Houston Astros Go Wireless

So, the ballpark did what Starbucks, the San Jose Sharks and even Bryant Park in New York have done. It went wireless. But with a lean IT department lacking wireless specialization, Bourland looked to Time Warner Cable Houston, which enlisted the help of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Wide Area Management Services (WAMS) to deploy a mega wireless hotspot throughout the entire stadium. "We often leverage partnerships to do the more specialized work that we need to do," Bourland says. "We're constantly looking at things, technology included, to offer our fans new ways to experience the game."

Time Warner, which tapped WAMS to implement more than 90 Cisco Aironet 1200 series 802.11b/g access points and the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE) for infrastructure management, managed the scope of the Wi-Fi project. WAMS also supplied Cisco Catalyst series platforms for switching and Cisco series access routers to connect the Cisco access points to the network.

Bourland says that while enhancing the fan experience was the driving factor behind the wireless plan, he also had in mind the "businessman's special"—the afternoon games that many businesspeople attend. While they are out of the office and maybe even with clients, they, and the rest of the fans, would benefit from being able to check e-mail or surf the Internet, Bourland explains.

The first phase of the Wi-Fi plan is simply wireless Internet access for anyone in the park. Bourland says that the next phase will focus on Astros-specific content and applications such as stats, videos and possibly online scorecard capabilities. "The sky is the limit, and we'll continue to offer more," he adds.

The Partners

Time Warner had worked with WAMS on some professional services projects and again brought it in to work on the Wi-Fi plan and implementation, says Miguel Guerra, marketing manager of business broadband services at Time Warner Cable Houston. "WAMS had worked with other teams, and it just made sense to use someone that had 'been there and done that,' plus the great relationship they have with Cisco," Guerra says. More specifically, WAMS was brought in to put together a plan covering the design, installation and network integration for the wireless solution.

Tom Shaw, CEO and founder of WAMS, says that his company was selected mainly because of prior experience, as well as its expertise with radio frequency (RF) tools, its understanding of the types of interference a stadium presents and the availability of a team to put the solution in place very quickly. "The physical structure itself is not friendly to RF; with all of the concrete and glass, there are huge obstacles," Shaw says. "We did a detailed site survey and determined where the proper antennas needed to go and what types were needed, and we helped Time Warner develop the requirements around security parameters, roaming and the manufacturer selection."

Shaw adds that he selected Cisco because it provided a completely integrated solution, "from the access points to the wireless LAN switching engine to the routers." He adds that it was important that the solution was integrated and managed from a single manufacturer.

Also, before WAMS could get started with the implementation, Time Warner had to lay down some serious cable—7.5 miles of Category 5 (CAT 5) Ethernet cable and 2.5 miles of fiber optic cable—and mount the antennas. The wireless hotspot covers roughly 29 acres across the stadium, including fan seating areas, restaurants, entrances, exits and common areas. "Once that was ready, we were called in to configure and install the Cisco wireless devices," Shaw says.

But it wasn't all that easy. Shaw explains that there was one major stumbling block that could not have been predicted. His installation team was stalled by a birthday party for none other than former President George Bush as WAMS was trying to get equipment into the ballpark. "The stadium was locked down for a week," Shaw says. But the WAMS team eventually got all of the equipment into the ballpark and got to work.

"We used a team of four people for the implementation," Shaw says. "The access points were hung, we configured the points, [had the] gateways and wireless LAN switching engine tested, and had it running in four days."

The actual testing turned out to be quite a workout for the WAMS team and for Bourland as well. "We had to traverse the entire stadium, while downloading streaming video applications and keeping a browser open," Shaw explains.

Bourland adds that he walked the ballpark every day during the installation, talking with the WAMS team to get a feel for how the project was going and measuring its progress. Bourland says it was important that his team was also involved and communicated with all of the partners throughout the entire process.

And with a four-day implementation schedule, the work had to be done quickly and the products had to be flawless.

"Luckily, we didn't have any software bugs and all of the products worked," Shaw says. "If you buy 100 access points, the failure rate could be five to 10 units, but Cisco has a quality assurance on its hardware and software platforms that is second to none. I needed that level of reliability."

Bourland says that communication also was vital to the partnership with Time Warner and WAMS. "During the initial phase, we met quite a bit and decided how to approach the project," he adds. Bourland also conferred with everyone on the WAMS team prior to the installation, which was very important to him.

"It's our ballpark at the end of the day, and we take a lot of pride in the park and the fans, so I wanted to make sure things were done right," he says.

Bourland says that he's happy with the traffic numbers so far, but expects the real jumps in usage will come once the value-added applications are available inside the ballpark. "Right now, the appeal [for users] is to check e-mail and do some work, but moving forward there's going to be content that users are going to say, 'If I don't do it in the park, I'm not going to be able to do it,'" Bourland says.

So far, Time Warner's Guerra says the authentication Web page that users inside the ballpark are directed to sign onto has seen 44,000 unique hits in a month. He says that is not necessarily 44,000 different people logging onto the service, but rather the number of times the authentication page has been hit. "This shows us that people have the devices out there and are thinking about buying the service," he says.

For the inaugural season, existing Time Warner Road Runner subscribers will receive 15 minutes of free access within the park. In addition, the Fast Ball package is available for $3.95 and includes four hours of access, while the Home Run package costs $9.95 for the entire game day.

Season Two

Bourland sees Wi-Fi increasing in popularity as more people use wireless devices and more laptops and PDAs have wireless capability embedded. As for Phase II and the Astros-specific application potential, Bourland is getting ready to work on it in the off-season. He says the intention is to have that up and running at the beginning of next season. The talks are just starting, but he says he is evaluating the options to decide what is best for the fans and their overall experience.

Time Warner's Guerra envisions Wi-Fi and solution-provider opportunities beyond the ballpark. "We see Wi-Fi and secured public access as a big market," Guerra says. "We see it extending to country clubs, hotels, restaurants, commercial real-estate buildings, public areas, apartment complexes and beyond." n

Get In On the Wireless Game

The houston Astros aren't alone in the wireless game; the San Jose Sharks and the Orlando Magic also see value in offering wireless access to fans and staff. While sporting venues present unique challenges for wireless deployment, integrators are making their marks, and teams are taking notice.

Last year, the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., home of the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks, deployed a wireless network for its 65 executive suite areas. Local network provider Airespace was called in to design and deploy the wireless local area network (WLAN). The solution included the Airespace 4000 WLAN Switch, Airespace 1200 Access Point and the Airespace Control System Software. The solution debuted, appropriately, on HP Fan Appreciation Day.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic also is getting in on the wireless action at the TD Waterhouse Center. The Magic tapped Tampa, Fla.-based World Without Wires, a wireless network integrator, to deploy a 3Com-based WLAN.

World Without Wires worked with the Magic's IT staff to install three 3Com AirConnect 11-Mbps Wireless LAN access points. Magic's coaches and staff can then work anywhere in the arena office, courtside and in many parts of the stands, using 3Com AirConnect Wireless LAN PC cards in their laptops to access team statistics, individual records and recruiting data.