Deployment included cells on platforms, small cells and DAS
Following a series of network upgrades ahead of the Indy 500, Verizon Wireless has reported that its deployment at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway handled a 200% increase in mobile data use compared to the 2014 event.
The network rollout around the venue included three cells on platforms, more than a dozen small cells and a distributed antenna system with more than 200 antennas, as well as a cell on wheels.
There was heavy use of social media during the event with a reported 6,251 Twitter data connections, 17,357 Facebook data connections and another 145,025 on photo-sharing platform Instagram.
The DAS system alone pushed about 9 Terabytes of data; for comparison, 1 Terabyte equates to approximately 472 hours of broadcast-quality video.
Verizon’s Region President Lauren Love-Wright said the goal was to support customer mobile data needs through a robust event network set up.
“Our customers expect a strong network experience and our network engineers worked to make sure the hundreds of thousands of racing fans could do what mattered most to them: share the moment with their family and friends by calling, texting and sharing on social media.”
She continued: “The busiest moment was the start of the race where we also saw the most traffic on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It’s clear a number of fans enjoyed sharing e-mails, texts, pictures and videos …”
The large increase in data capacity kept up a trend in usage; the 2014 race represented a 300% increase in data use compared to the race from the previous year.
An estimated 400,000 fans descended on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway area last month for the big race.
