picks are players like Ruckus Wireless and Aerohive Networks, given their ability to conduct their own IPOs. But we’re also guessing there may be some digesting of other smaller concerns in the Wi-Fi DAS food chain as the bigger players seek to add skills, customers and technology via purchases. Stay tuned for what should be an exciting year in the enterprise and stadium Wi-Fi business arena.

Filed Under: Cisco, DAS, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Hewlett-Packard, Levi's Stadium, MSR Guides, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Aruba Networks, Cisco, CommScope, DAS, Ericsson, HP. Hewlett-Packard, iBM, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi