Boldyn powers up 5G for VMO2 users at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light

Over the past few days, the Stadium of Light in Sunderland has seen a raucous victorious return to the Premier League for the city’s football team and the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, both of which offered fans significantly enhanced 5G connectivity experiences though a connectivity-as-a-service (CaaS) infrastructure from Boldyn Networks, said to be the UK’s first full neutral host RAN managed service in a high-density demand (HDD) venue.

Based on the north side of the River Wear, the Stadium of Light has a capacity for 49,000 spectators – the ninth largest in the English professional game – and can expand to hold tens of thousands more. In addition to holding major sporting events, it has also been a music concert venue since 2009, hosting artists including Oasis, Take That, Beyonce and Coldplay.

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) customers have been the first to benefit from the network delivered by the Sunderland Open Network EcosysTem (Sonet) project, which aims to bring enhanced mobile connectivity to the stadium, improving the way fans experience and engage with live sports. 

The stadium’s connectivity ecosystem is wide-reaching, encompassing the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, whose interest is in the use of open radio access network (O-RAN) mobile technology use cases in HDD locations; Sunderland City Council, which sees the football club as central to the city’s identity and part of its regional inward investment plan, which includes a new eSports location; mobile network operator VMO2, which is aiming to provide “excellent” coverage, capacity and performance with minimum total cost of ownership; smart society and digital transformation firm Perform Green; and shared network infrastructure provider Boldyn Networks, which developed a business model and tech stack for the HDD use case.

The stadium has a new evolved distributed antenna system (DAS), with radios based on an O-RAN supporting the O-RAN fronthaul interface standard and the JMA XRAN 5G O-RAN technology stack, with Boldyn’s Network Management System (NMS). This is connected to VMO2’s core network.

To ensure “ubiquitous” coverage across the venues, Boldyn designed a solution with 16 DAS sectors for the seating bowl to cater for 48,000 users with an average of 3,000 per sector. Indoor areas such as the basement, concourses, suites and hospitality areas will share the same 16 seating bowl sectors. Four DAS sectors enable pitch coverage during events such as concerts, and four DAS sectors are dedicated to covering carparks on opposing sides of the ground.

The fully virtualised O-RAN-based platform is designed to reduce space and power requirements by up to 60% compared with traditional indoor architectures. The integration with Boldyn’s NMS is also attributed with lowering operational costs through the digitisation and automation of the service assurance processes.

Most importantly, said Boldyn, stadium spectators benefit from high-speed 5G connectivity that is said to offer a significant upgrade from its decade-old network system, resulting in a richer connectivity experience for everyone. This, it said, will translate into high-quality connectivity and more interactive, digitally enabled services, including seamless uploads and downloads of videos and social media, increased safety, and personalised experiences during events, such as in-seat food ordering.

“This project underscores our commitment to delivering innovative connectivity solutions that enhance the digital experience for users in high-density environments, without sacrificing cost or energy efficiency,” commented Boldyn Networks UK & Ireland CEO Brendan O’Reilly. “The launch of CaaS at the Stadium of Light is a testament to Boldyn’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of digital connectivity and setting new standards in the industry. We are incredibly proud to play our part in the Sonet project and in enabling more engaging interactions at stadiums and arenas across the UK.”

Virgin Media O2’s director of mobile access engineering, Rob Joyce, said: “We have a long history of giving our customers access to the best live entertainment, so it’s only natural that they will be the first to benefit from the next-generation 5G network at the iconic Stadium of Light. Our Mobile Transformation Plan is focused on improving the connectivity experience for our customers, no matter where they are, and this work with Boldyn Networks is ensuring match-going fans can experience a seamless connectivity experience.”

David Bruce, chief business officer of the Sunderland Association Football Club, said: “The launch of an enhanced 5G network at the Stadium of Light marks another exciting step forward, not just for Sunderland AFC, but for the entire city. This technology will unlock incredible opportunities to enhance the matchday experience for our supporters through faster connectivity, richer content and more immersive engagement than ever before.”