COLUMBUS – Anyone who has ever tried to share a selfie from a concert or football game at Ohio Stadium or text a spouse to let them know not to keep dinner waiting knows that it’s easier to transmit military secrets from inside North Korea.
But that’s going to change in 10 days.
University officials say stadium-wide wi-fi inside the Horseshoe is expected to be available for the Buckeyes’ season opener against Florida Atlantic on August 31.
A project to improve high density wireless connectivity — including 2,009 access points and 4,018 antennas – began in January and has involved workers connecting 47 miles of copper and fiber wire throughout the stadium, all placed so it blends in and does not “disrupt the iconic integrity of the facility,” senior associate athletics director/chief information officer Jim Null said.
“Ten access points could typically cover an area the size of the stadium but we needed significantly more to service the wi-fi needs of so many fans in close proximity, plus ticketing functions and the press box, suites, club rooms, concourses and outdoor areas,” Null said.
Improving the stadium’s connectivity is part of a $10.5 million project which includes expanding wi-fi inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center in time for the start of the basketball seasons this fall.
That is, in turn, part of a larger, $18.6 million campus-wide project approved by the Board of Trustees in 2018 that includes more than 23,000 access points across the state, providing mobile access to university resources in over 500 buildings and 180 outdoor spaces on all the OSU campuses and extension offices.