NFL Wi-Fi update: Cox Business signs tech deal with Arizona Cardinals; Panasonic replaces Extreme at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field

The Arizona Cardinals and Cox Business announced a new multi-year agreement that makes Cox Business the “exclusive technology solutions provider” for the team and its home stadium, the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The new deal sees Cox Business replacing CDW as the main integrator for technology deployments at UoP Stadium, a venue that regularly sees big-time audiences for NFL games, Super Bowls, and the Fiesta Bowl.

While the Cardinals and Cox Business have been partners since 2006, the new deal calls for Cox Business to add in support and development of the stadium’s Wi-Fi and networking infrastructure, as well as to provide technical support. Previously, CDW handled those tasks at UoP Stadium.

On the other side of the country, Panasonic’s nascent big-venue Wi-Fi business got a win when the Philadelphia Eagles selected Panasonic to replace the Extreme Networks Wi-Fi deployment inside Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field this offseason. Though the Eagles declined to comment on the new deployment to MSR at this time, John Pawling, the team’s vice president of information, had this to say in a Panasonic press release:

“Upgrading Lincoln Financial Field’s Wi-Fi network is all part of our team’s ongoing commitment to providing the best in-game experience for our fans,” Pawling said in what Panasonic said was a prepared statement. “Our hope is that by staying ahead of the curve and collaborating with global leaders like Panasonic, we will have the ability to take the fan experience to the next level.”

Extreme, whose gear is currently used in nine other NFL venues, was part of a Wi-Fi deployment at the Linc done back in 2013, part of at $125 million renovation done at that time. Neither Extreme nor the Eagles would comment about the switch to Panasonic.

Final Four final score: 17.6 TB (at least) of wireless data used at University of Phoenix Stadium

We finally have the Wi-Fi numbers from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Final Four weekend at the University of Phoenix Stadium, and they are big — a total of 11.2 terabytes of data used during the two days of competition, according to the stadium network crews running the operations for the NCAA. Combined with AT&T’s reported DAS total of 6.4 TB, that means the total wireless usage so far is at least 17.6 TB — and that’s not including DAS numbers from Verizon Wireless, Sprint or T-Mobile, which if we had them would probably push the total far higher.

Just on the Wi-Fi side of things, the Saturday semifinal games this year produced enough single-day traffic (6.3 TB) to sneak into our unofficial Top 5 list for Wi-Fi events, barely edging Super Bowl XLIX, which saw 6.2 TB of traffic in the same building a couple years earlier. Granted, the Final Four has more fans in attendance and more time with two games compared to one, but it’s still a sign (to us, anyway) that wireless use by fans at big games of all types is continuing to grow. (It’s cool to see the comparison between a Super Bowl and a Final Four in the same venue, as well. Looks like the network operators there keep improving from big game to big game.)

According to the network stats provided to us, the Final Four crowd on Saturday saw 38,520 unique users connected to the Wi-Fi at some point, with a max concurrent user total of 20,675. On Monday night’s championship game, those numbers were 31,458 uniques and 19,861 max concurrent users. Attendance for the two sessions was 77,612 for Saturday’s semifinals and 76,168 for Monday’s championship, which were both second-highest ever numbers, according to a cool NCAA infographic that has some more stats on TV and internet viewership.

See you next year in San Antonio, NCAA… to see if the connectivity pace keeps increasing!

THE NEW TOP 8 FOR WI-FI

1. Super Bowl 51, NRG Stadium, Houston, Feb. 5, 2017: Wi-Fi: 11.8 TB
2. Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016: Wi-Fi: 10.1 TB
3. Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys, Divisional Playoffs, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Jan. 15, 2017: Wi-Fi: 7.25 TB
4. WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, April 3, 2016: Wi-Fi: 6.77 TB
5. NCAA Men’s Final Four, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., April 1, 2017: Wi-Fi: 6.3 TB
6. Super Bowl 49, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2015: Wi-Fi: 6.23 TB
7. Alabama vs. Texas A&M, Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, Oct. 17, 2015: Wi-Fi: 5.7 TB
8. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, AFC Championship Game, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., Jan. 22, 2017: Wi-Fi: 5.11 TB

AT&T sees 6.4 TB of data used on stadium DAS for Final Four weekend

AT&T’s cell on wheels tower outside the University of Phoenix Stadium for the Final Four. Credit both photos: AT&T (click on any photo for a larger image)

AT&T said that it saw 6.4 terabytes of wireless data used on its cellular networks inside the University of Phoenix Stadium during this past weekend’s Final Four games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, one of the biggest numbers yet for AT&T during the biggest weekend of college hoops.

While we don’t have full wireless-use totals from last year, totals of DAS and Wi-Fi from this year’s semifinal games from Saturday and Monday’s championship game (won by North Carolina, a 71-65 victory over Gonzaga) should surge past the last official mark we have, of almost 11 TB recorded at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis back in 2015.

That weekend saw 5.3 TB on the stadium’s Wi-Fi network and the rest on DAS systems; we are currently waiting for both the Wi-Fi numbers from UoP Stadium as well as any DAS stats from Verizon or Sprint (or T-Mobile, which wouldn’t give us a total usage number from the Super Bowl so we are guessing we won’t see any from Final Four weekend either).

AT&T COW in downtown Phoenix

And while we always take those estimates about how much big events contribute to the local economy with a huge grain of salt, there is no disputing that big events bring big wireless usage to an entire host city, especially when like at a Final Four or Super Bowl, there are official events just about everywhere you look.

AT&T said its temporary and fixed networks around Phoenix saw more than 10.5 TB of traffic over the weekend, a sign that cities with big-event venues probably need to start thinking of how they might need to beef up macro and small-cell networks around town — or help the carriers deploy towers and other devices more quickly so that fans can stay connected throughout their visits.

