Signal lduna Park is Germany’s largest football stadium, capable of hosting up to 82,000 fans. The sixth largest in Europe, the stadium holds the European average attendance record set during the 2011-12 season with 1.37 M fans over just 17 games. Signal lduna Park also includes the largest terrace for standing spectators in European football with a capacity of 24,454 fans — home to the mighty Borussia Dortmund’s ‘Yellow Wall’ of support.
Enhancing a 50-year legacy
The sports fan experience has significantly evolved in recent years as mobile connectivity becomes ever more important. In advance of the stadium’s 50th anniversary in 2024, Signal Iduna Park underwent an ambitious project to upgrade the venue’s communications infrastructure. This project was designed to ensure that plenty of mobile coverage and capacity would be available during every match for fans to stream videos, share photos, access online stats, or call friends and family.
Yet, large stadiums such as Signal lduna Park present a unique set of challenges when it comes to delivering mobile capacity. To ensure the ultimate fan experience, the deployment needs to provide reliable connectivity, with plenty of capacity around every nook and corner, throughout all the indoor areas, and extending to the seating and outdoor terraces.
With massive data traffic surges during a match, the mobile network can become inundated, throttling throughput capacity. Not only does this impact the experience for sports fans, but they are not the only users on the network. Staff, media, and security personnel also rely on wireless connectivity to do their jobs and maintain a safe environment. Sufficient capacity is required to securely take electronic payments, validate E-tickets, allow sports reporters to upload multimedia content, and conduct mission-critical communications in the event of an emergency.
A new fan experience playbook
To provide a network powerful enough to support tens of thousands of users with a variety of needs — from voice traffic to live streaming video — the latest high-performance distributed antenna system (DAS) equipment was needed for Signal lduna Park. The solution was provided by leading in-building DAS communications solution provider SOLiD in partnership with network operator 1&1 Telecommunications and network equipment supplier Rakuten Symphony.
A neutral-host DAS was installed to provide seamless connectivity that supports all four of Germany’s main network operators. The SOLiD in-building DAS delivers high-speed 5G / 4G coverage across multiple network sectors throughout the stadium. The deployment involved multi-beam antennas and more than 150 slim, unobtrusive remote radio units installed at strategic locations.
Careful design, deployment, and optimization of the in-building network was essential to deliver plenty of capacity without elevated signal interference, which could lead to poor connectivity and dropped calls. This required a multifaceted approach including medium-power radios to cover 30 network sectors within the stadium bowl and stands, low-power radios for an additional four sectors across the indoor spaces and VIP lounges, and high-power radios in the two sectors covering the stadium’s entrances and parking areas.
Building a more sustainable future
In addition to delivery of reliable in-building connectivity, another project aim was to do so sustainably, efficiently, and affordably. To achieve this goal, 1&1 Telecommunications chose to create the world’s first 5G Open RAN stadium network, pairing equipment from Rakuten Symphony with third-party baseband components and an open signal source unit that interfaces with the DAS platform. Because Open RAN standards enable seamless interoperability between best-of-breed, multi-vendor hardware and software, this type of solution allows greater flexibility, interoperability, and cost-efficiency.
As an added bonus, the Open RAN network takes up drastically less space in the equipment room, requiring two rack units for 1&1 Telecommunications, versus 300 square feet for each of the other three operators’ network equipment. In addition to a smaller footprint, the Open RAN configuration reduces power consumption by roughly 50 to 75 percent, as well as lowering total cost of ownership, for a more sustainable and affordable solution.
Key Challenges
- State-of-the-art DAS equipment was needed to handle massive capacity demand and frequent traffic fluctuations while minimizing signal interference.
- The project aimed to upgrade the 50-year-old stadium’s communications infrastructure as sustainably, efficiently, and affordably as possible.
Key Outcomes
- Best-in-class connectivity supports all four of Germany’s main network operators, delivering seamless, high-speed 5G / 4G coverage with a lower total cost of ownership.
- Signal lduna Park now hosts the world’s first 5G Open RAN stadium network, setting a new standard for next-generation, in-building networks in stadiums and arenas of all sizes worldwide.
Scoring the winning goal
As a result of this successful communications upgrade project, fans at the 82,000-capacity Signal lduna Park can now experience an outstanding, twenty-first century mobile experience at every seat and throughout all areas of the legendary stadium.
“Our DAS deployment at Signal lduna Park sets a new standard for connectivity in stadiums. By integrating cutting-edge 4G and 5G capabilities with O-RAN technology, we’re delivering unmatched, seamless coverage to fans, staff, and operations at one of the world’s most iconic sports venues,” said Steven Gallagher, Managing Director of SOLiD EMEA. “This installation demonstrates SOLiD’s commitment to advancing mobile connectivity and enhancing the fan experience through innovative, high-performance solutions.”
Always-on connectivity is now an integral part of everything that happens to make game day successful, requiring greater reliability, security, and capacity than Wi-Fi networks can offer. Investing in next-generation DAS equipment empowers seamless mobile connectivity and unmatched performance throughout any sports venue, protecting your good reputation and delivering the ultimate fan experience. High-performance SOLiD in-building DAS solutions deliver a big win on game day with seamless connectivity everywhere — from the parking lot, to concessions, to stadium seating and beyond.
To learn more visit www.solid.com
