Source: Xirrus

Liverpool Football Club Installs 'Premier' Xirrus Wi-Fi Network at Anfield Stadium to Improve Fans' Match Day Experience

Xirrus Provides Coverage and Performance for Club Applications and Fans Sharing Match-Day Experiences Over Social Networks

LONDON--(Marketwired - Apr 4, 2013) - Xirrus®, the leader in high-performance wireless networks, today announced that Liverpool FC -- one of the world's most historic and famous football clubs -- has deployed its Wireless Arrays at Anfield, the home of the Club since its formation in 1892. The first phase of the deployment covers the two-tier, 12,000-seat Centenary Stand and adjoining corporate facilities, enabling fans to access and share digital content during games as never before.

The Wi-Fi network will be available to Liverpool fans for the home game against West Ham on Sunday 7 April. By offering Wi-Fi to its fans, Liverpool is hoping to improve their overall match day experience and encourage them to share the excitement of the game with the global Liverpool fan base. It also opens up a new way for Liverpool to gain insight and feedback from its fan base which hasn't been possible up to now.

Andrew Robinson, Head of Digital Media and Technology at Liverpool Football Club, explains: "Running our own data network based on Xirrus technology means we can provide our fans with a dedicated, robust and high quality experience. The added reliability and performance of high capacity Wi-Fi over 3G connections will encourage our fans to use social networks like Twitter and Facebook to share their experiences with fans unable to make it to the game."

Robinson continues: "A massive driver for this new network is that we can gain more insight into our fans than ever before. Sign-in will be via a one-time registration process using an email address and fans will be encouraged to tell us their likes and dislikes. The technology will allow us to find out what devices fans like to connect with the Club on so we can invest in digital platforms accordingly. We will also find out more about how fans use the stadium and its facilities so we can adapt these to better serve them.

"The experience that we've created from day one is something we think fans will get very excited about. We'll be providing in-match stats, food and drink offers, access to online retail, in-play betting in partnership with Paddy Power and also the ability to engage with a global audience outside of the stadium through social media platforms."

On choosing Xirrus, Robinson explains: "We looked at a number of options, but decided to go with a leader in this space. Xirrus combines a flexible range of wireless hardware solutions with the capability to handle huge capacity and bandwidth demands. Xirrus has very innovative technology that allows us to prioritise key applications and connect more devices to the network by optimising Wi-Fi spectrum usage. These factors are critical to our long-term vision of providing our fans with the best match-day experience possible."

Sean Larner, VP International at Xirrus, comments: "This is not only a highly prestigious deployment, it's also technically demanding, and we're naturally pleased that Liverpool FC has recognised that Xirrus is the best option on the market. Stadia such as Anfield require specialised high capacity wireless networks to ensure an acceptable user experience for a very large number of concurrent users and devices."

Wireless Design Integration specialists WDSi Group is providing design, installation and commissioning of the complete network from the edge to the core. Its Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Ramshaw, says: "WDSi has significant experience with designing and deploying high performance Wi-Fi networks and robust end to end digital solutions at stadiums around the world. Xirrus high capacity Wi-Fi is an ideal solution for challenging environments in stadium arenas, and we look forward to seeing the fruition of this project and building more networks in the near future."

About Xirrus, Inc.
Xirrus is the leading provider of high-performance wireless networks. Xirrus' Array-based solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances with wired-like reliability and superior security. The Xirrus wireless solutions provide a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to the education, healthcare, government and enterprise industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications. Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA, Xirrus is a privately held company that designs and manufactures its products and solutions in the USA. For more information please visit: www.xirrus.com and follow us on Twitter: @Xirrus.

Xirrus and XR-Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xirrus. Other trade names used in this document are or may be the property of their respective owners

About WDSi Group
WDSi are experts in large scale wireless network design, build and commissioning for leading organisations in the areas of telecommunications, stadiums, public transportation and defence industry. Headquartered in the UK with subsidiary companies in ASIA Pacific, WDSi key strengths reside in providing turnkey solutions for challenging specifications that require in depth knowledge and experience to overcome . With numerous industry firsts for ground breaking designs of large scale WiFi networks in Europe and Asia, WDSi have a strong track record in delivering scalable and secure solutions. For more information please visit www.wdsigroup.com