THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Xirrus®, the leader in high-performance wireless networks, announced today that it has outfitted Gillette Stadium, home of the National Football League’s (NFL’s) New England Patriots, with a wireless network that will serve its premium seating areas. Club members in Gillette Stadium’s Putnam Club will now be able to access exclusive video content on their smart phones instantaneously on game days.
The 6,000 fans in the Putnam Club will be able to use the stadium’s new proprietary smart phone application to instantly view:
- The NFL Network’s Red Zone channel
- Four exclusive camera angles—one on each sideline and one in each end zone—not available to network television viewers
- A continuous loop of an instant replay of the previous play
- Highlights from earlier in the game
- Real-time statistics and information
According to estimates from Gillette Stadium officials, up to one-third of Putnam Club guests will stream video content at any given time. With two identical Putnam Club locations soaring three stories high and covering a total of 120,000 square feet, Gillette Stadium required a first-class Wi-Fi solution that could deliver hardwire-caliber reliability at a great scale. The stadium chose Xirrus Wireless Arrays, which delivers unparalleled performance resulting in four times the coverage, eight times the bandwidth and eight times the capacity of a traditional wireless network.
“We strive to provide a top-notch game day experience for our fans,” said Fred Kirsch, Patriots Vice President of Content. “Delivering high-quality video content to smart phones is part of our vision for providing a premium experience to fans in the Putnam Club, and Xirrus is helping to make that vision a reality.”
Successful Use of Xirrus in Press Box Lays Groundwork for Expansion to Club
Prior to choosing Xirrus for the Putnam Club, Gillette Stadium had been using the company’s Arrays to provide wireless access for reporters and broadcasters in its press box on game days. As owners of Gillette Stadium, one of the few privately-owned major professional sports facilities in the country, the Patriots are not beholden to any carrier or wireless access policy. Thus, where many other NFL franchises required separate log-ins or sign-up fees, the Patriots were able to leverage Xirrus to deliver unlimited free Wi-Fi access to hundreds of journalists simultaneously. The organization saw first-hand how Xirrus could provide seamless wireless access to a large number of users in a dense area, all without requiring external antennas.
“As the number of users of smart phones and other wireless devices grow, so does the demand for uninterrupted access to sophisticated content on those same gadgets. Football stadiums are just the type of large, densely-packed areas that are going to be challenged to fulfill this mandate from customers,” said Steven Wastie, Chief Marketing Officer at Xirrus. “Today, Gillette Stadium and Xirrus are both at the cutting edge of delivering on this promise.”
About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Our array-based solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances—always. Their wired-like reliability and superior security allow our customers to confidently take their business-critical applications and operations mobile. Our solutions are unique in the industry, transforming enterprises and organizations around the world. At a time when everyone expects to connect wirelessly everywhere and business is increasingly done in the cloud, Xirrus wireless solutions are providing a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage in thousands of deployments worldwide. Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA, Xirrus is a privately held enterprise designing and manufacturing its products and solutions in the USA.
Xirrus and XR Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners.
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