Virtua Stadium 5G Solution
PROJECT
Partnering with an MNO (Major Network Operator), Virtua have helped to survey, design, install and test a new 5G solution for a large stadium in the UK. The solution would ensure full superfast 5G coverage for the operator’s users throughout the venue.
SOLUTION
Our team initially completed a detailed survey including CW (Continuous Wave) measurements. This is the first phase of Mobile Network/Radio Frequency (RF) Planning and enables us to measure the actual distance a transmitted signal would travel from a Mobile Base Station antenna. This is particularly important when designing in building coverage, where it is important to understand the effect of construction materials on the RF signal.
From the surveys and building plans, our RF Designers were then able to create the stadium in iBwave. Enabling them to view the building in 3D and create a viable solution for the premises.
One of the main issues we needed to overcome was that parts of the building date back to the 50s, and already had a lot of other cellular equipment in prime antenna locations. As such we sourced new steelwork to house the new 5G antennas and radios.
Our engineers and installation partners carried out multiple activities including; the fibre and data cabling, antenna rigging, RF cabling, abseiling and install and connection of all radios and inbuilding components for the DOT System. DOT is Ericsson’s range of in-building radio transmitters for mobile telecoms. The Radio Dot is a low-power radio transceiver that produces radio waves for indoor cellular coverage. The unit installed for the MNO was a tri-band unit, providing two bands of 4G coverage and a third band for 5G coverage. The whole project uses approximately 10km of CAT6a cable, 6km of fibre, and around 2km of co-axial RF cable.
Coverage to the site is provided by two different types of equipment:
In-building coverage includes all areas from the public concourses, function suites and executive boxes, through to player, referee and press areas, facilities & admin offices & even the nightclub.
Coverage is provided by 135 Ericsson DOT 4475 tri-band radios controlled by 24 IRU 8848 Indoor Radio Units.
Stadium seating coverage is provided by 40 Alpha Wireless antennas, configured into a 32 sector arrangement. The antennas are connected to 32 Ericsson 4G radios and 32 Ericsson 5G ERS radios.
All the in-building and bowl radio equipment is cabled back to and controlled by 10 Ericsson Baseband units, which in turn connect into the MNO core network over a pair of 10Gig fibre bearer circuits. All this equipment is located out of the way, up on the roof.
Finally, the whole stadium underwent rigorous testing, to ensure performance was as predicted within our initial 3D designs.
BENEFIT
The newly installed MNO 5G solution now offers their users a superfast connection, with speeds better than 1Gbps. It is also high capacity and is able to handle thousands of users all connecting at once. The project has taken around 10 months to complete and is now one of the MNO’s fastest sites in the UK. Virtua is proud to have been involved in such a prestigious and innovative project.