Verizon brings portable connectivity to sports and entertainment with new “Network in a Box”

ST. LOUIS, MO - With connectivity becoming increasingly critical to every aspect of large sports and entertainment events, Verizon has unveiled an innovative, first-of-its-kind portable private network. The prototype solution provides secure, reliable, private connectivity for critical communications needed for operations, security, event production and the fan experience in stadiums or other venues when a permanent private network is not available.

Verizon used this portable private network prototype at last weekend’s UFL Championship game at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri and has shipped similar portable private networks to Sao Paulo, Brazil, London, UK and Munich, Germany to provide reliable connectivity for the NFL game-play operations, enabling real-time, in-game support for on-field coach-to-coach communications at this fall’s overseas football games. This private network, unencumbered with the data traffic being generated by fans, can power sideline tablets, connected broadcast cameras, live-streaming social media activities, on-field cameras, wearables, and coach-to-coach communications.

“We were proud to partner with Verizon to utilize their innovative ‘Network in a Box’ solution for the United Football League Championship Game,” said Scott Harniman, UFL Senior Vice President of Technology. “This network provides an unparalleled and consistent level of connectivity that is truly the path forward for on-field technology in sports."

In addition to the many applications in a sporting event, the solution provides the critical level of security, reliability and capacity needed for front office operations, stage crews organizing showtime during a concert, security personnel communicating operational imperatives at a parade, or a production crew broadcasting from a remote, temporary set. Verizon’s “Network in a Box”, can scale to support up to 50 cellular radios, can utilize shared or licensed spectrum and in-venue or on-premise fiber connections to generate private cellular connectivity for customers. 

“The evolution of our network over the past several years has enabled us to create a more modular, portable private network that is ideal for use in situations where the security, scale, reliability, customization and personalization of a private network is needed, but a permanent private network is not a tenable solution,” said Andrea Caldini, Vice President of Technology and Product Development at Verizon. “This prototype solution has already successfully supported a number of live events with more on the horizon. The intrinsic value in this solution is that it can be deployed in any number of scenarios where the capabilities of a private network are needed such as one-time parade routes, mobile production environments, mobile sporting events, outdoor concert venues and more.”

Verizon’s private networks are agile on-premise wireless network solutions that keep an event’s or organization’s data traffic securely separate from public traffic. They provide enhanced connectivity at event locations or remote worksites, and allow for the safe integration, management and control of devices and applications with customer IT systems. Private networks, including the portable private network used at last week’s UFL Championship, can:

• offer greater security than WiFi,
• provide high levels of uptime and reliability,
• provide exceptional high-bandwidth performance and low latency,
• can be tailored to the specific needs and requirements of a business, and
• can scale with the growth of an event.

Alongside this new prototype portable private network, Verizon’s managed services include network monitoring, maintenance, and support, helping businesses to be more competitive, efficient and profitable.