Las Vegas Arena
Cox Business/Hospitality Network, a subsidiary of Cox Communications, has been named the exclusive technology integration/telecommunication services provider for the new Las Vegas Arena. The 20,000-seat sports and entertainment venue is scheduled to open on the Las Vegas Strip in April 2016.
Cox Business/Hospitality Network designed and constructed a 10 gigabit redundant fiber-optic network for the Las Vegas Arena to support the deployment of wired and wireless Internet connectivity inside the events venue. Utilizing Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) Connected Stadium WiFi, more than 550 WiFi access points inside the arena are expected to deliver targeted download speeds of up to 20 Mbps to WiFi enabled devices.
Cox Business/Hospitality Network will also use Cisco StadiumVision to centrally manage and target delivery of more than 60 channels of HD news, sports and entertainment content from the Cox cable channel lineup and live in-house feeds from the arena floor to 650 digital displays throughout the venue. All monitors will have the capability to carry live in-house feeds from the arena floor. The solution is also designed to support 4k video.
Las Vegas Convention Center
In other Cox Business news, the company and InSite Wireless Group have increased the number of WiFi access points from 166 to 2,100 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, and also are building distributed antenna system (DAS) to increase cellular network capacity and reliability in the venue.
The 2,100 WiFi access points, backed by redundant Cox Business 10 Gbps fiber connections, are operational today, and the new DAS is expected to be completed by this time next year. AT&T (NYSE:T), Sprint (NYSE:S) and a third major wireless carrier have signed agreements to launch the service powered by Cox and InSite.
The DAS concept is built on the engineering principle that a linked network of low-powered, spatially separated antennas and repeaters providing overlapping coverage within the confines of an enclosed area improves cellular capabilities and reception, eliminates dropped calls and heightens the user experience. The system consists of common fiber optic, radio, and antenna infrastructure that is maintained by a dedicated InSite technical staff. Once completed, the Las Vegas Convention Center DAS will have a capacity equivalent to 14 cell sites.
In August 2013, Cox Business and the LVCVA signed a seven-year contract with a three-year extension to provide wired high-speed Internet networking services and equipment, wired voice services, private network options, WiFi-based wireless Internet services and TV services. The future installation of DAS capability by Cox Business partner InSite Wireless Group was part of that contract.
