Towards 5G: the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, transferred to Barcelona for a few days

[dropcap letter=”W”]

hile we wait for the propagation and installation of 5G, the best chance of living a similar experience to the one that will mark the future is to visit the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, Atlético de Madrid’s new stadium which has been virtually moved to Barcelona for a few days, thanks to Cellnex Telecom. They will exhibit the new connectivity solutions that respond to a high coverage and mobile connectivity demand in spaces with a large concentration of users. The Mobile World Congress has been the new red-and-white temple’s fief.

Experiencing a match day in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium allows us to enjoy a great sporting event in a pioneering space for the future of connectivity. Its technology, installed by Cellnex Telecom, enables fans to enjoy incredible data transmission speed on their smartphones. The new red-and-white fief is destined to lead the transition towards 5G and the Internet of the future, the main topic at the current edition of the Mobile World Congress.

At the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, fans are already starting to enjoy the advantages of having the most modern stadium in Europe: “I’ve been able to send videos faster than if I was connected to the Wi-fi at home,” says Alberto, an Atlético supporter, who has sent a video of a goal by Ángel Correa, Atletico forward, to Valencia (1-0) on a WhatsApp group… “Sending this in other stadiums is practically impossible,” adds Alberto.

Within the new colchonero fief, quickly searching for something on the internet or sending a photo or a video on your phone perfectly illustrates why we are in the stadium with the best connectivity in Spain: data transmission is immediate and downloading images and videos takes next to no time at all

The experience begins at the Metro station exit from where the Wanda Metropolitano stadium can be seen. Fans singing, t-shirts, flags and scarves, the Fans Zone full of activities… It is match day, the spirit of the Vicente Calderón Stadium is alive and has travelled approximately 16 kilometres up the road from the south-west to the north-west of the capital. Atlético’s goal: to improve, keep growing, evolve and offer red-and-white fans a better experience.

As we get closer and especially within the new colchonero fief, quickly searching for something on the internet or sending a photo or a video on your phone perfectly illustrates why we are in the stadium with the best connectivity in Spain: data transmission is immediate and downloading images and videos takes next to no time at all.

The Wanda Metropolitano stadium is the first fully multi-operator and multi-band sports space in Spain and the technology that enables this greater connectivity and speed is based on a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) through small cells.

And it’s also fully integrated in the stadium. The more than 10 kilometres of optical fibre, 200 antennas and about a hundred remote units that comprise it are camouflaged with the enclosure’s structure, and even cover the lawn area, so that the connectivity experience can also be optimal when the stadium hosts concerts or other types of events with huge audiences. This type of neutral and flexible systems (multi-operator and multi-band 2G, 3G, 4G and in the future, 5G) are optimal for spaces such as the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, with capacity for 68,000 people, who can all be connected to the network, sending data or calling at the same time.

The Wanda Metropolitano stadium is the paradigm of what 5G will be. It will require a connectivity that’s better quality, faster and capable of managing large volumes of data. This will require a greater network densification, greater capillarity and minimum latency.  The new Atlético de Madrid stadium takes the lead in a new mobile technology generation in a future marked by shared networks.