Syracuse, NY -- If it seemed to take awhile to get a wireless connection from the stands of the Carrier Dome at last week’s SU football game against Maine, there’s a reason. The heavy traffic generated from fans, trying to send photos, tweet pals, download scores and the other nifty things that can be done on smartphones, cell phones...
View full sizeSyracuse University quarterback Ryan Nassib runs the ball late in the first half against Maine during the Sept. 18 game in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse, NY -- If it seemed to take awhile to get a wireless connection from the stands of the Carrier Dome at last week’s SU football game against Maine, there’s a reason.
The heavy traffic generated from fans, trying to send photos, tweet pals, download scores and the other nifty things that can be done on smartphones, cell phones and other electronic assistants, led to “some slightly elevated ineffective attempts” to connect to Verizon’s wireless network from the Dome, said John O’Malley, speaking for Verizon Wireless.
At least one service will be keeping an eye out during this afternoon’s contest with Colgate to avoid a repeat.
It sometimes took more than one try to make a connection as the demand to send and receive data exceeded Verizon’s capacity around the Dome, said O’Malley. He declined to provide numbers, saying it was proprietary information, but said the percentage of ineffective attempts was “very small but higher than we’d like to see.”
The Dome’s in-house wireless network also suffered temporary delays at the beginning of the game due to the number of wireless devices in use, said Stephanie Salanger, speaking for Time Warner Cable. Time Warner maintains the network under contract with Syracuse University.
Salanger, citing the contract, said she also couldn’t discuss numbers. She said technicians fixed the problem on the fly by reconfiguring some hardware and software, and service returned to normal by the second quarter.
Why did the problem erupt at a modestly attended football game? Mobile data consumption has exploded. According to Validas, a wireless bill monitoring service, average monthly wireless data consumption rose 464 percent nationwide between the start of 2009 and the end of June 2010.
Time Warner will keep tabs during future games to add capacity as demand rises, Salanger said. Verizon’s fix is more long term — the company is scouting sites around campus to add more towers, O’Malley said. Neither company received complaints from fans.
AT&T had “no issues to report on our end at the Carrier Dome,” said Kate MacKinnon, speaking for that company.
Contact John Mariani at jmariani@syracuse.com or 470-3105.
» Wireless service might be fixed, but traffic is likely to be a problem at today's game.