Ole Miss, C Spire to Debut New Wi-Fi Network at Football Games

The Ole Miss football team has gotten better each year under head coach Hugh Freeze, and in 2014 the Rebel fan experience will do the same with the addition of a new state-of-the-art Wi-Fi network from C Spire at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Officials plan to have the network ready for use in time for the Rebels’ home opener Sept. 13. The high-capacity network will feature the latest Wi-Fi and fiber optic technology with over 700 access points strategically located throughout the stadium.
C Spire and Ole Miss will use the school’s first two home football games to test and optimize the network. Connectivity will be provided at no cost to any fan choosing to access the network during the Rebels’ games vs. Louisiana-Lafayette and Memphis.
Beginning with Ole Miss’ Southeastern Conference home opener against Alabama, C Spire will provide free network access for its customers who attend the game. Fans with service from other wireless providers will also be able to access the network for $4.99 per game.
“As a leading telecommunications and technology services provider, we know firsthand how important these devices are to an entire generation of consumers,” said Hu Meena, president and CEO of C Spire.  “That’s why we’ve partnered with Ole Miss to identify and implement an infrastructure solution that over time will deliver a world-class in-game experience for fans.”
Ole Miss athletics director Ross Bjork said the network will provide additional capacity this season and position the school and C Spire to deliver an unmatched gameday experience using technology in future years.
“For years, Ole Miss has been known as a ‘bucket list’ gameday destination, and it is our responsibility to improve the ultimate fan experience for our customers year-in and year-out,” Bjork said.  “We welcome feedback on everything we do and our extensive fan research has helped us identify a current and future need and there is no better partner than C Spire to deliver this connectivity to our fans.”
The stadium network uses a state-of-the-art engineering design, Meena said. The design will provide more bandwidth, faster speeds and higher quality to help support the school’s digital engagement initiatives in the coming years.
Bjork said school officials understand that as technology improves, fans expect to have more memorable and immersive gameday experiences using connected devices.
“We want to keep the game-day experience new and fresh – so finding partners like C Spire who are committed to continuous improvement is crucial to the success of our innovation efforts,” Bjork said.
While some SEC schools have taken recent steps to improve cell phone service for fans, others, like Ole Miss, have added additional Wi-Fi communications networking to provide more robust in-stadium Internet access before, during and after games.
For all Ole Miss football news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissFB and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OleMissFootball).
–Ole Miss Sports Information