Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Verizon Expands Wireless Capability at Renovated Churchill Downs

03/04/2024

Verizon Expands Wireless Capability at Renovated Churchill Downs More and faster access supports social media, online betting, and first-responders By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 - 7:00 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

In a place that's all about horses, the Verizon Frontline Response Team will deploy a lot of COWs. When implemented at a venue, including for large-scale sports events, the quickly mobile cellular on wheels, or COWs, temporarily supplement a venue's installed cellular infrastructure to accommodate massive crowds and support the first responders that protect them. In March, Verizon displayed several of the devices at Churchill Downs, where some will be deployed on May 4 for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

A Verizon Response Team Satellite Pico-cell on Trailer (SPOT) temporary mobile connectivity solution provides eFemtos and/or Wi-Fi to emergency-operations centers and first responders,

That milestone is expected to generate unprecedented demand for tickets (limited to 150,000 since 2020), and many - if not most - ticketholders will be devouring broadband by the gigabit, saturating social media with selfies. To accommodate them, Verizon's response team will further deploy its Rapid Response Connectivity Unit (RRCU), which provides connectivity to specific areas while being able to broayt6dcast secure Wi-Fi and cellular communications.

Verizon's wireless arsenal comprises the Satellite Pico-cell on Trailer (SPOT), which provides eFemtos and/or Wi-Fi to emergency-operations centers and first responders where connectivity is challenging or nonexistent; an array of cell-equipped drones; a MatSing ball antenna, capable of replacing 14 conventional cell sites; and a Robotic Emergency Dog (RED), one of several Ghost Robotics dogs that the Verizon Frontline Innovation Team is using to explore and develop potential mobile-connectivity solutions intended to support first responders.

The Frontline Team's job is to keep first responders connected, says Scott Hansen, associate director, network performance, Verizon. They're going to be the first ones on the scene: if, let's say, a tornado takes out connectivity, they're going to roll these trucks in, be the first on the ground to restore connectivity for Verizon customers. Even if you're not [a customer], they will figure out a way to help you out.

Last year, Verizon significantly expanded its 5G Ultra Wideband service, deployed on its C-band spectrum - the culmination of the 5G C-band spectrum it acquired at an FCC auction - in the Louisville area. The expanded coverage includes Churchill Downs and the downtown KFC YUM! Center, home to the University of Louisville Cardinals men's and women's basketball teams. Louisville residents and visitors will be able to use a full 160 MHz of spectrum, nearly doubling the 5G bandwidth previously available in the area. (Verizon won C-Band licenses for the 140-200 MHz spectrum in all available markets and began deploying 60 MHz in the first 46 areas in 2022.)

Hansen adds that the same expanded spectrum and assets will be available for the PGA Championship round at Louisville's Valhalla Golf Club in May.

One of two Satellite Pico-cell on Trailers (SPOTs) to be deployed at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs will have access to the expanded 5G coverage during the Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 4; NBC, Peacock streaming, and Universo in Espa ol), but the track already has 12 cells installed around the venue providing 5G millimeter-wave coverage.

Churchill Downs Doubles Down The coverage will enhance Churchill Downs' newly expanded paddock area, which is finishing a three-year-long upgrade estimated at as much as $200 million. It's intended to bring fans closer to the prerace parade of horses and replace the traditional paddock where the horses are saddled for races.

One of several Ghost Robotics Robotic Emergency Dogs (REDs) tested by the Verizon Frontline Innovation Team in developing mobile-connectivity solutions to support first responders

Although support for emergency services is critical, Hansen says, the need for significantly expanded wireless coverage is driven by social media. To broaden and deepen fan engagement, those channels are increasingly relied on by all sports, but particularly by sports that have seen drops in popularity and attendance in recent years; horseracing, for example, has seen attendance decline 30% since 2000. Strengthening broadband coverage, especially at marquee events like the Derby, buttresses use of social media to promote the sport, says Hansen, who is about to work his tenth Derby race, dating to when 3G was state of the art.

A Bet on Betting Another dynamic driving the need for expanded spectrum at sports venues is the rapid proliferation of online sports betting. Wagering not only is offered on the outcome of games and races but can become as granular as individual plays and moments, or so-called micro bets. The resulting need for immediacy puts additional strain on cellular networks.

There are multiple sports-betting apps now, notes Hansen. That is a large portion of the internet traffic throughout the day, for sure, and has to be growing every year. Since sports-betting apps have come into existence, [network] demand has gone up, and usage has gone up, which taxes the network throughout the day, especially in that 5:00-7:00 window: there are no races going on, and everybody's on their phone trying to get their other bets in. That's why millimeter-wave 5G and C-band have become so important.

The first year [those apps] came out, their servers crashed, he continues. Initially, everybody thought it was the [cell] carriers, but it was actually their servers; there was so much server traffic. They have built that up. We haven&#
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/04/03/verizon-expands-wireless-capabi...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

14/03/2025

Avid Appoints New CTO, Adds to Its Executive Leadership Team

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...

14/03/2025

TVU Networks Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation at 2025 NAB Show

CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...

13/03/2025

You Will Leave Opus Singing the Original Bops Performed by John Malkovich

(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...

13/03/2025

How Spotify Is Driving Growth, Discovery, and Innovation in the Audiobook Market

Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...

13/03/2025

Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...

13/03/2025

Evolving EO/IR Technology For All-Domain Airborne Law Enforcement

Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Jamie McCombs, Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio

Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Paul Sandweiss, Production Sound Mixer/Audio Director

On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...

13/03/2025

Riedel To Showcase New StageLink Smart Edge Devices At 2025 NAB Show

WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...

13/03/2025

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew Cross

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...

13/03/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size on Completing Customizable Studios for All Clients

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...

13/03/2025

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036; Add Digital Projects, Initiatives

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...

13/03/2025

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical Video Feed, Mascot Mode, and Popular Boss Button

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...

13/03/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive Experience for Daytona, The PLAYERS, and March Madness

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...

13/03/2025

Sky Business Launches Cloud Voice A New Cloud Communication Solution for UK Businesses

Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...

13/03/2025

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark for F band applications

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...

13/03/2025

The ICG Marketing Survey 2025

We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey. Our 2025 survey p...

13/03/2025

Harmonic Amps Up Video Streaming Efficiency with New Origin Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...

13/03/2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025 Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme Connecting the Present, Building the Future Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...

13/03/2025

2025-03-13

A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....