The ‘hat trick’ includes insights into fan preferences, venue operations and network efficiency, according to Extreme Networks CEO
For the ninth year in a row, Extreme Networks will be the official Wi-Fi solutions and analytics provider for the National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowl. But that’s not all that the company announced this week. Extreme has also been deemed the official Wi-Fi solutions and analytics provider for both the U.S National Hockey League (NHL) and the Manchester United Football Club (ManU), based in the Greater Manchester, England area.
About the partnership with the NHL, Ed Meyercord, president and CEO of Extreme Networks, has promised to “deliver the hat trick of insights as it pertains to fan preferences, venue operations and network efficiency.”
Chris Golier, the league’s vice president of Business Development and Technology Partnerships, commented that the NHL is “excited […] to uncover insights into Wi-Fi network performance in NHL arenas,” adding that the information that Extreme’s analytics solutions will provide will allow for “a deeper understanding and insights in order to deliver a more personalized and engaging in-arena fan experience.”
The installation of Extreme Wi-Fi 6 access points and analytics support for the Manchester United Club at Old Trafford will begin later this year and will provide fast, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity for fans, while increasing the Club’s capability to deliver high-performance, low-latency and secure digital services.
“Our collaboration with Extreme Networks is an important step in our drive to enhance and modernize the in-stadium fan experience at Old Trafford, opening up exciting opportunities for the Club to deliver next-generation digital services to fans on matchdays and to visitors throughout the year,” said Collette Roche, chief operating officer at Manchester United.
This year’s Super Bowl will take place February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. ExtremeAnalytics is deployed at 29 of 30 NFL stadiums and ExtremeWireless access points are deployed at 12 NFL stadiums. Previously reported data indicated that data usage during the game revealed an interesting trend in the way that the network is being used by fans.
In 2020, John Brams, director of sports and entertainment at Extreme Networks, told RCR Wireless News that the average fan transferred around 600 megabytes, compared to the 492 reported in 2019, a more than 100-megabyte increase. This upward trend is expected to continue.
In fact, based on more recent Extreme insights, NFL teams, on average, saw a 22% increase in peak throughput of data and a 31% increase in transfer speed of data during games this season in comparison to the 2019 season. This means, the company concluded, that fans continue to increase their consumption of wireless data, but the speed of those connections is also dramatically improved.
