Manchester City to install Cisco High Density Stadium WiFi and Fan Mobile Video Solution at Etihad Stadium
Manchester City
Manchester City Football club is 100% owned by His Ultra Sports Techie Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. As a result, Manchester City is about to become the first Premier League team to deliver High Density Stadium WiFi and the Cisco Fan Mobile Video Solution. According to Cisco, “Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is soon to be transformed into the Premier League’s most technologically fan-friendly stadium.” These ground-breaking Solutions are in fact sports technology historical milestones for the Premier League and innovative Manchester City Football Club organization, Etihad stadium, and passionate Blues fans provided by Cisco and O2, forever changing the way football is watched and engaged with at Live matches and events.
Tom Glick, Chief Commercial & Operating Officer for Manchester City Football Club said, “As a Club that is passionate about innovation and prides itself on constantly looking for ways to enhance our supporters’ experience at the Etihad Stadium, we feel we have found the perfect solution with O2 and Cisco. Live games and concerts are highly enjoyable social events and we are delighted to be able to offer supporters a system that allows them to better utilize their own mobile devices when at the Stadium.”
Cisco
No longer will Man City fans suffer because of clogged Internet airways, missed texts or dropped phone calls after installation is completed inside of the 47,000 seat capacity stadium. Manchester City fans will be able to interact with second and third mobile device screens as well as the big screen inside of Etihad Stadium with Connected Stadium Wi-Fi. Talking on a phone call, corresponding by text message, or uploading social media comments, pictures and video, will soon be a full-time reality for Etihad Stadium and its patrons in real-time.
Phil Smith, CEO Cisco UK & Ireland said, “Cisco is all about connections. Fans at a premier venue like the Etihad Stadium expect premier Internet connectivity. I am thrilled that Cisco, O2 and Manchester City are jointly leading the field with a media rich environment that is unparalleled in the Premier League. With Cisco Connected Sports solutions football fans can now get information at their finger-tips and share their match-day emotions and thrills without worrying about mobile connection issues.”
This new era in football began at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu together with Cisco technology. That was followed by Cisco Sports & Entertainment and the Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center creating what is known as the most techie building in the NBA. Read about these sports tech achievements in the following Sports Techie blogs.
Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center
Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu
https://n5y.1cd.myftpupload.com/real-madrid-upgrading-cisco-connected-stadium-solutions/
Etihad Stadium
Etihad Stadium has a documented history of prioritizing sports technology and will continue adding to this legacy by installing Cisco’s Connected Stadium Wi-Fi solution over the next several weeks. The proven technologies at Santiago Bernabeu and Barclays Center delivers high speed wireless Internet access to thousands of mobile phones and tablets in Spain and New Jersey and will soon enhance the face of match-days for City’s legions of tech friendly fans.
The intelligent High-Density Wi-Fi network, which will be delivered by O2, will be available in and around the stadium footprint, and will allow fans to use their mobile devices to surf the web to share their live event experiences and to interact with football supporters around the world via their favorite social media platforms.
StadiumVision Mobile
Manchester City will be offering StadiumVision Mobile to all fans in the near future to enjoy one of the most immersive, video-rich experiences in sports. StadiumVision Mobile is capable of delivering live video and relevant event information to fans’ mobile devices with minimal delay and can offer multiple channels of unique content, which could include a replay channel, an alternate angle view channel, and a dynamic data channel (for stats, trivia contests and multi-player games).
O2
As part of the relationship with O2, the Etihad Stadium will also be equipped with technology that significantly improves mobile phone connectivity, allowing fans to make calls and send / receive text messages, and virtually eliminating the frustration of not getting reception on match-days.
Paul Lawton, General Manager of SMB at O2 said, “We are delighted to be working with Manchester City and Cisco to deliver a UK first in the form of High Density Wi-Fi at the Etihad. The underpinning ICT delivery is something we are really excited to be working on, and will result in the provision of high-speed connection anywhere in the stadium for fans, allowing them to capture and share their experience in a digital way – something we are passionate about as a business.”
MCFC Fans
Whether from the comfort of their seats, in the stands, buying food in the stadium concourse or enjoying entertainment in the Club’s outdoor fan-zone, City Square – Blues fans will be able to access high density mobile data and voice services, making for a far richer match-day experience.
“With the ground and its immediate vicinity offering ubiquitous connectivity, we will soon be able to provide full talk and texting capabilities, while paving the way for exciting new mobile data applications and services – such as mobile video – that will ensure a visit to the Etihad Stadium continues to be one of the best sports experiences available anywhere in the world,” shared Glick.
Sports Techie, It is a privilege to blog about this exciting news today that Manchester City and Etihad Stadium will soon be implementing Cisco’s intelligent High-Density Wi-Fi network just as Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu and the Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center did to upgrade their infrastructures and provide services for their constituencies that create seamless connectivity and consistent second screen digital experiences.
It is exciting to find out that O2 is part of this sports technology dream team offering and I look forward to learning more about their proprietary technology and how it interfaces with Cisco tech at a later date. I’m also looking forward to seeing how the rest of the Premier League teams react to MCFC’s step up the stadium tech ladder. Another question to be answered is whether StadiumVision Mobile is being customized for Man City, and if so, in what capacities. The Data channel is a cutting edge sportsbiz tool that will be used by Etihad Stadium operators, team marketing and sportsbiz sponsors to engage with fans using stats, trivia contests and multi-player games. The outdoor fan-zone, City Square, sounds like a lot of mobile devices and loads of fun, all in one stadium area. It is amazing that Cisco’s Connected Stadium Wi-Fi solution truly delivers consistent data in super concentrated density cluster areas like these in order for supportive fans to have reliable real-time connections to their carrier coverage, video streaming, social media, and uploads or downloads.
If you like soccer and have an affinity for MCFC games at Etihad Stadium, you are about to enter into the Sports Techie world of futbol thanks to Cisco’s Connected Stadium Wi-Fi and StadiumVision Mobile. Cisco Connected Sports solutions are transforming sports and entertainment experiences for Manchester City Football Club, Etihad Stadium and FIFA.
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