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Recently, IndyCar Series title sponsor, Verizon Wireless, offered a special sneak preview, to tech and track bloggers, of the myriad upgrades they've made at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to enhance the fan experience.

Following is a summary of highlights, along with a handy glossary of terms. 

—Chris  

[release]

Revving Up the Wireless Experience

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Verizon is enhancing the fan experience through the power of our 4G LTE network by adding significant upgrades to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month of May.

IndyCar and Verizon have teamed up to deliver innovation and performance for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indy 500 and throughout the series, ensuring a winning experience for fans at the races and across the country.

What We’ve Done

•  Installation of in-building DAS (Distributed Antenna System) technology with a base station and more than two hundred small antennas placed throughout the Speedway for improved coverage.
• A 250 percent increase in 4G LTE capacity.
• Two COLTS (Cell on Light Truck) stationed in the area surrounding the Speedway for extra capacity.
• Deploying AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) to enhance the customer experience on AWS-enabled devices.

What it means for customers and visitors to the Speedway:

Verizon is delivering a superior customer experience on the nation’s largest, most reliable wireless network to fans, drivers and officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

• Our teams have been working to ensure customers can use their smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices not only to send pictures and texts, and post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms, but also search for and watch news on their favorite drivers, and access the INDYCAR 14 app — including listening to race radio while sitting in the top row of the bleachers or on the crowded infield — or IndyCar website. Our focus on network prep and coordination with public safety means emergency response teams on site will have the vital connections needed to ensure safety and quick response to the thousands of fans attending the races and other events at the Speedway. 

Indiana Network Facts

• Verizon is the first wireless carrier to complete building its 4G LTE network in Indiana, which started at Purdue University in the fall of 2010.

• In 2013 alone, Verizon invested $130 million in the Indiana network.

• Verizon is now focused on adding Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) for additional capacity and greater speeds.

• Verizon has been recognized this year as best overall wireless carrier in Indiana and the nation by independent testers RootMetrics and J.D. Power and Associates.

Commonly-used network terms

4G LTE stands for “Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution.” Years ago, this term introduced Americans to the high-speed wireless service that has revolutionized mobile phones by enabling super-fast connections that help deliver high-speed data services such as video on demand and instant turn-by-turn directions.

Spectrum: Radio frequencies travel over the air via spectrum, providing invisible pathways for wireless signals – everything from commercial radio programs and cellphone calls to data transmissions and the signal that allows you to change the channels on your TV with your remote control from your couch.

AWS (or AWS-1) means “Advanced Wireless Services” and is the name of one of the wireless telecommunications spectrum bands used by Verizon Wireless to deliver mobile data services, video and messaging over the air. Verizon Wireless uses AWS spectrum to supplement its existing 4G LTE service, which also uses the 700 MHz spectrum band originally deployed in 2010 when the company first introduced one of the world’s first commercial LTE networks – the largest in the U.S. 

Carrier aggregation allows a wireless provider to operate two spectrum bands as one so that smartphones, tablets and other devices can take advantage of airwaves on either band at the same time. By combining the spectrum of Verizon Wireless’ 700 MHz and AWS bands as well as any future spectrum as one asset, carrier aggregation increases the network’s ability to provide consistent performance along with increased capacity.

LTE Advanced is a combination of more than 15 network enhancements and performance features that are designed to create greater performance and capacity on 4G LTE networks in the future. Two of the more important features are carrier aggregation and heterogeneous networks. Engineers at Verizon Wireless today are beginning the work of deploying these capabilities around the U.S.

Heterogenuous network describes the complex interoperation among macrocell, small cell, and in some cases WiFi network elements used together to provide a mosaic of coverage, with handoff capability between the different network elements.

DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems, sometimes pronounced “dass” as in “pass”) are networks of cables and antennas that can be installed in high-traffic areas – stadiums, convention or shopping centers, office buildings, train stations, airline terminals, and even dense, outdoor urban areas such as midtown Manhattan – to create additional capacity when many users are accessing the wireless network at peak times. Verizon Wireless installs many DAS systems to provide additional capacity where it is needed, including one for IndyCar fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Small cells: Small cells are like mini cell towers, smaller scale units generally deployed on lamp posts, utility poles and building walls to relay cell phone signals through fiber optic cables. Small cells are used primarily to enhance localized capacity and coverage where there is concentrated traffic, such as in a business district, shopping mall or a college campus.