Verizon Business is currently piloting private 5G wireless network in arenas

U.S. carrier Verizon and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced a multi-year sponsorship renewal under which the telco will continue to be the league’s official partner in the 5G field.  

Additionally, as an official technology partner for the NHL, Verizon has been selected to deploy private 5G networks across NHL arenas to help game day operations roll out new solutions to advance the sport and improve the overall fan experience.

Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business, said: “Our collaboration with the NHL showcases what transformative network connectivity can bring to venues and fans alike. Having a forward-looking partner in the NHL opens up significant opportunities from an operational standpoint, when you look at the business of professional hockey, to enhancing in-game efficiencies and the fan experience.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon Business is currently piloting private 5G wireless network in arenas, with plans to roll out the technology to NHL arenas in future seasons.

Verizon highlighted that the implementation of 5G and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), across NHL arenas will enanble enterprises across industries to develop new solutions to meet specific business needs.  These new offerings include wireless officials’ iPads for replay review, which is currently piloted at the Prudential Center, as well as video coaching, and coach/video coach communications.

Furthermore, Verizon said it will continue to deploy its 5G service across NHL arenas to improve fans’ experience.

David Lehanski, NHL executive vice president for business development and innovation, said” “Creating the solutions and experiences of tomorrow is not only a function of applying cutting-edge technologies from world-class companies, it’s also a function of being able to truly collaborate with them to uncover meaningful new use cases. In Verizon, we have a partner that listens before bringing to bear their industry-best knowledge and solution set.”

In October 2023, Verizon said it already provided its 5G Ultra Wideband service — the brand name for its C-band and Millimeter Wave (mmWave) network — in all 30 National Football League (NFL) stadiums.

Verizon has been working with the NFL for a long time, developing use cases like coach-to-coach communications with a managed private wireless solution in all stadiums, and various the fan-oriented experiences like low-latency video — productized as Verizon 5G Multi-View — which enables fans to view up to seven simultaneous camera angles, allowing them watch a game on their phone from different angles and go back and review moments from the game. 

At some stadiums, Verizon deployed a technology that divides crowdssectors “like slices of a pie,” allowing engineers to adjust each slice individually to curate the network performance based on where stadium attendees move and how they use data. Additionally, Verizon said that its 5G network allows stadium operators to enabling autonomous or cashierless retail, accelerated access and crowd analytics, all of which further improve the fan in-stadium experience.