Allianz Stadium pack-a-wallop O2 network

Article posted by Coliseum, February 25^th, 2025

Image: Coliseum GSVA

The mobile network operator O2 has upgraded its mobile network at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, London (UK) to enhance 5G connectivity for the spectators for this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (rugby union competition which got off to a start on January 31^st and will conclude on March 15^th).

‘THE FAST MODE’ stated that the fans will now experience fast 5G service throughout the stadium delivered using a state-of-the-art 5G distributed antenna system (DAS) specifically designed to improve the reliability of O2’s 5G signal. With 34 dedicated 5G zones this deployment marks the largest 5G installation at any stadium in the United Kingdom to date.

The Telefonica UK Limited trading as O2 (stylized as O2) is a British telecommunications services provider headquartered in Reading, England (UK) which operates under the O2 brand. The O2 is the United Kingdom’s largest mobile network operator with about 23.4 million subscribers as of October 2024.

The 82,000-capacity Twickenham Stadium (usually known as the Twickenham and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England (UK). It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby union governing body which has its headquarters there. The stadium is England’s national rugby union stadium and is the venue for the England national rugby union team’s home matches.

The Men’s Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men’s Six Nations) is an annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.

‘THE FAST MODE’ further stated that the O2 customers at the Allianz Stadium are now benefiting from this major connectivity upgrade introduced just in time for England’s first home fixture of the tournament against France. The new network carries 40 percent more data than the previous Autumn international fixture. The operator’s investment introduces a bespoke 5G distributed antenna system (DAS) network dedicated solely to providing reliable 5G coverage to the supporters inside the stadium. This ensures improved reliability and faster speeds even during high-demand periods allowing the fans to seamlessly share match highlights, navigate digital ticketing and make contactless payments.

With its 34 dedicated 5G coverage zones serving the stadium bowl the O2 believes this is the highest-capacity DAS stadium deployment in the United Kingdom. This unprecedented capacity will transform the matchday experience enabling the customers to seamlessly upload photos, stream content and stay connected even at full stadium capacity. These upgrades are part of Virgin Media O2’s (a British mass media and telecommunications company based in London, England) broader network strategy with the operator investing £2 million daily to future-proof its mobile network and meet the rising customer demands for seamless connectivity.

Observed Jonathan Conn, Digital Technology Director, RFU, “Providing the very best matchday experience at the Allianz Stadium is a top priority for us and that includes our fans’ ability to stay connected. In an increasingly digital world the O2 upgrade will significantly enhance connectivity for the fans who want to be able to share images, view content and keep in touch with friends and family throughout the day.”

Remarked Dr. Robert Joyce, Director, Mobile Access Engineering, O2, “With more than 80,000 fans visiting the Allianz Stadium on matchdays games like the Six Nations create a huge demand for data and place increased strain on mobile networks inside and outside of the stadium. Our new dedicated stadium network is designed to deal with this by providing a huge capacity boost to the O2 customers inside the stadium and minimizing matchday disruption to our customers in the surrounding areas.”

Stated Simon Frumkin, head honcho, Freshwave (a UK-based tower company and network-sharing specialist), “We’ve worked with Virgin Media O2 in the Allianz Stadium before the 2012 Olympics. It has a unique mobile connectivity system, the first of its kind from a technical perspective. So, working with Virgin Media O2’s engineers to upgrade it and enable the UK’s largest 5G stadium-based network deployment has been fantastic.”

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