Prior to this highly anticipated soccer event, Cisco and the Glendale, Arizona-based State Farm Stadium reviewed the venue's converged network, finding that it needed a network that could handle not only megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes of data, but also petabytes.
During Super Bowl LVI (2022) at SoFi Stadium, the Cisco-deployed converged network, which touches every aspect of stadium operations from fan social media posts to broadcast, transaction processing and building operations, was 53 petabytes of network traffic.
"What we saw last year, we weren't thinking about petabytes of data," said Ken Martin, general manager and director of global sales in Cisco's Sports and Entertainment Solutions Group. "That blew us away."
That is the nature of major events like the Super Bowl. State Farm Stadium in 2014 had to upgrade technologically, they focused on three main areas: increased connectivity through enhanced Wi-Fi and digital antenna systems (cellular networks, known as DAS (Distributed Antenna System); increased visibility into network performance for operations and stadium staff; and enhanced network security. Basically, everything needed to process petabytes instead of just terabytes.
Therefore, State Farm Stadium is once again at the forefront of large event network technology deployments, with a new Cisco Wi-Fi 6 network and a fully upgraded digital cellular DAS utilizing CommScope equipment that includes support for shared 5G services, along with separate 5G millimeter wave equipment from all leading carriers.
Cisco's footprint in the NFL
In networking, digital signage, cybersecurity and more, Cisco is working with nearly all 30 NFL locations, including:
- State Farm Stadium
- SoFi Stadium
- Allegiant Stadium
- Levi's Stadium
- AT&T Stadium
- Hard Rock Stadium
- U.S. Bank Stadium
- Empower Field at Mile High