May I ask you all some numbers... How many seats/AP did you plan for your NCAA stadium?
Philippe Philippe Hanset www.eduroam.us<http://www.eduroam.us> On May 8, 2014, at 8:20 AM, Lee H Badman <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Mike makes great points. Having done our own domed stadium, I would also add: be realistic in your expectations at the university level. You'll never pull off NFL-grade WiFi without and NFL-grade budget, and the paradigm goes far beyond just WLAN design. The "fan experience" usually requires additional/dedicated staff, a team on sight at every game (including nights and weekends) and only really becomes worth the effort if it generates big $$. Or, you could get decent WI-Fi in the venue (still challenging) but not go all-in on apps and revenue generation which makes things considerably simpler. But whatever you do, take a serious look at your internal partners- what does your Athletics department actually want? Are their ideas realistic (again, few of us have the deep pockets pro teams have) or is IT driving the notion while Athletics nods along because it seems interesting? If ever there was a place where the proverbial CAPEX + OPEX = TCO thing came into play, it's in stadium wireless. Knowing what comes after the installation and who/how it's funded, staffed, and operated needs to be factored in early. Lee H. Badman Network Architect/Wireless TME ITS, Syracuse University 315.443.3003 ________________________________ From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of Mike Albano <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Sent: Wednesday, May 7, 2014 8:13 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Stadium WiFi I've been looking at Stadium WiFi as well. There's a lot of moving parts to it. More than just good WiFi ("apps", digital signage, Kiosks etc.)...you need to identify what your trying to accomplish, and go from there. For us, the stadium is used year-round, and hosts many events in addition to our Campus events. It is a multi-purpose facility, so is dynamic in nature. If you're looking to enhance the "Fan Experience" a DAS-only solution won't get you all the bells & whistles. The hotness/all the rage is surrounding Location Based services (What's the closest bathroom, concession sales w/ out leaving seat, seat-upsales, shortest bathroom line etc). You'll want/need an 'app' if you want to really engage the "Fans". The most successful stadiums (NFL, NBA etc.) seem to have both...a good DAS & 802.11 WiFi system in place. You can find statistics on-line for 802.11 uptake at Superbowls and major events. Not surprisingly, it's growing. You can also find article referencing student attendance going down at campus'. Speculation is that lack of a connection (wifi or other), being 'disconnected' is driving them away. I'll refrain from vendor-wars and "who's better". I can comment off-list on specific parts of systems that I prefer in one over another, but as with most things, there is no clear "winner". Some links: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-sports-teams-are-scrambling-to-keep-millennials-coming-to-games/#. http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20140205/networks/extreme-networks-boosted-by-enterasys-acquisition/ (statis by Extreme, WiFi by Cisco) http://wlanbook.com/stadium-wifi-list/ http://wirednot.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/whats-the-big-deal-with-stadium-wi-fi-let-me-spell-it-out-for-you/ http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303369904579423792725267978 (hey, look who won worst!) http://vimeo.com/89430966 (Chuck Lukaszewski talking Ultra-HD WiFi) Mike Albano On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 12:23 PM, Ball, Erik <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: It’s been about a year since Stadium WiFi has come up on this list, so I wanted to see if there has been any movement towards a large scale stadium WiFi deployment by anyone? We looked into this a little less than a year ago, and it would be quite pricey given that it would be really only utilized 1 season of the year. However, the topic is coming up again (as part of envisioning the perfect fan experience), and it would be nice to see where other people stood on this. If so, can you share where you are at in the process, and the vendor that you selected? However, it sounds like working through cellular/DAS arrangements has been more popular/widespread than bothering with stadium WiFi. If you chose DAS, without bothering with 802.11 coverage, did that satisfy people? Thanks, Erik ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found athttp://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found athttp://www.educause.edu/groups/.
