SAN FRANCISCO—In addition to the massive amount of production and broadcast technologies being deployed this week for Super Bowl LX, with Sony supplying over 175 cameras, and NBC Sports reporting that it laid down more than 75 miles of cable, the host venue Levi Stadium got a major wireless upgrade to handle the needs of both fans and media covering the game according to the Wireless Infrastructure Association.
In an article for its website, the group noted that “for wireless professionals, the Super Bowl is more than a sporting spectacle — it’s a massive stress test, demonstrating how cellular networks, distributed antenna systems, small cells, Wi‑Fi, spectrum layering and cybersecurity converge to create a seamless digital experience. From stadium concourses to city streets and transit hubs, this month’s sporting events highlight just how crucial high-performance wireless networks have become.”
Costa Kladianos, the 49ers’ executive vice president of technology, described the upgrade to WIA as a “complete rebuild.”
Working with JMA Wireless, “Levi’s installed a digital DAS capable of 5G, multi-band LTE, and future spectrum layers, delivering what Kladianos calls `70,000 VIP experiences” for every fan walking through the doors. Redundant fiber and power paths ensure high availability, while energy-efficient designs reduce the stadium’s carbon footprint. The result is a long-term foundation built to handle extreme device density, high-speed uploads, and ultra-reliable connectivity for years to come,” wrote the author of WIA article Kristen Beckman.
In addition, AT&T “refreshed the DAS inside Levi’s Stadium and expanded macro and small cell sites around stadium-adjacent fan zones” and Verizon, “layered C-Band and mmWave deployments for high throughput and capacity. Together, these carriers deployed nearly 200 projects spanning DAS, small cells, and backhaul, with on-site RF engineers and real-time command center monitoring fine-tuning the network for peak efficiency. Small cells targeted high-traffic ingress and egress points, while private slices ensured operational communications remained uninterrupted. The combined system sustains tens of thousands of simultaneous connections with minimal latency, even during tailgate surges.”
More details about the upgrade, including advanced security solutions and upgrades to BART public transit stations, are available here.
