HPE set to showcase Ryder Cup connectivity drive

Phil Mottram, EVP and GM with HPE, argued the golf competition is a situation where it is advantageous to pair the technologies due to diverse requirements including providing guest connectivity alongside connecting operational staff.

Other fields where combining the technologies holds benefits includes manufacturing where companies “have massive shop floors with hard-to-reach pockets of airspace”, situations where wireless devices “move fast and have continuous exchanges of telemetry and control data”, and a more obvious need in terms of filling gaps in current mobile networks.

There is, however, a growing awareness 5G can provide more in sports contests than simply faster data rates.

Ryder Cup CTO Michael Cole noted private networks can “open the door to more interactive experiences for fans”, in turn boosting engagement through delivering new content and information.

In 2023, Cole said the golf tournament employed an integrated private 5G and Wi-Fi 6e network which “provided always-on connectivity to 250,000 spectators” while also offering a “secure, private network” for operations staff spread across more than 350 acres.

The Wi-Fi element enabled fans to “enjoy new app-powered insights” including a player locator feature providing scores, predictions, commentary and “visual shot tracking”. The private 5G network ensured staff connectivity was “unaffected by the crowd’s demand for high-bandwidth apps”, ensuring their access to critical services including “security, stewarding, ticketing and scoring”.

Mottram said private 5G is becoming easier to deploy “especially in situations where the cabling infrastructure for Wi-Fi doesn’t exist or would be hard to create”.

He noted recent advances in mobile technologies and vendor equipment are helping overcome hurdles of cost and complexity which hindered private network deployments in the past.

HPE is no exception, developing systems to “streamline private cellular and integrate it with Wi-Fi so IT staff can use a single interface to apply and manage policies” over the combined networks.

Cole said Ryder Cup’s partnership with HPE is as important as the technology itself, particularly because each running of the tournament takes place in different venues, each of which presents its own connectivity challenges.

The pair will discuss the implementation in detail during the 5G vs Wi-Fi session, taking place on Wednesday from 1.15pm on Stage A, Hall 6.