Bankers Life Fieldhouse Success Story

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Success Story

Bankers Life Fieldhouse WHERE WIRELESS LAN IS A WINNER ON THE PLAYING FIELD!

“Once we experienced true wireless connectivity, there was no going back. Thanks to Allied Telesis, each and every mobile device under our roof works without a glitch - 24/7” Kevin Naylor, VP Information Technology at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Overview The customer requirements Indianapolis Indiana’s biggest claim to fame is undoubtedly sports. Wireless LAN in a Large Public Venue (LPV) — Bankers Life The Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and the Mac Tools U.S. Fieldhouse can accommodate nearly 20,000 spectators — is set up Nationals allow the city to boast the two largest single-day sporting to further engage the fans in the stands, and offer users enhanced events in the world, and the world’s largest drag race. Add in the Wi-Fi experience on and off the playing surface. Bankers Life Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers, the Indiana Fever and the Fieldhouse already had a wireless network in place, one that met their NCAA headquarters, and it’s easy to understand why sports can immediate needs, but which ultimately could not keep up with the overshadow everything else the city has to offer. increasingly heavy traffic and data sources. The original system was based on standard 2.4GHz microcell architecture, but soon proved So when the city decided to replace its popular Market Square Arena unstable due to co-channel interference. and build a larger, more impressive indoor stadium in 1999, the new stadium really had to outshine its predecessor as home to multiple Bankers Life Fieldhouse required a comprehensive WLAN solution sporting events, college basketball, indoor concerts, and ice hockey. to cover the arena with a seating bowl capacity of 18,165, as well as The resulting arena is called Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and it was for additional suites and other luxury areas in the venue. several years ranked the “No. 1 venue in the NBA” by the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Reader Survey. In search of what they called “the perfect Wi-Fi solution,” the Bankers Life Fieldhouse IT team knew they had to corner the market, and adopt a new and innovative solution that would succeed where other Kevin Naylor, VP Information Technology at Bankers Life systems had failed. Fieldhouse, comments, “When it came to upgrading Wi-Fi communications, we couldn’t afford to be less than perfect. That meant delivering true wireless connectivity, so that each The solution: Allied Telesis Extricom Series Channel Blanket™ technology and every mobile device under our roof would work without a “SignalShare, the leading provider of wireless Internet solutions for glitch — 24/7.” the sports and entertainment industries, had the market-proven LPV solutions and deployment track record we were looking for,” said When it came time to enhance the venue to ensure it would be “fit” Naylor. “It didn’t take us long to assess their offering, which was based enough for the players and fans of the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever on the Allied Telesis Extricom Series Channel Blanket™ technology and Indiana Ice events, the stadium’s IT team had their work cut out and system architecture.” for them. alliedtelesis.com Uniquely suited for large outdoor or indoor venues, the Allied Telesis Extricom Series Channel Blanket architecture allows single channels to blanket the entire seating bowl. This eliminates the need for microcell Challenge system designs, which are difficult, if not impossible to deploy. A large, popular indoor arena, home to major sports and entertainment events, could no Key to a successful system deployment was the promise of delivering: longer rely on their wireless network, nor keep up ■■ basic Wi-Fi data transfer in the stands and on the playing surface with the venue’s increasingly heavy traffic. The ■■ Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) venue needed a new, innovative WLAN solution ■■ a guest access portal to cover a seating capacity of 18,165, suites ■■ video streaming and other luxury areas in the venue, and deliver ■■ broadcast/multicast control uninterrupted Wi-Fi, 24/7. The initial system included 8 Allied Telesis Extricom switches and access points deployed throughout the stadium, made up of 4 AT-EXLV-2000 and 48 APs to cover the bowl with a total of 8 blankets, with 4 2.4GHz blankets (g/n) and 4 5GHz blankets (a/n) Solution in use. As the number of users increase, the IT team will introduce additional features such as LPV switch cascade, more blankets, and IT management sought “the perfect Wi-Fi dedicated food services applications. solution,” specifically tailored to LPVs. After being introduced to the Allied Telesis Extricom Series System installation was carried out by SignalShare, and has been Channel Blanket™ technology and its market- in pilot mode since the start of the 2013 NBA season. Successfully winning system architecture, they knew it was the right choice for their venue. The new system allows deploying a wireless network in a large venue is a great technical single channels to blanket entire sections of the challenge, especially installing equipment in windowed areas. “During arena’s seating bowl, with Wi-Fi in the stands and installation, SignalShare paid special attention to aesthetics and on the playing surface. hiding the equipment so that APs couldn’t be seen,” said Naylor. APs were strategically placed so as not to interfere with rigging points for incoming shows. These installation points were the key factor in guaranteeing good signal coverage throughout the entire seating bowl.

“Installing and administering the Allied Telesis Extricom system was Success quick, seamless and straightforward,” said Naylor.

Installation and deployment of the Allied Telesis Since the new installation, fans, journalists and stadium staff have Extricom Series wireless LAN system was quick noted the increased ease and speed of the wireless network. and seamless. Since its integration into the Additionally, the network facilitates SignalShare’s audience stadium, fans, journalists and staff have enjoyed engagement platform “Live-Fi”, whereby the facility has control of high-quality, uninterrupted Wi-Fi service with network access, email capture and the ability to send messages and increased ease and speed. The system also ads to fan’s devices connected to the network. Management will see provides quality RFID, a guest access portal, video the fruits of their labors with a greater Return On Investment (ROI), streaming, broadcast/multicast control and ARP increased team revenues, and merchandising sales. Not to mention caching. nearly 20,000 happy and excited fans all talking, texting, and accessing data on their mobile devices — all at the same time.

About Allied Telesis, Inc. Founded in 1987, and with offices worldwide, Allied Telesis is a leading provider of networking infrastructure and flexible, interoperable network solutions. The Company provides reliable video, voice and data network solutions to clients in multiple markets including government, healthcare, defense, education, retail, hospitality, and network service providers.Allied Telesis is committed to innovating the way in which services and applications are delivered and managed, resulting in increased value and lower operating costs.

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