case studies

Changing the Game in Sports Stadiums

Publication: Land Mobile Magazine

A new software tool developed by iBwave for the indoor wireless industry is making the network design and planning process of stadiums a whole lot simpler, the company says. And it claims that its advanced technology could not have been introduced at a better time, when professionals in the in-building game are dealing with huge challenges on the stadium field.

More and more stadiums are demanding improved wireless access inside their domes, where tens of thousands of sports fans, stadium employees and media staff gather. Everyone within these densely populated spaces require wireless access: fans want to chat, post instant messages, watch instant action replays, and upload live video content, while employees, emergency crews, critics, journalists and VIPs all have their own needs as well.

From the seating areas to the car parks, concession stands, restaurants and locker rooms, people can be everywhere during the games. Planning engineers need to determine the various wireless service profiles in each of these sections and accordingly develop their network designs. Mobile users do not want to experience drops in their wireless connection, especially during a sporting event when every second counts.

Coverage sectors

To decrease these drops in connection inside stadiums, engineers include in their wireless planning process an intricate step known as sectorisation. More than one section, or sector, containing a radio frequency source needs to be created.

	"Each sector has its own maximum capacity level, which is the maximum number of subscribers it can support," explains Dr. Vladan Jevremovic, engineering solutions director at iBwave. "Several sectors are required in order to support the maximum population capacity of stadiums."

Optimal sectorisation and proper management of interferences are essential in order to meet the demand for capacity from mobile subscribers. This is quite a feat to accomplish when working with inclined surfaces and open-air environments – inconvenient characteristics of stadiums.

Automated planning

iBwave's software tool iBwave Design automates the process of in-building network planning. It offers features designed specifically to overcome the hurdles encountered in dealing with stadiums. For example, inclined surfaces can be modeled quickly through the use of a simple draf-and-drop function; what used to require hours of laborious work can now be completed within minutes. And the trapezoid shapes used to model inclined surfaces, in place of the traditional rectangles, help create smoother surfaces, reducing any shape overlaps and, in turn, improving the accuracy of the tool.

A surface plane prediction feature enables engineers to analyze and predict radio frequency signals in 3D format, with detailed images which even simulate the seating area sections.

	""This latest feature allows a simple pictorial representation to be accessed without the need for multiple predictions to be conducted at various elevations onsite," comments Paul Jones, a senior RF engineer at iWireless Solutions.

The prediction tool enables instant antenna verifications, allowing engineers to run transmitter tests without having to physically be on the field. "iBwave Design has provided us with complete and improved visibility of our RF designs," said Ulf Lofberg, operations manager for Commscope Solutions, which was responsible for 10 of the stadium in-building designs for last year's FIFA World Cup football tournament in South Africa.

Olympic Coverage

More recently, iWireless has been working on wireless coverage for the London 2012 Olympic venues.

	"With iBwave Design, we have developed designs and deployed high quality solutions for 40 plus HSPA sectors within fully open air stadium bowl environments, supporting up to 82,000 subscribers at peak times," says Jones.

In crowded stadiums, mobile coverage comes under strain because of rising noise, cell loading and user mobility, and dropped calls mean loss of revenue for all operators. But the latest in-building coverage technology will make it possible for fans from around the world to be connected for the games like never before.

Click here to access the complete November 2011 edition of Land Mobile. iBwave’s case study can be found on page 28.