TELUS invests $500,000 to bring the fan experience online at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre
Concert goers and sports fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre will experience a dramatically improved wireless connection next time they attend an event. TELUS has invested $500,000 to install a new wireless technology called a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) throughout the arena. The DAS system is comprised of about 35 small antennas placed throughout the centre, giving smartphone and tablet users uninterrupted voice and Internet service during big shows. Installed by TELUS in partnership with Global Spectrum Facility Management and the City of Abbotsford, the network is live now and in place for the sold-out Florida Georgia Line concert on Wednesday, Hedley’s Wild Live Tour on Saturday evening, and the Abbotsford Heat’s upcoming two-game series against the Oklahoma City Barons to close out the regular season.
The use of wireless data at big events has exploded in recent years as fans exchange e-mails, photos, video clips, texts, and social media postings during live events. With this new infrastructure, voice calls will be much clearer and access to the Internet faster.
“In the past year, we have hosted many high attendance events including Carrie Underwood, tobyMac, and Eric Church,” said Global Spectrum’s Jason Blumenfeld, General Manager of the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. “With our fastest sold-out show, Florida Georgia Line, coming up on Wednesday and then Hedley on Saturday, this new service from TELUS will allow our fans to easily capture and share the event so they can relive those memories down the road!”
“This partnership with TELUS is a great example of what we as a City can do with our community partners to better enhance services in facilities like the AESC,” said Bruce Banman, Mayor of Abbotsford. “TELUS has been working with facilities like the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre in other regions in Canada to improve cellular services and we were happy to work with them to bring this here to Abbotsford.”
“There are endless opportunities to enhance fan experiences through the use of technology, and it’s our goal to blur the lines between the on and offline world for concert goers and sports fans – amplifying the experience of someone in attendance, and allowing someone who isn’t in attendance to feel like they’re experiencing the action first hand through social media and messages from friends who are there,” said Jordon West, TELUS Director of Consumer Solutions Delivery in Abbotsford. “We’re excited for concert goers to experience this new technology and incredible network reliability at this Wednesday’s sold-out Florida Georgia Line concert and every other concert or event at the AESC in the future.”