HICKORY, NC, May 11, 2009—The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in
Arlington, Texas, the nation’s largest and most spectacular domed venue, will
have no equal when it opens this summer. Befitting a site of this stature,
it will operate the most sophisticated, high-performance and world-class communications
infrastructure of any sporting facility in the world, courtesy of CommScope.
CommScope was chosen to provide network infrastructure and cellular coverage
and capacity solutions for the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium. Through its
Enterprise
Solutions™ and Andrew
Solutions™ businesses, CommScope is furnishing and installing advanced connectivity
solutions that will support the stadium’s core operations and communications
requirements for fans, staff and public safety officials.
“The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium
will become one of the most visible buildings in the world and, as a part of
that, we needed the most advanced communications network we could find—not just
for today but also looking into the future,” said Jerry Jones, owner and general
manager, Dallas Cowboys Football
Club. “CommScope helped us craft one of the finest high-performance networks
on the planet. We have a vision for a place that reflects the emotion and competition
encapsulated by the stadium, and CommScope has helped bring that to life.”
The state-of-the-art venue, scheduled to open June 2009, will use CommScope’s
SYSTIMAX® high-performance network solutions to create the world’s largest
internet protocol television (IPTV)
installation and operate the stadium’s data center and other technical operations.
In addition, the stadium will feature an extensive in-building wireless communications
network from Andrew that will provide complete cellular coverage in the stadium
and its surrounding property for all spectators and team officials, coaching
staff, employees and public safety agencies.
“We are extremely proud that this first-class stadium also will be a showcase
for CommScope and its advanced network connectivity solutions,” said Brian Garrett,
president and chief operating officer, CommScope. “This is the one of
the most prominent examples to date of CommScope’s capabilities to support customers
with multiple application requirements, in this case wireless and enterprise
connectivity infrastructure. This breadth of solutions is a differentiator
for CommScope that delivers great benefit to customers such as the Dallas Cowboys.”
Enterprise Infrastructure
With CommScope’s enterprise solutions fueling the network, stadium managers
will have complete control over the Dallas Cowboys stadium’s core operations.
The SYSTIMAX
solution will provide enhanced network intelligence to systems such as digital
audio and video, voice over internet protocol phones, HVAC (heating, ventilation
and air conditioning), access control and most building management applications,
giving the Dallas Cowboys IT staff increased vision, knowledge and control that
heighten the stadium experience.
In addition, the converged CommScope network will bring streaming video to
the one-of-a-kind, four-sided scoreboard featuring the world’s largest LED high-definition
video displays and the stadium’s 2,800 TV monitors.
“The Jones family did a fantastic job of creating a stadium where sports
and entertainment meet technology,” said Randy Crenshaw, executive vice president
and general manager, CommScope Enterprise Solutions. “The CommScope network
will play a major role in providing all who enter the stadium with a unique
interactive experience, while supporting the operations needs of the Dallas
Cowboys organization.”
The SYSTIMAX products will harness the new stadium’s technology and link
building systems over a converged network infrastructure in order to supply
more efficiency, higher productivity and increased comfort. Network convergence
brings a host of opportunities. The same IP network that provides video content
to the high-definition LED video displays will control air conditioning, the
phone and data systems, roof movement, lighting and many other applications
that help complete the ultimate fan experience.
The stadium also will use the SYSTIMAX iPatch® Intelligent Infrastructure
Solution to strengthen stadium and network security. The stadium IT staff will
rely on iPatch to eliminate the blind spots in the network, detect unauthorized
network access in real-time and the location of the breach, monitor all network
moves/adds/changes, eliminate documentation errors and quickly solve network
troubleshooting. With the Cowboys utilizing VoIP phones in the new stadium,
iPatch also handles E911 calls, aiding emergency responders in finding a person
in need when emergency numbers are dialed.
Wireless Infrastructure
Stadiums present unique challenges in providing wireless services, with game
days requiring a cellular network that supports the equivalent of a small city
in a massive structure notorious for difficult signal penetration.
Andrew is a global industry leader at solving the technical challenges posed
in providing coverage
and capacity solutions in stadiums, subways, airports, skyscrapers and related
structures. With its size and elaborate design, the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium
required one of the largest and most complex indoor cellular systems of any
stadium in the world.
Andrew furnished and is installing a complete multi-carrier, multi-service
wireless solution that supports commercial cellular services for general fan
and employee usage; public safety services for police, fire, ambulance and federal
agencies; and private, internal services for coaching staff and game officials’
communications. It features active (ION™ optical repeaters) and passive
(cable, antennas and components) products for a turnkey integrated distributed
antenna solution covering more than 20 stadium operations and functions, including
ticketing, concessions, halftime staging, data center, maintenance and team
offices. In addition, a special UHF frequency can support coach-to-coach
and coach-to-player communications, while a VHF channel supports FBI services
and 700 MHz and 800 MHz channels link police and fire crews in and around the
stadium.
