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Wi-Fi upgrades in time for Tigers opening

Wi-Fi is in place and DAS in the works for Rust Belt fans

With a deployment just in time for the kick-off of baseball season, Major League Baseball officials completed installation of a free public Wi-Fi network in Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.

Building on Wi-Fi previously only available in the press box, Comerica Park now has some 600 Wi-Fi antennas covering the entire venue. Cisco provided the hardware – access points, switching gear and other networking equipment – while Detroit-based Bayview Electric and Professional Communications Services completed the install, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.

The entire build-out is connected via about 26 miles of copper and fiber optic cable.

Also in the works for Comerica Park is a carrier-neutral distributed antenna system, which uses geographically separated nodes to boost cellular service in large in-building scenarios. The DAS installation is being financed by the four U.S. carriers, Sprint, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US and Verizon Wireless.

The larger project is part of an agreement between the four carriers and Major League Baseball Advanced Media, a subsidiary of the MLB that is charged with digital services. The MLB’s digital arm works in deploying infrastructure along with holding the rights to baseball-related media content. The company distributes some 25,000 live events annually and boasts some 10 million video streams every day.

Elsewhere in the Midwest, Ohio-based Cincinnati Bell launched free public Wi-Fi in time for the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, which celebrates the hometown MLB Reds. The free Wi-Fi is available in Findlay Market, a popular open-air market in downtown Cincinnati, and in Fountain Square.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
Sean focuses on multiple subject areas including 5G, Open RAN, hybrid cloud, edge computing, and Industry 4.0. He also hosts Arden Media's podcast Will 5G Change the World? Prior to his work at RCR, Sean studied journalism and literature at the University of Mississippi then spent six years based in Key West, Florida, working as a reporter for the Miami Herald Media Company. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.