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Wide shot of a professional basketball stadium during a game.

Connected stadiums - connected fans

Connected Stadiums

5G is here and ensuring a seamless and high-performance experience to fans at stadiums and arenas will be a game changer.

In this age of digital and mobile consumption, fans expect an experience enhanced by their mobile devices. Globally, sports venues are seeing a 67% growth in data usage year over year. This represents a major opportunity for service providers to deliver enhanced networks in stadiums and arenas to ensure their subscribers are well connected.

But how can we connect these fans? Many challenges present themselves in stadium environments:

  • Traditional coverage solutions do not scale well
  • Adding capacity requires headend expansion
  • Remote unit and coax installation is expensive
  • Difficult to provide cost effective capacity densification where needed

Ericsson’s Connected Stadium portfolio, ensures these problems are mitigated:

  • Reduced headend footprint and power
  • Scalable capacity
  • Co-existence with existing DAS
  • Cell split via Combined Cell
  • Full feature parity across network
  • Software upgradeable to support other technologies

Creating the perfect event experience

Ericsson is already assisting operators at major events all over the world, allowing us to build up deep insights into user behaviors, sentiments and expectations. Ericsson has developed key competencies to address what it takes to ensure high quality end-user services at big events - a combination for success.

Illustration of a connected stadium.

Sports Venue – Capacity Densification

Legacy DAS solution

  • Capacity scaling  limited by interference
  • Antenna location options are limited
  • Premium field level seating impacted the most

Stadium low power coordinated, under-the-seat small cells - capacity densification layer

  • Significantly higher capacity 
  • Improved and consistent experience
  • Location based services; 3-5m accuracy from UTS
  • Complement existing DAS

How do you connect a stadium?

Combined family shot of products Dot 2272.

Under the Seat Connectivity with Radio Dot System

Small cells will be required to densify stadiums.  With a small form factor, and under the seat options, the Radio Dot System is a perfect fit for delivering 5G in stadiums. 

People using their mobile phones at a connected stadium.

Ericsson and Telefónica connect 5G at famed Camp Nou stadium

Camp Nou in Barcelona is a legendary football stadium, home to some of the world’s most passionate fans and one of the world’s most dominant football clubs--and now it’s connected with 5G.

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