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posted by martyb on Monday September 09 2019, @12:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the got-to-start-somewhere dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Verizon yesterday announced that its 5G service is available in 13 NFL stadiums but said the network is only able to cover "parts" of the seating areas. Verizon 5G signals will also be sparse or non-existent when fans walk through concourses and other areas in and around each stadium.

The rollout of 5G is more complicated than the rollout of 4G was because 5G relies heavily on millimeter-wave signals that don't travel far and are easily blocked by walls and other obstacles. While Verizon is trying to build excitement around 5G, its announcement for availability in NFL stadiums carried several caveats.

"Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service will be available in areas of the [13] stadiums," Verizon said. "Service will be concentrated in parts of the seating areas but could be available in other locations in and around the stadium as well."

Notice the phrase "could be available" in that last sentence. Verizon isn't promising any 5G coverage outside the seating areas, and the seating-area coverage will only be available in some sections.

[...] 5G can work on any frequency used by mobile networks, including the lower-band frequencies Verizon uses for its nationwide 4G network. But Verizon has said that customers will only notice small speed increases on 5G when it's delivered over low-band frequencies. The big speed increases will come on millimeter-wave deployments, which will be concentrated in densely populated areas.

The 13 stadiums where Verizon 5G is partially available include those used by the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and New York Jets (they share a stadium in New Jersey), Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and Minnesota Vikings. That's only 12 stadiums, so there's a 13th that Verizon hasn't revealed. There are another 18 other NFL stadiums without Verizon 5G service.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday September 09 2019, @01:21PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday September 09 2019, @01:21PM (#891669) Journal

    "Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service will be available in areas of the [13] stadiums," Verizon said. "Service will be concentrated in parts of the seating areas but could be available in other locations in and around the stadium as well."

    Notice the phrase "could be available" in that last sentence. Verizon isn't promising any 5G coverage outside the seating areas, and the seating-area coverage will only be available in some sections.

    Their response seems fine to me. If they want to offer more coverage, they'll put more "nanocells" near the concessions stands, bathrooms, or whatever.

    Heaven forbid you drop back to 4G.

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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday September 09 2019, @04:10PM

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday September 09 2019, @04:10PM (#891729) Homepage Journal

    The stands? The only viable place, since it's essentially line-of-sight-only what with the people sitting in front of or behind you able to completely block the signal, to put it would be almost directly overhead. That's all fine and good for domes but completely useless for open stadiums.

    As usual, if an ethernet cord is at all a viable option, it is the best option by a damned sight.

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday September 10 2019, @04:04AM (2 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday September 10 2019, @04:04AM (#892060) Homepage
    Yup, more nanocells, and perhaps finally we can begin the mass cohort studies we need to ascertain the safety of these mm waves. Happy to see tens of thousands of volunteers for the pilot studies.
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