We’re kicking 2020 off with a bang, as the upcoming Super Bowl, the 50th modern-era National Football League (NFL) championship game, will decide the champion for the National Football League's 100th season. When the stakes are high and emotions soar through the sky, Extreme Networks keeps teams and fans connected at all times with purpose-built networking solutions. Being the official Wi-Fi Solutions Provider to the NFL means that Extreme has The (Big) Game!
2nd of February, 2020 – this date means a lot, and not just only to Americans and all football fans around the world. Over the years, Super Bowl has become a global phenomenon – a worldwide television event featuring the best talent in football and the biggest acts in English-language entertainment.
Because when it comes to The Big Game, no one is holding back. Major film studios release exclusive trailers and teasers for their biggest blockbusters while companies roll out their most expensive commercial campaigns (after dishing out huge amounts of money for securing their 30-second ad spot, of course). The most expensive Super Bowl commercial of all time, featuring Eminem cruising around his hometown of Detroit in Chrysler 200 set the American car manufacturer back “merely” $12.4 Million.
Experience Extreme
Super Bowl has become a massive confluence of athletes, personalities and brands that transcends the definition of a sports match. It’s an experience. And like every experience, it’s best to take it to the Extreme!
We are at an inflection point, as Wi-Fi has never been more powerful than it is today. With the official rollout of Wi-Fi 6, you see professional sports teams and universities on the cutting edge of this new technology as they are hungry to bring more personalized, immersive, forward-looking experiences to their fans.
John Brams, Director, Hospitality, Sports and Entertainment, Extreme Networks
While Wi-Fi connectivity becomes as much a critical part of game day, as the competition itself, fans increasingly expect seamless and secure connectivity that enables social media sharing, video streaming, and unfettered mobile app usage. As the Official Wi-Fi Solutions Provider of the NFL, Extreme Networks has powered the previous six Super Bowls with Wi-Fi analytics. Here’s a couple of statistics from the last Big Game:
- 69% of fans in attendance connected to Wi-Fi at some point during the game
- 30,605 fans simultaneously connected to Wi-Fi at the network’s peak usage point
- 10.8 TB of iCloud data alone was transferred across the Wi-Fi network
- 24.05 TB of data total was transferred across the Wi-Fi network during the game
Learn more about Wi-Fi engagements from the 2018 NFL season’s final game from our awesome infographic!
The winning team
Extreme is currently providing Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi analytics solutions to 24 stadiums, servicing 25 teams, in the NFL. Our company provides customer-driven solutions to deliver quality, secure wireless connectivity to the fans, as well as network infrastructure for valuable analytics to the business while supporting the critical operations of the team and the stadium:
- With ExtremeMobility™ access points, teams have the scale and capacity to provide seamless Wi-Fi connectivity to fans on game day. Fans can share their experiences on social media, instantly access real-time statistics and commentary, and stream instant replay videos on their mobile devices without latency.
- With ExtremeAnalytics™ technology, NFL IT teams gain granular visibility into network and application performance, locations, and devices, and can capture information related to which apps are running on the Wi-Fi network, who is using them and what the response time is for each app. With these insights, teams can deliver personalized offers and application features to engaged fans.
- With a high-speed, high-capacity network, NFL teams are also laying the groundwork to offer next-generation fan experiences driven by AR and VR.
ExtremeMobility access points and ExtremeAnalytics applications, Elements of Extreme's Smart OmniEdge™ portfolio, power critical game day operations, including mobile ticketing, point-of-sale (POS), heating and cooling systems, digital signage, IPTV, and video surveillance technologies, and enable IT to manage, automate, and gather real-time analytics across a broad collection of business functions such as hospitality, concessions, retail, and operational systems.
Wi-Fi 6: The Game Changer
Recently, Extreme introduced new stadium-caliber Wi-Fi 6 access points that are purpose-built to work with the unique physical characteristics of stadiums and other large public venues. The series of access points includes options for under-seat and overhead mounting, as well as remote antennae programmability, giving IT teams the ability to fine-tune coverage as needed.
One of the latest NFL teams to upgrade its IT network to Extreme’s industry-leading Wi-Fi 6 solutions were Tennessee Titans. Since deploying Extreme’s Wi-Fi solutions in 2014, the Tennessee Titans have seen immense growth in their network capabilities. By upgrading to ExtremeWireless Wi-Fi 6 access points and ExtremeSwitching technology, the Titans have jumped three generations of technology and are well-equipped to bring professional-grade, next-generation connectivity to fans at every game this football season and in the future.
Wi-Fi 6 is making a lot of headlines, but it’s about more than just speed. For us, adopting Wi-Fi 6 is a business imperative, because if our network can’t provide a highly reliable, seamless experience throughout the game, our fans will stay home. Our strong 5-year partnership with Extreme Networks made the decision a no-brainer to enlist their help for a full network upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 technology.
Bob Flynn, Vice President of Facilities and Game Day Operations, Tennessee Titans
With ExtremeWireless™ Wi-Fi 6 access points and ExtremeSwitching™ technology, Tennessee Titans have gained greater flexibility and increased bandwidth to support more devices, including IoT devices, and advanced immersive applications. Purpose-built for challenging physical environments, next generation access points ensure seamless, secure Wi-Fi connectivity at the Nissan Stadium that is up to 40% faster than the previous Wi-Fi 5 standard, and stronger connections for real-time social media sharing, video streaming, and mobile app usage, including point of sale applications and mobile ticketing.
Do you have what it takes?
This year marks the eighth season of the Extreme Networks / National Football League partnership. With Extreme Wi-Fi solutions in place, NFL teams have the scale, capacity, and intelligence to deliver exceptional digital fan experiences on a game day. In addition to NFL stadiums, Extreme's networking solutions are deployed in professional sports stadiums around the world, and at more than 17,000 schools and 4,500 college campuses worldwide, powering digital education initiatives and enabling competitive e-sports programs.
So, do you have what it takes to tackle the digital transformation? Because Extreme Networks certainly has the game!