Connecting spectators to sports or cultural events in stadiums or race tracks is a real headache. On the one hand, these infrastructures are empty most of the time, and on the other hand, they are overcrowded, but not for long.
Therefore, investing heavily in 4G or 5G antennas is very expensive because these antennas are used for a very short time. Then Wi-Fi is an alternative technology. In the United States, 5 Nascar racing circuits have decided to enhance the experience of 125,000 motor racing enthusiasts with this high-performance Wi-Fi.
A serious problem, as the practice of viewers has changed. Now, in addition to social networks, fans use their mobile devices to access live video and audio broadcasts of the race through the on-board devices of the riders. And this direct video traffic creates a significant load on the network with the risk of congestion.
Overcome the 4-kilometer track
The implementation of the project was challenging as American highways are among the largest sports venues in terms of capacity. For example, about 2,100 Wi-Fi hotspots were needed on the 4km-long Dayton highway.
“These five tracks now have a network that can support the addition of value-added services to the public, such as delivering snacks directly to their location,” said John Martin, vice president of media and event technology, NASCAR.
But most importantly, with this amount of infrastructure, network management becomes critical. Supplier Extreme Networks says its ExtremeAnalytics and ExtremeCloud IQ control units provide visibility into network activity and performance. Which helps site managers make data-driven decisions to improve operational efficiency, and that’s beyond network management per se.
For example, identifying bottlenecks in pedestrian traffic on a highway can be done by analyzing traffic on a WiFi network.
In addition to providing Wi-Fi access to the public, the implementation of Wi-Fi 6 should enable improved mobile payments, online ticketing, and contactless point-of-sale systems.