How stadiums lead with Wi-Fi

With a sold-out seating capacity of nearly 70,000 at its home stadium, the Philadelphia Eagles knew they needed a Wi-Fi network that could handle thousands of fans all trying to capture, share, connect and build on their own game experience.

“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,” said the team’s vice president of information, John Pawling, in a prepared statement.

When it came time to choose, the Philadelphia Eagles picked Panasonic’s new Everest Network Solution because it was confident the platform would help the team support the high on-demand traffic of mobile users and to enhance the overall stadium experience for guests.

“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,” Mr. Pawling said.

Validation through testing

Before the Philadelphia Eagles decided on the Everest Network Solution, it was battle tested by some of the world’s most demanding mobile users.

As an event that boasts the latest and greatest in upcoming products from software developers and publishers in the video game industry, it’s a safe bet that a majority of those attending the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) are tech lovers eager to socialize the newest developments.

But, with more than 50,000 attendees all linking up to the events Wi-Fi to share images and videos, networks can become overloaded and unreliable. In past E3 events, gamers, streamers and bloggers were frustrated with slow, intermittent Internet connections. Everything changed when 50,300 descended upon the Las Angeles Convention Center in June 2016 and were surprised to find a network that could handle so many users.

Everything changed when 50,300 descended upon the Las Angeles Convention Center in June 2016 and were surprised to find a network that could handle so many users.

Twitter user @ReadySebbyGo expressed his surprise:

The first time I came to E3 in 2009, you could barely publish words on the WiFi. Things have changed! pic.twitter.com/KyL3nsXtVG
— Seb Ford (@ReadySebbyGo) June 16, 2016

The difference, whether attendees knew it or not, was that the E3 2016 was the site of a trial run for Panasonic’s Everest Network Solution, specifically designed to serve high-density venues including sold out arenas, teeming stadiums, and packed exhibition centers with ultra-high density Wi-Fi.

Along with E3 2016, the technology has been tested in a five-game-stint at an NFL stadium, and sold out concerts at Newark’s Prudential Center and Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay Events Center arenas. Everest access points have been operating flawlessly in one of NYC’s busiest areas for five months—among the most demanding wireless environments in the world.

Finally, Everest has been tested by leading independent telecommunications industry expert Miercom. The purpose of the testing, which compared the performance of Everest access points to AP’s from many well-known manufacturers, was to confirm Everest’s superior client capacity and throughput.

Of the tests, Miercom CEO Rob Smithers said: “We conducted the tests over a three-month period, comparing these to AP’s from well-established Wi-Fi manufacturers, and found the subject access points to outperform the competing vendors’ products in every test we conducted. Our independent testing confirmed Panasonic’s four-radio solution hands down provides the greatest scalability and performance for high density environments compared to all of the dual band two radio solutions on the market.”

A new fan experience

Emerging ultra-high density networks such as Everest offer increased throughput, the greatest number of simultaneous engagements per access point and a significant reduction in hardware and installation costs.

Ultra-high density Wi-Fi is something large venues—and their patrons—are demanding, as a connected social experience helps make stadiums the best place to watch the game. That digital transformation means more expansive networks.

Everest was designed to address the needs of the most demanding venues and ticket-holders as simply and cost-effectively as possible: The system requires just one third the wireless hardware of traditional systems and its access points mount on structures rather than under seats or in railings. This makes it much quicker and less expensive to install.