Our favorite tweet from Monday’s championship game was one where someone we follow had a picture of himself watching live baseball on his phone while at the UoP stadium during the championship game. While it may be a subtle comment on the painful play (and refereeing) it was certainly a vote in favor of the great connectivity in the building, whether it was on Wi-Fi or cellular. Stay tuned for more figures as we get ’em.

DAS, Wi-Fi get a workout at NCAA men’s hoops venues

AT&T cell tower on wheels (COW) with an ‘eyeball’ antenna

Stadium DAS and Wi-Fi networks at venues hosting NCAA men’s basketball tournament action saw plenty of usage the past two weeks, confirming that in-stadium wireless device use continues to grow.

According to AT&T, fans on its networks across all NCAA men’s venues used a total of 11.6 terabytes of data, with Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis seeing the most of any single venue, with 1.8 TB of data used in games there from March 17-19. The Amway Center in Orlando was close behind, with 1.075 TB used on the AT&T DAS networks for games on March 16 and 18.

On the Wi-Fi side, San Jose’s SAP Center saw almost 1.7 TB of data used this past weekend for regional finals games. Allison Aiello, director of IT for Sharks Sports & Entertainment, said the venue saw 1.1 TB of data used for Thursday’s two games, with a peak concurrent user number of 3,041 and a peak bandwidth utilization of 1.1 Gbps. On Saturday Aiello said the SAP Center’s new Wi-Fi network saw 592 GB of data used, with a peak concurrent user total of 2,802 and peak bandwidth utilization of 451 Mbps. (Any other venues or carriers with stats, send them in and we will update this post.)

AT&T also said that it has — once againupdated its coverage in and around the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of this year’s men’s Final Four. With a 60 percent increase in capacity for the stadium’s DAS and additional equipment for other Phoenix venues and outside areas, AT&T continues to invest in infrastructure for what it sees as a still-climbing demand for bandwidth at sporting events. According to AT&T:

Over the last five NCAA Men’s Final Four tournaments (2012-2016), total data usage on AT&T’s venue-specific mobile network alone has increased more than 900 percent, setting records on our network year after year. Next weekend’s tournament will surely be no different.

Arizona Cardinals: Fans used 2.9 TB of Wi-Fi at playoff game vs. Green Bay

Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers during the Jan. 16 playoff game. Photo: Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers during the Jan. 16 playoff game. Photo: Arizona Cardinals

During the exciting 26-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers that sent the Arizona Cardinals to the NFC championship game, fans at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., used 2.9 terabytes of Wi-Fi on the stadium network, according to the Cardinals.

Mark Feller, vice president of information technology for the Cardinals, said that during the Jan. 16 game the network also saw 32,330 unique client devices attach to the Wi-Fi network, which Feller said was the highest such total ever and represented a nearly 50 percent take rate since the attendance that day was 65,089. Feller said the Wi-Fi network that day also saw a peak concurrent connected user total of 20,451.

The UoP stadium, which recently hosted the College Football Playoff championship, is still the holder of the single-day Wi-Fi data record, a number of 6.23 TB reached during Super Bowl XLIX last February. All eyes in the Wi-Fi world will be on Levi’s Stadium this Sunday, to see if the record Wi-Fi total number is eclipsed again.

Fans at College Football Playoff championship game use 4.9 TB of Wi-Fi data, 3.9 TB of DAS from AT&T and Verizon

Alabama coach Nick Saban hoists the college championship trophy. Photo by Kent Gidley / University of Alabama

Alabama coach Nick Saban hoists the college championship trophy. Photo by Kent Gidley / University of Alabama

The exciting national championship game Monday night between Alabama and Clemson also resulted in a big night for Wi-Fi and cellular usage at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., with 4.9 terabytes of Wi-Fi data consumed, according to stadium network officials.

While the number didn’t set a stadium record — the 6.23 TB of Wi-Fi used at Super Bowl XLIX last February in the same venue is still the highest single-game Wi-Fi mark we’ve seen — the 4.9 TB used Monday nearly matches the total from last year’s inaugural College Football Playoff championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where 4.93 TB of Wi-Fi was used. It’s worth noting, however, that Monday night’s game had 75,765 fans in attendance, almost 10,000 less than last year’s crowd of 85,689 at the first playoff championship. So at the very least, Monday’s fans used more data per fan in attendance than last year’s game.

On the cellular side of things however, AT&T reported that data usage on its DAS network Monday night exceeded the total from last year’s Super Bowl, with 1.9 TB carried Monday to top the 1.7 TB total AT&T recorded at Super Bowl XLIX. UPDATE, 1/26/16: Verizon has followed up with a report claiming it had 2 TB of DAS traffic at the event. So for right now the wireless total from Monday’s game stands at 8.8 TB, a number that still might grow if we ever hear from Sprint or T-Mobile.

Mark Feller, vice president of information technology for the Arizona Cardinals, said that the University of Phoenix Stadium Wi-Fi network saw 23,306 unique devices connect Monday night, with a peak concurrent connected total of 17,297 devices. The stadium network also saw an additional 1.2 TB of wired data used Monday night, primarily from press and photographer Ethernet connections, Feller said.

The 4.9 TB mark unofficially puts Monday’s game in the “top four” of highest-ever single game Wi-Fi data totals we’ve seen, behind only last year’s Super Bowl, an Alabama game at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field this fall that hit 5.7 TB, and (barely) last year’s college championship game. All eyes in the Wi-Fi totals world now turn to Levi’s Stadium, where Super Bowl 50 takes place Feb. 7. Will the 6.2 TB mark survive, maybe showing that fan data use at big games has peaked? Or will a new record be set?