Ohio Stadium has deployed high-density wireless connectivity across the whole venue to provide Wi-Fi services to more than 100,000 fans, The Ohio State University reported
The university said that fans were expected to have access to Wi-Fi services in the season-opening game on August 31 against Florida Atlantic. The university said the project will not be fully completed until October 4, but access will be available at the first game.
“The contractors working on behalf of the Department of Athletics and the Office of the Chief Information Officer have worked above and beyond to get us to this point of having stadium-wide Wi-Fi in time for the first game,” said Jim Null, senior associate athletics director/chief information officer. “The first game will set a baseline for Wi-Fi that will help us make adjustments and fine-tune performance for each subsequent game.”
Workers will have pulled 47 miles of copper and fiber wire throughout Ohio Stadium when the project is completed. The wire leads to more than 2,000 access points and 4,018 antennas to keep fans connected.
“Ten access points could typically cover an area the size of the stadium, but we needed significantly more to service the Wi-Fi needs of so many fans in close proximity, plus ticketing functions and the press box, suites, club rooms, concourses and outdoor areas,” Null added.
The university also highlighted that all that equipment is seamlessly placed to blend in and not disrupt the integrity of Ohio Stadium.
The $10.5 million project, which includes works to expand Wi-Fi connectivity in the Jerome Schottenstein Center in time for the start of the basketball seasons this fall, is part of a larger, $18.6 million campus-wide project that was approved by the board of trustees in April 2018.
The expansion project includes the installation of more than 23,000 access points across the state in over 500 buildings and 180 outdoor spaces, providing mobile access to teaching, learning and research resources across all campuses and extension offices.