An experienced team, meticulous planning, strategic backup resources, and vigilant network monitoring ensured peak wireless performance for Formula 1 race days and beyond. What are the lessons for venue owners, as large-scale events come their way?
When fractions of a second can mean the difference between Formula 1 (F1) victory and defeat, the pit crew plays a critical role. A team of engineers, mechanics, tire changers, fuelers, and others have specified assignments in the pit and practice being ready for race day. They draw on their collective years of experience to make instant assessments of what is needed. There are alternates for every spot. There is backup equipment in case a key element fails. Nothing is left to chance when the stakes are so high.
In mid-November 2023, the city of Las Vegas saw an influx of upwards of a million people looking to experience the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. As the city’s famous Strip was transformed into a racecourse, fans were in the grandstands, casinos, and hotels, soaking up excitement the global event brought to the host city. Beyond a thrilling race, what did all of them expect? Reliable connectivity—even in the face of a huge surge in demand on the network.
Much like F1 drivers depend on their pit crew, venue owners rely on a trusted digital infrastructure partner for high-performance cellular connectivity. A major event, like F1, raises the bar for excellence to the next level. In this blog, we highlight the gold-glove standards venue owners deserve from their digital infrastructure providers during large-scale events, so they can deliver an experience to remember and earn repeat visits from satisfied guests.
Meeting the Connectivity Needs for One of the World’s Biggest Sporting Events
With more than 30 in-building networks across Las Vegas, including 15 directly around the circuit, American Tower knew the stakes were high, as the inaugural F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix dates approached. Major events, like F1, place enormous strain on networks, as visitors use their smartphones to call, text, and share photos and videos online. Should a disruption occur anywhere across the network, due to a failure of electronics, a significant power outage, or other causes, affected venue owners will feel the impact in the form of a degraded guest experience. The objective was to maximize network availability, not just during the event itself but also over the pre- and post-event periods and beyond.
American Tower’s collaboration with the Las Vegas properties to deliver state-of-the-art connectivity involves a venue needs analysis and network design and continues through installation, integration, testing, on-air commissioning, monitoring, and regular maintenance to ensure reliable, high-quality, and secure wireless service. During the F1 period, our objective was to take this comprehensive suite of offerings to a next-level standard of service, exceeding the expectations of venue owners and managers at a time when there was no room for error.
In partnership with American Tower and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), the Las Vegas properties met the expectations of the crowd by delivering uninterrupted connectivity and blazing-fast speeds, allowing everyone to share their first memorable F1 Las Vegas experiences.
Safeguarding Your High-Performance Network: Playbook for a Successful Event
At an event attracting massive attention, there is no one specific thing that ensures a wireless network is reliable and optimized for fan experiences and event monetization opportunities—it’s many. A trusted digital infrastructure provider should have a multilayered strategy that starts well before a major event and doesn’t end until well after guests leave the event site, with lasting memories in tow. Below are some of the key components you should expect from your digital infrastructure provider.
Anticipation of Needs: Ensuring a premium wireless experience during a major event goes well beyond being on-site to monitor the network on the big day. A digital infrastructure provider’s robust preparation for an event the scale of F1 should involve regular meetings of a team of engineers, technicians, and other experts in the run-up to the event; a comprehensive appraisal of a venue’s connectivity needs; and a synthesis of prior large-scale event learnings to anticipate and mitigate potential risks.
Timely Upgrades: Properties deserve an infrastructure provider who will be proactive about needed network upgrades and manage time effectively to ensure necessary work is completed prior to a major event. For F1, American Tower proactively partnered with MNOs to complete a full 5G upgrade to some of the Las Vegas properties’ Distributed Antenna System (DAS) networks, so they would be ready to deliver a world-class experience for fans. Our methodical preparations included speed tests on the upgraded 5G sites, which showed download speeds above 1 Gbps.
Staging the Right Resources: Once the network is down, it’s too late to assemble backup assets. A far-sighted infrastructure provider will order and deploy spare equipment and strategically place it in the market, hire general contractors with crews to be on standby, and position its own highly trained people both inside and outside the event space.
Network Monitoring: The infrastructure provider is responsible for assigning experienced and sharp-eyed team members to monitor networks, both at the property level and holistically, to confirm full availability. The on-site team must be prepared to handle support calls throughout the monitoring period and resolve issues promptly through clear communications and high-quality service. In the case of F1, or other events where hours are optimized for global viewers, monitoring teams must be ready for sessions that may extend until the early morning hours.
Collaboration: Success in maintaining a network ecosystem during a large-scale event requires effective collaboration between the infrastructure provider, properties, and MNOs. An infrastructure provider depends on access to a property and open channels of communication with venue representatives for prompt response and issue resolution. At the same time, close communication with MNOs about network performance and optimization requirements helps ensure delivery of 5G-powered fan experiences.
Race Results
Venue owners and MNOs have a right to expect gold-glove service and an unwavering commitment to full network availability during large-scale events, like F1. Meticulous planning, a war-room mindset, clear communications, and crisp execution led to 99.99% uptime throughout the event on our 15 Las Vegas properties, whose management teams were able to focus on delivering an unforgettable guest experience.
By leaving nothing to chance and delivering on the promise of superior wireless connectivity, American Tower was proud to help ensure the residents of and visitors to Las Vegas dominated the F1 race from turn one.
Good for the Fans, Good for Business
Each year, large-scale events descend on multiple cities, attracting countless travelers chasing bucket-list experiences. Such events echo across the host cities, often with associated festivities over many days, placing tremendous demands on wireless networks.
Public venue owners should view these events as strategic opportunities to showcase premium offerings, build loyalty, and stand out from the competition. Reliable connectivity can never be an afterthought. Feel a sense of confidence as major events approach by choosing the right digital infrastructure provider.
American Tower, a leader in digital infrastructure, has spent more than two decades designing, deploying, and managing wireless infrastructure solutions for large public venues. Today, we not only provide DAS networks optimized for MNOs but also work with venue owners on carrier-grade Wi-Fi, private networks, hybrid networks, cloud solutions, and edge computing solutions to enable low-latency applications. Discuss the needs of your venue with our dedicated team today.
