Verizon Confirms 200
Percent Wireless Data Usage Increase at Indianapolis 500
New video released
today shows the unprecedented approach used by engineers to prepare network
INDIANAPOLIS
—
Verizon Wireless, a technology leader with the nation’s largest and most
reliable 4G LTE network, confirmed today that data usage by fans at the 2015
Indianapolis 500 saw a 200 percent increase on Race Day. Between social
media, calls and texts, Verizon engineers confirmed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Sunday, May 24, more than 3 terabytes of data moved exclusively over the
Verizon’s 4G LTE distributed-antenna-system (DAS) inside the venue. This
is a 200 percent increase compared to the same window of time during the 2014
race. Engineers confirmed that over the entire weekend from Friday, May
22, to Sunday, May 24, a total of 9 terabytes of data moved over the
Verizon 4G LTE DAS.
Verizon
also released today an online behind-the-scenes video of the network
innovations put in place for the 2015 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
(IMS), including nearly a dozen small cells around the exterior of the track to
handle growing data traffic. Verizon engineers spent more than a year designing
and creating a custom wireless network facility built at the track to handle
the voice and data capacity for upwards to 400,000 fans sharing photos and
videos on social media at a series of events. As the world’s largest
sporting venue, IMS serves as the largest network footprint in the country for
a single event.
“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,” said Region President Lauren
Love-Wright. “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 emails, texts, pictures and videos during the
‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’”
Verizon
network handled the following number of social media connections during the
Indianapolis 500, Sunday, May 24, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
·
Twitter:
6,251 data
connections
·
Facebook:
17,357 data connections
·
Instagram:
145,025 data connections
On
Race Day 2014, 4G LTE traffic on the Verizon Wireless network increased 300
percent at the Indianapolis 500 over usage on Race Day 2013, and Verizon
customers consumed 1.4 terabytes of data at the Indianapolis 500. For
comparison, 1 terabyte can include 472 hours of broadcast quality video, 150
hours of high-definition recording and enough words that it would take every
adult in America speaking at the same time five minutes to say them all.
For
the 2015 racing season, Verizon network engineers enhanced the following areas:
·
Introduced
small cell technology to enhance the network for large crowds and data traffic
by adding nearly a dozen small cells around the exterior of the track;
·
Built
a custom wireless network facility at the track to handle voice and data
capacity and house infrastructure directly at the speedway, including:
o
Three
custom designed COPs (cell-on-platform), with a new innovative approach that
includes the capacity equivalent to 7 COWs (cell-on-wheels);
o
Generator
redundancies
o
30
days of battery backup on-site
o
Redundant
cooling systems
o
Redundant
fiber for backup
o
24/7
monitoring on-site while events underway
·
A
team of Verizon engineers walked the track with modified packs to test wireless
capability during the race;
·
Enhanced
additional XLTE capacity in more than 38 key sectors around the track
including:
o
Hospitality
lot,
o
Beer
Garden,
o
Verizon
Fan Village,
o
Driver
Garages,
o
Turn
1
·
20
new antennas added to the distributed antenna system (DAS) bringing the total
antennas inside the venue to more than 200;
·
Provided
an additional COW (cell-on-wheels), for tailgaters and gate traffic near 30th
Street and Georgetown Road.
