Campus Life

Kyle Field Crowd Breaks Collegiate Data Usage Record

During the Alabama game, fans used 5.7 terabytes of data as compared to 4.9 terabytes during the College Football Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
By Terry McDevitt, Texas A&M University System October 30, 2015

Kyle fieldFans of the Fightin’ Texas Aggies broke a collegiate record for data usage during the Oct. 17th game against Alabama and exceeded pro sport levels at all but last year’s Super Bowl.

Chancellor John Sharp had promised that Aggie fans would be the most connected anywhere, thanks to a ground-breaking wireless network, and they have responded.

During the Alabama game, fans used 5.7 terabytes of data as compared to 4.9 terabytes during the College Football Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Last year’s Super Bowl crowd set the overall record of 6.2 terabytes.

“A few years ago, our fellow Aggies told us that we needed to improve upon Kyle Field’s WiFi and cellular connectivity,” said John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “At Texas A&M, we listen to our loyal fans, and this best-in-class network is the result.”

“During the renovation of Kyle Field, Chancellor Sharp empowered us to build a state-of-the-art facility, one that would rival or surpass NFL stadiums as well as enhance Kyle Field’s legendary game-day experience,” said Phillip Ray, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs at The Texas A&M University System. “He wanted iconic Kyle Field to have the most-connected fans and visitors anywhere, and after the Alabama game I am confident that the IBM/Corning ONE wireless platform delivered.”

The Corning ONEtm fiber network — installed at Kyle Field by IBM — is leading a national trend of communication upgrades for major stadiums, both at the collegiate and professional level.

“Today, the Aggies are among the most connected fans anywhere, with a DAS network capable of delivering coverage for all four leading service providers, and a WiFi network capable of handling 100,000 photos uploaded to social media every second,” said Mike O’Day, vice president of Wireless Networks for Corning Optical Communications. “Plus, the ONE platform enables multiple points-of-sale systems, a network of IPTVs, and it stands ready to tackle anything else Texas A&M adds in the future.”

“As the technology partner for Kyle Field, IBM created the top performing WiFi and cellular system in all of college football. We designed the network for the fans to give them the best game-day experience possible,” said Sam Maatallah, NA Vice President of Networking Services.

Aggie fans are avid users of the technology, sharing photos, videos and texts before, during and after games, but there is also a practical purpose for using fiber optics as opposed to the traditional copper system. As the demand for bandwidth grows, it will be cheaper and easier to expand the network.

“It is not all about the near record-setting numbers, either,” said Mark Stone, Chief Information Officer for the Texas A&M System. “With Corning ONE’s Wireless Platform we were able to reduce the overall cost of the project by reducing the total space required to support the network, eliminating more than 200K feet of copper cabling and consuming less power than traditional copper based networks. Much of this newfound space was used to provide fan services such as additional First Aid stations.”

The A&M-Alabama crowd set the collegiate record although only AT&T and Verizon customers can make optimal use of the new Kyle Field network. Sprint and T-Mobile have not yet made the investment to allow their customers full access to the fiber optic system.

“We hope that Sprint and T-Mobile will step up and make the investment in this cutting edge network so that their customers can also enjoy this level of service,” Phillip Ray added. “Connectivity really has become part of the game day experience and we want all of our fans and visitors to enjoy that option.”

Media contact: Terry McDevitt, Texas A&M University System.

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