“In addition to being a football showcase, the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium
will feature the world’s leading technology solutions,” said Matt Melester,
vice president and general manager, Wireless Innovations, Andrew. “Andrew is
proud to contribute its extensive expertise to this project as the only provider
who can offer turnkey, end-to-end RF wireless infrastructure solutions. The
result will be a more positive experience for fans and greater communications
capabilities for Cowboys officials and staff.”
Dallas Cowboys’ New Stadium Network Facts
- The new stadium’s infrastructure required more than five million feet
of CommScope SYSTIMAX copper and fiber cabling, roughly the walking distance
from Dallas to Chicago. Of that amount, the stadium will use approximately
2.7 million feet of SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED X10D® cabling. That entire cable
length would stretch approximately from Dallas to Houston to Austin and
back to Dallas.
- With its enormous 600-ton scoreboard and the roughly 2,800 monitors
positioned throughout the stadium, the stadium will be the world’s largest
IPTV installation.
- The new data center at the stadium will serve as the Cowboys’ enterprise
data center, supporting the stadium and the Cowboy’s facilities at Valley
Ranch.
- The CommScope network installations, which started in September 2008,
will have taken nine months to complete.
- The Cowboys’ SYSTIMAX iPatch System installation will be a first for
NFL stadiums. The system will help Dallas Cowboys IT staff document and
manage activity from more than 40,000 copper and fiber ports.
- The stadium will have 69 intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) and
a single data center.
CommScope Enterprise Solutions, a division of CommScope, Inc., offers a complete
portfolio of network infrastructure solutions that enable enterprise customers,
regardless of size, industry or IT budget, to take advantage of business and
technology opportunities. The division’s SYSTIMAX® and Uniprise® product
lines offer voice, data, video and converged solutions ranging from mission-critical,
high-bandwidth and emerging applications to applications that demand unrelenting
reliability and quality for everyday needs. Backed by CommScope Labs, the product
lines are delivered through a global channel network of industry-leading BusinessPartners
and distributors, ensuring a consistent and high-level of service and support
worldwide.
Andrew offers operators worldwide a complete portfolio of coverage and capacity
products that includes Node repeaters,
indoor antennas, and passive
devices in addition to ION optical distribution systems and RADIAX®
radiating cable. The company boasts over 15 years of experience in designing,
testing, installing and managing complicated wireless signal distribution systems
for metropolitan railways, tramways, and other large-sized construction projects.
Among numerous other projects, Andrew previously was chosen to provide coverage
and capacity for the Turin,
Italy underground in advance of the 2006 Winter Olympics and for many of
the 2006
World Cup venues in Germany. The company has installed systems on numerous
high-speed rail systems, including those in Taiwan, Spain, Switzerland, Norway
and People’s Republic of China.
SYSTIMAX, GigaSPEED X10D,iPatch, Uniprise and RADIAX are registered trademarks of CommScope, Inc. ION, Andrew Solutions and Enterprise Solutions are trademarks of CommScope, Inc.
About CommScope
CommScope, Inc (NYSE: CTV – www.commscope.com) is a world leader in infrastructure
solutions for communication networks. Through its Andrew® brand, it is a global leader in radio frequency
subsystem solutions for wireless networks. Through its SYSTIMAX® and Uniprise® brands, CommScope is a world leader in network
infrastructure solutions, delivering a complete end-to-end physical layer
solution, including cables and connectivity, enclosures, intelligent software
and network design services, for business enterprise applications. CommScope
also is the premier manufacturer of coaxial cable for broadband cable television networks and one of the leading North American providers of
environmentally secure cabinets for DSL and FTTN applications. Backed by strong research and development,
CommScope combines technical expertise and proprietary technology with global
manufacturing capability to provide customers with infrastructure solutions for
evolving global communications networks in more than 130 countries around the
world.
News Media Contact:
Rick Aspan, CommScope +1 708-236-6568 or publicrelations@andrew.com
Brett Daniels, Dallas Cowboys +1 972-556-9954 or
bdaniels@dallascowboys.net
Investor Contact:
Phil Armstrong,
CommScope +1 828-323-4848
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on
information currently available to management, management’s beliefs, as well as
on a number of assumptions concerning future events.Forward-looking statements are not a
guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other
factors, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
currently expected. For a more detailed
description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see
CommScope’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In providing forward-looking statements, the
company does not intend, and is not undertaking any obligation or duty, to
update these statements as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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