Amid all the towers, small cells and cells on wheels (COWs) that are boosting coverage and capacity for football fans in and around Allegiant Stadium this weekend, MatSing is providing its unique multibeam lens antennas.
The antenna company announced last week that it added 30 multibeam lens antennas to the existing 30 lens antennas already deployed at the Las Vegas venue. The network integration was conducted by DAS Group Professionals (DGP) on behalf of the venue, according to MatSing CEO Bo Larsson.
MatSing’s antennas have been deployed at sports stadiums and other venues across the country.
In general, business models vary and the decision on who MatSing works with in any given deployment hinges on who owns and installs the neutral host network, Larsson said. In cases where the carriers own and/or install the neutral host network, MatSing deals directly with them.
In Allegiant Stadium’s situation, DGP acted as the lead integrator on behalf of the venue and that’s who MatSing worked with.
Multi-carrier connectivity
All three carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon – are leveraging MatSing’s antennas for mobile coverage and capacity in the field, stands and outdoors in the parking lot for tailgating activities, Larsson said.
While 30 of MatSing’s lens antennas already had been installed a few years ago, the 30 new lens antennas include 16 inside and 14 outside in the parking lots. The 16 new lens antennas are for one, unidentified carrier as a C-band overlay covering the field and stands, and the 14 additional lens antennas in the outdoor areas are for low- and mid-band for all the carriers, plus C-band for one of them, he said.
In a video about its preparations for the big game, Verizon said It doubled the amount of millimeter wave coverage and “put C-band in heavily.” It’s able to use all 160 MHz of C-band spectrum at its disposal in Las Vegas, which is almost three times as much as it had the previous year.
Cellular data and video traffic are showing dramatic increases in usage every year. At last year’s Super Bowl, data usage by Verizon customers spiked 57% compared to the Super Bowl in 2022 – from 30.4 TB in 2022 to 47.8 TB in 2023. The busiest times were during the halftime show and at kickoff.
For AT&T, fans at the game last year broke data records, with 5G data usage of 21 TB increasing by 81% compared to the previous year’s game.