Deutsche Telekom Installs State-of-the-Art 802.11n Wi-Fi System in One of Germany's Largest Stadiums

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hamburg Sports Club (HSV), one of Germany's oldest and most successful soccer clubs has deployed an advanced 802.11n wireless LAN system from Ruckus Wireless that delivers journalists and guests reliable, high-speed access to online services.

802.11n is the latest Wi-Fi standard developed to deliver much faster wireless connectivity. Ruckus Wireless is the only supplier to offer an advanced implementation of 802.11n that includes patented technology that extends signal range and enables the support of streaming video over Wi-Fi.

The soccer stadium, HSH Nordbank Arena, now provides visitors with everything they could wish for: soccer fans can watch exciting games from 57,000 covered seats, while journalists provide comprehensive audiovisual coverage. The stadium also boasts a conference center and 50 VIP boxes for 12 to 22 persons each. The HSV also hires out these facilities for corporate presentations, fairs and other events.

"We aim to provide our customers and visitors with optimum comfort at the stadium," says Heiko Moller, head of the HSV's Arena and Events Management. "These days, this also includes providing wireless Internet access." To this end, recently, the HSV decided to wirelessly network the playing field, the access area, all the conference rooms, all the press boxes, and the press area by means of an 802.11n wireless local area network (WLAN). Additionally this WLAN is used for internal communications between management and house automation.

The HSV was referred to Ruckus Wireless and its dynamic beamforming technology after a recommendation by its long-standing sponsor, Deutsche Telekom. The club was suitably impressed by Ruckus Wireless' offer. "Dynamic beamforming provides the infrastructure for a reliable wireless network with relatively few access points and high bandwidth in large areas with many physical obstructions. This technology is not available from any other provider. Reliability as well as the price-performance ratio is also attractive," explains Moller.

Ruckus Wireless identified where the 24 ZoneFlex 7692 dual band 802.11n access points and seven ZoneFlex 7762 outdoor access points had to be located to ensure optimum coverage. AP's behind the goals are installed to support the photographers for image transfer directly from their Wi-Fi enabled cameras back to the newsrooms. In less than one day, Ruckus access points were installed by the HSV's IT department.

The installation passed its practical test during the first home game of the 2009 season. Since then, visitors in the VIP boxes and the conference area, as well as the journalists in the press center and on the sidelines, have been using the broadband WLAN.

"Visitors now have T-Mobile HotSpot access during the game," says Ekkehard Barth, from Deutsche Telekom AG. "Based on our excellent experience with the Ruckus products that we had used in the past, we were confident that Ruckus Wireless could ensure the reliability of our HotSpot service in the challenging environment of a soccer stadium with thousands of spectators."

"The fast wireless Internet access has considerably improved the working conditions for the members of the press, in particular. It has also made life easier for organizers and participants in other events. For example, speakers can now download presentations directly from the Internet or show Web content," says a satisfied Moller.

Encouraged by the positive experience, the HSV now plans to extend its WLAN coverage for the final game of the UEFA Europa League, which will be held at the HSH Nordbank Arena on May 12, 2010.

    Media Contacts
    Ingrid Daschner
    Johnson King
    (0 89) 894085-11
    [email protected]

    Bill Jeppesen
    Ruckus Wireless
    [email protected]
    +1-408-598-2085

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless