21 April 2020
Even the most ardent Arsenal fan would begrudgingly admit that the new 62,062 capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a fine specimen. Still, the Lilywhites needed an IT infrastructure befitting of that status, so in came Real Wireless to make it happen.
The stadium design included provision for all wireless technologies (including 5G when it arrives) as well as PMR for support services, TETRA for emergency services and Wi-Fi – technically architected, supplied and deployed by the club’s official enterprise networking partner, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). It also needed support for satellite.
Mobile services to the bowl are provided by antenna located in discreet positions within the roof structure. Similarly, the stadium hosts a range of non-sporting events where pitch coverage is required.
A high data rate service is available for the bowl, concourse, podiums, media areas, hospitality areas, conferencing suites and offices, as well as key operational areas such as event control. The basement and parking areas as well stairwells and rooms are covered by medium and low data rate services, respectively.
The system comprises a hybrid active/passive distributed antenna system (DAS),
joint operator specifications (JOTS)-compliant 2G, 3G and 4G, allowing connections for all mobile network operators and MIMO on frequencies 800/1800/2100/2600MHz.
There are 164 internal antennas including 48 pitch and bowl stadium antennas, six macro antenna locations providing external coverage and 19 low level external antennas providing podium coverage. The list goes on: over 45,000m coaxial cable, over 25,000m of individual fibres, 2348 passive components, nine master unit racks (POI), 172 Low power remote radio units, 18 High power remote radio units (macro) and a dedicated equipment room, 100 sqm, with 80 operator racks and nine POI racks.
Industry engagement was critical, including the need to encourage all UK operators to participate. Nevertheless, the complexity of the design and build of the mobile system in a stadium under construction required the services of a neutral host, so in came Shared Access. The firm had to design and build the system, creating a platform conducive to all mobile operators deploying their current technologies.
“Our brief was to design and build the system to enable mobile voice and data capabilities across the new stadium and, as a neutral host company, to carry out the detailed design and system integration,” says Chris Jackman, CEO at Shared Access.
Today, the infrastructure is an operational asset that allows the club to optimise its business operation.
“We were delighted to be asked to apply our skills as the world’s leading independent wireless advisory firm to making this ground-breaking new system a reality,” adds Mark Keenan, CEO at Real Wireless.
While Spurs continues to under achieve on the pitch, its new stadium is leagues ahead of the rest.
