ANZ Stadium Goes Wi-Fi

ANZ Stadium, the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the home of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and one of the finest stadiums in the world, has completed a wi-fi fit-out for the whole venue. The Connected Stadium project is an Australian first with Telstra and Cisco teaming up to provide free high-speed wi-fi within ANZ Stadium and the nearby precinct. There are more than 700 wi-fi access points throughout the stadium and designed to enhance the fan experience during the 2014 NRL season. ANZ Stadium held a launch event today to announce the details of the project - exactly one month before the March 6 kick off of the NRL season for the match between South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters. Players from each of the NRL clubs which will call ANZ Stadium home in 2014 were also in attendance which included captain John Sutton (South Sydney). There will be 11 South Sydney NRL home matches at ANZ Stadium in 2014. The new wi-fi network at ANZ Stadium has been configured in a similar way to MetLife Stadium in New York – the site of the recent Super Bowl. The connectivity at ANZ Stadium will make it easier for fans to share content on their smartphones and tablets from the ground on social media, access the internet on their mobile devices and interact with various game-day activities. The Connected Stadium project will make ANZ Stadium a more interactive venue with the ability to access live information, rich digital content like replays and stats as well as the ability to order food and beverages from their seats. In the past with 3G and 4G connectivity, it is sometimes difficult to connect to the local cells because of congestion especially when there is a big crowd inside the stadium. Now, with the new fast and reliable wi-fi connection fans will be able to share their updates and communications more easily from their seats in ANZ Stadium. The Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium – which has similar wi-fi connectivity to ANZ Stadium – set records for the amount of data shared from a sporting event. Total data usage at the Super Bowl alone was 624GB - the equivalent to 1.8. million social media posts with photos.