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Successful test of Nokia applications to enhance Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity in high-density venues
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Test evaluated mobile access to multiple video streams and augmented reality to enhance in-stadium experience for sports fans and students
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Collaboration tested Nokia’s innovative software platform to improve speed of access to data services in congested environments
6 June 2017
South Bend, Indiana – Nokia, in collaboration with the Wireless Institute in the College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has successfully tested applications based on Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC). This software platform delivers flexibility, scalability and efficiency to networks with multiple base stations in order to improve speed of access to data services in congested areas. The live tests were carried out at Compton Ice Arena with a vision of scaling the solution for the university’s iconic football stadium. The goal was to see how the technology can dramatically enhance the user experience of students and sports fans attending games and other events.
People attending sports and music events increasingly expect reliable mobile connectivity in order to access related content like player performance stats, view replays and multiple camera angles, and connect to social media. But in venues such as stadiums, high demand for content is often limited by inconsistent or overloaded Wi-Fi and cellular coverage leading to, at times, unreliable service availability.
Notre Dame stadium hosts more than 80,000 fans for Fighting Irish football games six or seven weekends each fall. With consistently high attendance and people frequently experiencing poor coverage issues, Nokia and Notre Dame’s Wireless Institute set out to test Wi-Fi with two MEC-based applications:
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Edge Video Orchestration (EVO) – provides options to view four video streams from different angles in real time, with a less than 500-millisecond delay
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Augmented Reality (AR) – an AR-based gaming experience where information can be overlaid on devices over streamed video
Both applications used Nokia’s low-latency MEC platform and its AirFrame server.
The trial also tested the MEC applications with a feature enabling connective to multiple radios, optimizing data flow through Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Using Nokia’s Flexi Zone small cell base stations and AirScale Wi-Fi access points, the test found that the technology can significantly improve data throughput in venues such as stadiums where there is a dense concentration of mobile users all trying to access the network and content simultaneously.
J. Nicholas Laneman, co-director of the Wireless Institute, University of Notre Dame, said: “With the advent of disruptive mobile technologies, we are delighted to see both Notre Dame and South Bend as a destination for these types of demonstrations. Officials from the City of South Bend were also onsite to check out the benefits first-hand. We were pleased to work with Nokia and excited to see their technology in a proof of concept that provides flexibility and power to enhanced and innovative applications.”
Joe Hammer, Global Alliance director for Nokia, said: “Mobile Edge Computing is ideal for enabling low-latency applications tailored to specific enterprise needs such as those of the University of Notre Dame. MEC enables exciting new marketing opportunities for venues, smart cities and retailers to provide digital advertising, customized services or enhanced user experiences. Nokia, with strategic partners such as IBM, can leverage MEC to analyze customers’ preferences and behaviors with cognitive analytics. By deploying applications at the network edge, rich, engaging content is brought closer to consumers, application response times are reduced while reliability is increased – all of these benefits offer a truly excellent user experience.”
Resources
- Web Page: Nokia Multi-access Edge Computing
- Web Page: Nokia AirFrame Data Center
- Press Release: Nokia Launches Mobile Edge Computing-based Enterprise Applications
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