The American technology company Cisco has been named the official WiFi Infrastructure Partner of the Allianz Arena in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The Allianz Arena has already significantly improved its information technology (IT) infrastructure with the help of Cisco in recent years.
‘Allianz Arena’ stated that the expanded partnership will create the basis for an optimized fan experience and raise it to a new level with state-of-the-art technology.
The Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California (US). Cisco develops, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, and other high-technology services and products. Cisco enables people to make powerful connections –whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible – providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time.
The Allianz Arena is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior of inflated ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) plastic panels, it is the first stadium in the world with a full color changing exterior.
‘Allianz Arena’ further stated that Cisco will expand the IT infrastructure of the Allianz Arena enabling new applications, user experiences and business opportunities. Many current use cases already use Cisco’s WiFi infrastructure. With this expansion, the Allianz Arena will establish itself as one of the most innovative, best connected and future-oriented venues in Europe for special fan experiences.
Asserted Detlev Kühne, Member of the Management Board at Cisco Germany, “We have big plans for the Allianz Arena. Our solutions have already proven themselves in recent years as a reliable foundation for the IT infrastructure of the Allianz Arena. With this exclusive partnership, the venue will continue to be a technological leader into the future and offer the fans the best possible experience.”
Explained Jürgen Muth, head honcho of Allianz Arena, “The partnership with Cisco is one of conviction, trust and enthusiasm. The Allianz Arena and Cisco still have a lot planned together to deliver the best possible experience to the fans. We will use the full range of Cisco solutions and technologies in the Allianz Arena. This will enable us to deliver new offerings based on the existing network architecture and further enhance the match operations and the fan experience in the arena. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Cisco which also puts us at the forefront internationally.”
The partnership is part of Cisco’s ‘Deutschland Digital’ investment program with which the company is driving forward digitalization in Germany in various areas.
Big Plans
Even before the official partnership, there had already been years of collaboration.
Added Jürgen Muth, “No matter where, we rely entirely on Cisco technology around the Allianz Arena. We are convinced by the products and naturally benefit from the standardized IT platform. This is the only way to guarantee the fan experience for the 75,000 people on matchday.”
The Allianz Arena has deployed 1,500 up-to-date WiFi 6 access points delivering extremely fast WiFi. This means 10,000 to 15,000 WiFi users use the network simultaneously every matchday sending a data volume of 4.5 Gbit of outgoing network traffic after exciting match scenes or during the halftime break. The next generation of the WiFi 7 wireless network standard is to be implemented as soon as possible so that even more fans can access the latest information and offers simultaneously and at high speed via their smartphone.
The WiFi 6 access points are managed as on-premises solutions with the help of the Cisco Catalyst Center (a powerful management system that leverages artificial intelligence [AI] to connect, secure and automate the network operations) and the Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Center (a Cisco graphical user interface [GUI] for managing all things in a Campus Switch, Wireless, Internet of Things [IoT], etc., network, now with tie-ins for the software-defined wide area network [SD-WAN]) giving the Allianz Arena’s IT Department the ability to quickly identify and resolve the bottlenecks.
This is facilitated by the uniform infrastructure as the entire network (the local area network [LAN] and the wireless local area network [WLAN]) uses the latest Cisco technology based on the Catalyst switches from the 9000 series. The fan experience extends beyond the matches, thanks to Cisco technology. The entire ‘Customer Care’ area of the Allianz Arena is powered by the Cisco Contact Center.
A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) is a virtual WAN architecture that allows the enterprises to leverage any combination of transport services – including the multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), long-term evolution (LTE) and the broadband Internet services – to securely connect the users to the applications.
Current Use Cases
In the modern stadiums, the radio-based networks are indispensable for seamless operations and enhanced fan experiences. The latest generation of WLANs are foundation of the gameday operations in the Allianz Arena enabling innovative applications that improve the efficiency and convenience for the fans and the staff.
- Smart Traffic Management
Every matchday, fans arrive at the Allianz Arena by public transport and 11,000 cars. To avoid traffic jams, the entire access road for cars is equipped with sensors (video, induction loops). The data is transmitted via WiFi to avoid queues at the entrance. Just a few years ago, the staff stood along the driveway entrance to personally monitor the entrance and send information to the control center by text message. This is no longer necessary.
- Improved Turnstiles
An overview of fan movements is a prerequisite for personnel management during the matchday. The 300 turnstiles in the admission area, which show how many fans are on the move and when, are crucial. At peak times when the stadium opens, up to 20,000 fans enter the arena at once. The turnstiles transmit information from a total of up to 75,000 accesses via WiFi. The technology also works perfectly during the initial operation after the Winter and Summer break, regardless of the weather.
- Reliable Cash Register Systems
There are 400 cash registers installed in the Allianz Arena for paying for food, drinks and fan merchandise. During a matchday, an average of 100,000 sales transactions are processed, all of which take place via the encrypted WiFi network. The main load occurs during the halftime break when 60,000 transactions are made in 15 minutes. All the payment transactions in the Allianz Arena are cashless. For this purpose, 50 mobile cash registers are in use outside and inside the stadium which are fully connected via the WLAN technology and thus enable mobile payment at the beer runners and in the stands on the Esplanade, for example.
- Faster Match Analysis
A high-performance network is also essential for the match operations. The Allianz Arena enables video analyses for the coaches in realtime on the mobile devices which is only possible with reliable and powerful WiFi 6. The special features in the outdoor areas are the weather-resistant components from the industrial series and outdoor-capable WiFi access points and antennas.
Comprehensive Expertise
For more than a decade, hundreds of the industry-leading venues, teams, events, and organizations around the world have relied on Cisco’s sports and entertainment solutions including the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the LaLiga team Real Madrid CF’s 85,000-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris (France), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and London (UK), Riot Games (American video game developer), the National Football League (professional American football league), McLaren Racing (British motor racing team), and many more.
Further information on Cisco solutions for sports, media and entertainment can be found here.
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