Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers count on CommScope to deliver a winning fan experience
As one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers used the 2015 offseason to do more than update its playbook—the organization made sure the wireless fan experience at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, lived up to the action on the field. Calls, texts, tweets and photo uploads needed to be a reliable part of every game day. The Panthers sought an experienced partner to update the stadium’s wireless network infrastructure and replace the existing carrier-led distributed antenna system (DAS).
After considering the many available options, the Panthers and Beam Wireless chose CommScope’s ION®-U for its technical features, which provide more network flexibility in a smaller footprint. ION-U is a robust, flexible solution that permits all 75,000 fans at the stadium to use their mobile devices any way they want. App usage, check-ins, shares and chats peak at football games, concerts and other events hosted by the stadium. It supports multiple operators, frequency bands and air interface technologies in one unified, low- and high-power system.
CommScope supplied the active ION-U components as well as the cables, antennas and low passive intermodulation (PIM) devices to ensure a high-performing, total solution. Rack mount fiber chassis, adapter plates, fiber optic connectors, splitter modules and fiber patch cords also played into the design and deployment of an optical local area network (LAN) solution for a gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON) in the stadium suites and high-performance structured cabling to help support the DAS.
The robust Optical LAN fiber network infrastructure helps the Panthers support stadium operations and deliver an integrated, engaging fan experience, while enabling applications such as high-bandwidth data, voice, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Wi-Fi services; high-definition TV and hospitality services for more than 150 executive suites; and broadband video.
Stadium fast facts
- 75,000 seat capacity
- Headquarters for the Carolina Panthers and includes training facilities, practice fields and administrative offices
- Home of the ACC Championship Game through 2019
Challenges
- Deliver fast, reliable cellular and data coverage
- Provide capacity for massive data surges
- Ease future infrastructure upgrades and expansions
Solutions
- CommScope® ION®-U Platform
- CommScope Broadband Network Solutions Optical LAN Solutions GPON cabling infrastructure
- Neutral Host DAS serving all four carriers
- 256 Remotes
- 313 MIMO Antennas
