Tackling the Wi-Fi Situation in the NFL

When it comes to providing an enjoyable football game experience, the NFL is often scoring. However, when it comes to Wi-Fi capability in their stadiums, they may have fumbled an opportunity. Currently, there are only 12 out of 31 stadiums that are fully Wi-Fi accessible.

Wi-Fi has become increasingly important since the mass amount of fans who own smartphones often times overload cellular networks. Teams have learned to utilize mobile technology to engage fans by asking them to upload photos to appear on the scoreboard or Tweet updates with team-generated hashtags. Fantasy football and watching team scores largely contributes to the need for Wi-Fi as well. The NFL is aware of the situation to upgrade the mobile internet options for fans and have announced plans to enable every stadium with Wi-Fi access by 2015.

There have been a few reasons why this process has been slowed down though. Stadiums are trying to be patient for the next generation of increased Wi-Fi speed. If current Wi-Fi coverage would become outdated, it would require updating the Wi-Fi capability all over again.

               
Another dilemma is who will take financial responsibility for installing Wi-Fi technology. Venue owners and operators have not traditionally needed to invest in such costly ventures but the necessity of Wi-Fi might force their hand. Wi-Fi is becoming as much a part of the stadium experience as the lights illuminating the stadium. The NFL is in pursuit of a telecommunications partner that can help handle situations with stadium size, design and capacity of fans attempting to access the network all at once.

               
MetLife Stadium, the host of the upcoming 2014 Super Bowl, is currently Wi-Fi enabled as of 2012. This was not always the case as the stadium was utilizing distributed antenna systems (DAS) when it was originally built in 2010. The Super Bowl was certainly a factor for the urgency to upgrade since the amount of fans at MetLife Stadium will be stretched to capacity.

Meanwhile, a field like Reliant Stadium, home to the Houston Texans, does not currently offer Wi-Fi but will be hosting the Super Bowl in 2017. Many other stadiums have resorted to utilizing DAS with help from carriers like Verizon and AT&T. This is only a temporary fix and not a long term solution.

"All of the leagues have understood that having a wireless component at your stadium is no longer nice to have -- it's a requirement," said Bob Jordan, senior vice president of Van Wagner Sports Group.

This will be an important issue to tackle in the coming years for NFL stadiums. To learn more about big venue Wi-Fi or if you are interested in buying/selling TerraWave Solutions Equipment , contact Launch 3 Telecom at 877-878-9134 or email sales@launch3.net.

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