SoFi Stadium Builds Super Bowl Fan Experience Around Wi-Fi6
SoFi Stadium is the glittery new jewel of NFL stadiums, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, and the site of Super Bowl 56. With connectivity so crucial to the fan experience, it’s no surprise that SoFi chose Wi-Fi 6 for its wireless technology.
Over the last few years, many stadiums have added Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to their facilities, not only so fans can watch instant replays and post on social media but to support touchless concession ordering and payment and digital ticketing. According to Jason Gannon, managing director of SoFi Stadium:We envision SoFi Stadium not just hosting world-class events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics, but also ... [setting] a new standard for the fan experience through cutting-edge technology that will enhance the way guests interact with live eventsTo support this vision, technology integrator AmpThink installed about 2500 Wi-Fi 6 access points throughout the stadium and surrounding facilities.
Usage statistics show this money was well spent. SoFi reports that during an average football game, fans consume 18TB with a peak utilization of 24TB. The average concurrent take rate was 69% with an astounding peak rate of 84%, and the average data consumed by fans at all events was 533MB. According to tests performed by CNET, Wi-Fi 6 transfer speeds within the stadium reach 1,320 Mbps, which was 40% faster than the fastest Wi-Fi 5 speed they had ever measured.
Wi-Fi 6 Cuts Through the Clutter
But Wi-Fi 6 isn’t just about speed. This new generation of wireless incorporates many sophisticated technological advances like OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) and downlink and uplink MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) to serve multiple users much more efficiently. It adds back the 2.4 GHz spectrum band to add capacity and increase the effective reach, and technologies like BSS Coloring to work more efficiently in crowded Wi-Fi environments. These features, plus a maximum transfer speed of 9.6 Gbps, make Wi-Fi 6 ideal for stadium usage.
So, it comes as no surprise that Wi-Fi 6 has been the wireless technology of choice for a number of connectivity upgrades, including Old Trafford stadium in Greater Manchester, Olympiastadion in Berlin, St. Jakob Park in Basel Switzerland, Coors Field in Denver, Chase Center in San Francisco, Nissan Stadium and 16 Major League Baseball stadiums in the US. It’s not a stretch to say that Wi-Fi 6 is improving the fan experience around the world.
Funding Wi-Fi Innovation
As entertainment venues and other markets continue to push the envelope for improved performance and reliability in increasingly challenging environments, the Wi-Fi development community continues to invest in R&D to meet and exceed these requirements. As a patent pool administrator, Sisvel helps companies that fund this R&D recoup their investment so they can perform more research to deliver even more benefits in future versions.
Image is from here: Transportation Options - SoFi Stadium | Hollywood Park (hollywoodparkca.com)