Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced it has deployed an integrated private 5G and Wi-Fi network at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Combining the private 5G technology of Athonet, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquisition, and HPE Aruba Networking’s Wi-Fi technology will deliver new secure capabilities, expanded coverage, and enhanced fan and staff experiences at a big scale.
The global golf event being held at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy, September 25 – October 1, presents ‘unique’ connectivity challenges to the organisers. The golf course, spanning 370 acres of archaeologically protected countryside, has been transformed into one of the world’s largest temporary sports stadiums that is set to host 250,000 spectators during the event. With fans and event staff requiring ubiquitous high-bandwidth connectivity at all times throughout the venue, a ‘state-of-the-art’ wireless network was paramount for organisers.
To meet the connectivity requirements of the Ryder Cup, HPE designed an integrated Wi-Fi and private 5G network. Wi-Fi predominantly provides the high-capacity connectivity required for thousands of fans congregating in popular areas. Private 5G provides wide-area coverage to more remote parts of the golf course, as well as a secure private network dedicated to operations staff. A network design like this provides a preview into the future of private networking and is an early realisation of HPE’s vision when it acquired Athonet in June 2023.
“Each Ryder Cup gives us an opportunity to push the boundaries of technological innovation to maximise the fan experience, so it is really exciting to be breaking genuinely new ground with the combination of world-class Wi-Fi and private 5G technology,” said Michael Cole, chief technology officer of the European Tour group and Ryder Cup Europe. “Private 5G brings huge operational benefits, in particular, providing us with a fully private network that will be unaffected by the crowd’s high demand for high-bandwidth applications. It gives us full course coverage for cellular devices providing critical services like security, stewarding, ticketing, and scoring that might have otherwise relied on the under-pressure local telecoms networks.”
“When we announced our acquisition of Athonet earlier this year, our goal was to become the global leader in private 5G solutions and the Ryder Cup is a perfect opportunity to showcase how our Wi-Fi and private 5G innovations work together to achieve that goal,” said Phil Mottram, executive vice president and general manager at HPE Aruba Networking. “This is a perfect showcase for the integration of private 5G and Wi-Fi in a challenging environment, with private 5G providing extended range and reliability for operations staff, while Wi-Fi 6E provides high-capacity connectivity to thousands of fans concentrated in core areas.”
Driving the Ryder Cup forward with innovation
A high-performance Wi-Fi network powered by HPE Aruba Networking continues to provide the main source of connectivity for organisers, competitors, sponsors, and spectators. The higher throughput capacity of a densely deployed Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E network is the optimal solution for crowded spaces like the clubhouse, hospitality, and retail venues, as well as spectator grandstands. Furthermore, devices like laptops and tablets often cannot connect to cellular networks and roaming agreements between public and private cellular networks are in their infancy.
The network leverages the latest Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E technologies, delivering twice as much capacity as Paris 2018 via more than 800 Wi-Fi access points. The backbone of the network is built on 200 HPE Aruba Networking CX switches with AI-powered HPE Aruba Networking Central for network management providing a single point of visibility and control across the entire network.
The dashboard within HPE Aruba Networking Central also provides AI-powered insights into what’s happening across the entire environment from a network troubleshooting, optimisation, and security perspective.
HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass then provides secure, efficient access control and onboarding for improved spectator experience across the Wi-Fi infrastructure. Running the network and computing environment from the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform means less equipment is required on-site and it is more cost-effective and quicker to deploy and manage.
The private 5G network covers the golf course with one radio mast located in a central location powered by the Athonet Tactical Cube, a compact and mobile private cellular solution for applications. Private 5G provides backhaul connectivity to solar-powered Wi-Fi access points in more remote parts of the golf course, extending the coverage of the Wi-Fi network without the need for cabling. This is important as, due to archaeological reasons, cables cannot be buried in certain parts of the site.
Private 5G also provides a secure, segmented network for delay and capacity-sensitive critical operations that need guaranteed bandwidth, such as security, stewarding, and transport.
Italy has allocated all 5G spectrum to mobile service providers, so spectrum is not normally available direct to enterprises but the Italian Government made an exception for the Ryder Cup. The Ministry of Communications has given access to the 3.8 GHz band, which is perfect for 5G because it can carry plenty of data while traveling significant distances. To realise the potential of private 5G around the world, governments can play an important role in empowering enterprises, telecom companies, and technology vendors by making spectrum available for new use cases, such as, at the Ryder Cup.
The most digitally engaging Ryder Cup ever
Ultimately, all the network innovation aids in the delivery of an even better experience for fans. Nowadays, spectators not only demand connectivity at all times but they’re also seeking a personalised, immersive experience driven by rich content. Leveraging insights from HPE’s network, fans in Rome will have the capability to virtually navigate the golf course, bypass lines for merchandise and food, and monitor player locations, all from any point on the course. Similarly, operations staff can monitor fan behaviour, assign more staff during peak periods, and provide fan activations on-the-fly.
As with most international sports, creating a more sustainable event is high on the list of priorities and this is especially challenging when you are essentially delivering a pop-up event.
The acceleration of wireless and cloud technologies at this year’s Ryder Cup has led to a big reduction in physical equipment that might otherwise be surplus to requirements after the event. It has also meant there has been less disturbance to the golf course ecology.
The Ryder Cup is also one of the first global use cases for the new sustainability dashboard on the HPE GreenLake platform that delivers key insights on IT energy consumption, carbon emissions, and electricity costs. The dashboard leverages advanced analytics from across the technology estate to enable decision-making that improves overall sustainability performance.
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