MONTREAL, QC--(Marketwired - Oct 1, 2015) -
- Avaya and Montreal's Bell Centre aim to deliver one of the most high-tech fan experiences in North America
- Avaya's virtualized, flexible network supports venue's many goals, including high-capacity, security for wireless access, fast Wi-Fi connection times and unmatched multicast scalability to support any IP video distribution or streams
Avaya, a global leader in business communications software, systems and services and the Bell Centre, home to one of the National Hockey League's most storied franchise, the Montreal Canadiens, today announced that Avaya networking technology has been installed throughout the arena in order to deliver one of the most high-tech fan experiences in the league.
Hosting more than 175 events per year, Montreal's Bell Centre welcomes one million visitors annually with 21,000 seats, making it the largest hockey arena in North America and the third busiest event venue in the world. The venue morphs to accommodate everything from Canadiens' hockey games to concerts and shows on ice. Therefore, it must adapt to different technology requirements every day so that everything runs smoothly and it needs a flexible, secure and powerful network to handle any situation.
The Bell Centre, which has relied on Avaya for network connectivity for more than a decade, turned to Avaya for the next phase in its unified digital strategy: upgrading the network and fortifying wireless capabilities. Working closely with the venue, Avaya architected a virtualized, flexible network to support the facilities' many needs, including high-capacity, security for wireless access, fast Wi-Fi connection times and multicast support for IP video streams known as SDN Fx architecture.
Now running Avaya Fabric Connect at the core of the network -- with the key features of Virtual IST, IP shortcuts and IP multicast to simplify and provide a resilient and high-performance network -- the Bell Centre can concentrate on providing the ultimate fan experience with nearly 500 wireless access points with double radios ensuring that visitors get Wi-Fi no matter where they are in the facility.
Ubiquitous wireless access also supports the venue's "ticketless" entry, a method requested by a number of performers so that fans are able to buy tickets at face value, rather than at inflated resale prices. With ticketless entry, event attendees simply present the credit card they used to buy their tickets and a valid form of identification. A gate attendant swipes the card to verify the tickets, and the guest is admitted and on their way.
The Bell Centre is also running an Avaya telephony platform on Avaya Aura Contact Centre, Avaya's complete and multichannel contact center solution.
Quotes
"Fans want to share what they're experiencing with friends, and we have to be able to support them with anything they want to do. The number of digital assets we're installing on the network, and guests requiring the network, is growing very rapidly, and with Avaya we found the right solution at the right cost. And we didn't have to spend millions to do so."
- Pierre-Eric Belzile, vice president, Information and Communication Technology, Club de hockey Canadien - evenko
"Avaya and the Bell Centre are both committed to finding innovative ways to provide the fans with rewarding experiences and engagements through the use of cloud-based solutions. Avaya's wireless technology and solutions will allow this great venue to provide Olympic-quality coverage that enables fans, staff, athletes and performers to be connected throughout the event."
- Walter Andri, president and managing director, Avaya Canada
Additional Resources
- www.avaya.com
- www.avaya.com/usa/sponsorship/article/bell-centre-arena-infographic.html
- www.avaya.com/usa/case-studies/bell-centre/
About Avaya
Avaya is a leading provider of solutions that enable customer and team engagement across multiple channels and devices for better customer experience, increased productivity and enhanced financial performance. Its world-class contact center and unified communications technologies and services are available in a wide variety of flexible on-premises and cloud deployment options that seamlessly integrate with non-Avaya applications. The Avaya Engagement Development Platform enables third parties to create and customize business applications for competitive advantage. Avaya's fabric-based networking solutions help simplify and accelerate the deployment of business critical applications and services. For more information, please visit www.avaya.com.
About the Bell Centre
Since its inauguration in 1996 under the name Molson Centre, the Centre Bell remains the centre stage for entertainment and business events in Montreal. Every year, the home of the Montreal Canadiens attracts more than 1 million spectators to their hockey games, while 650,000 people walk through the doors to watch over 175 shows, for a total of 1.5 million spectators. The Centre Bell incorporates cutting-edge technology to ensure the perfect ambience when it comes to sound, comfort, catering and otherwise for any event, whatever its magnitude.
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