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A Really, Really Big Wireless LAN: Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots

I recently had the opportunity to meet with key staff at Gillette Stadium to discuss how the New England Patriots are using Wi-Fi on a big – really big – scale, to address a correspondingly big – and important – opportunity. The result is a new Farpoint Focus video that you'll want to see.

By Craig Mathias on Tue, 11/06/12 - 1:48pm.

I recently traveled down to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, to meet with a number of managers in the New England Patriots organization and talk about one of the largest, densest, and most mission-critical wireless-LAN installations that I've ever seen. Imagine on the order of 70,000 fans in the stands, with 10,000 or so of these simultaneously seeking information in real time via the stadium's Wi-Fi network. And these are people you just can't disappoint.

While enhancing the fan experience was the motivation, there's a lot of very exciting technology at work here - over 300 APs, numerous intermediate racks of equipment-holding controllers and information appliances, and dense capacity implemented in large part through the use of directional antennas. But enough with the words - check out the new Farpoint Focus video I shot of all of this. I think you'll find a lot of good information here even if you're a fan of another team (and, of course, here in New England, that would be unthinkable...).