By Fazeena Saleem
Istanbul: Vodafone is preparing to bring an outstanding technology to help deliver the ultimate experience for fans during FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Vodafone Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vodafone Turkey and Be?ikta? JK sports club in Istanbul on Friday to share knowledge and expertise involved in Turkey’s first smart stadium, Vodafone Arena, in the Be?ikta? district of Istanbul.
Vodafone Turkey will work with Vodafone Qatar to develop and enhance Vodafone Qatar’s smart stadium technology proposition and its implementation.
The MoU was signed by Mohamed Al Sadah, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone Qatar; Gökhan Ö?üt, CEO, Vodafone Turkey; and Fikret Orman, Chairman, Be?ikta? JK sports club.
“Vodafone is committed to bringing expertise and innovation to Qatar from all parts of one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and providing the country with a world-class telecommunications infrastructure that supports Qatar 2022 World Cup and Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Al Sadah.
“Vodafone Qatar is part of the transparent tender. We are past the first stages of the bid. We don’t know who will win it, but if we win, we will be able to build intelligent stadiums.
“As Qatar’s 2022 World Cup preparations accelerate, so will fans’ expectation for superfast connectivity. The ability to share videos, pictures and messages with people online will be an important aspect of the fan experience in six-and-a-half years’ time and with more than a million people expected to travel to the Middle East’s first World Cup, the level of connectivity and sharing will be exceptional,” Al Sadah said.
Vodafone Arena features a unique five-layer digital infrastructure, including a centralised system and telecom rooms, flawless connectivity, interactive displays and videowalls.
Advanced technologies such as Internet of Things (network of physical objects, devices, vehicles, buildings and other items, embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data) and Machine to Machine (M2M — direct communication between devices using any communications channel, including wired and wireless) are used at Vodafone Arena.
“Vodafone M2M technology has been used for large sporting events in London during the Olympics and in Spain during football matches and we look forward to working with Vodafone Turkey on bringing their knowledge and expertise around smart stadium solutions to Qatar,” said Mahmud Awad, Chief Business Officer, Vodafone Qatar.
At every home game played by Turkish Super League side, Be?ikta? JK, more than 40,000 fans have access to Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G and 4.5G ready broadband network connections, rich-content displays on 850 video walls, Vodafone Arena mobile application, and interactive HD screens that broadcast all the content fans dream of — including interviews, match statistics and live updates on other games.
Spectators and visitors on match days are offered an end-to end digital experience. Visitors are offered premium comfort during match days through location.
“Our biggest investment was for making Vodafone Arena the first and best smart stadium in Turkey. Vodafone Arena took its place in the heart of Istanbul and Turkey as a monument of our vision of digital transformation. Vodafone Arena stadium is becoming an example to the world with its smart infrastructure,” said Ö?üt.
“The smart infrastructure we installed in Vodafone Arena, will serve as a model for the eight stadiums to be built for the 2022 Qatar World Cup,” he added. The Peninsula
