Data usage didn’t just skyrocket on carrier networks during Super Bowl 50, Wi-Fi was put to the test as well.
According to Comcast Business, which provides dual 10 gigabit-per-second connections that serve as the primary network infrastructure for Levi’s Stadium, more than 10 terabytes of data passed over the company’s free in-stadium Wi-Fi on game day.
Comcast said the record-breaking figure is the equivalent of more than 6,000 hours of HD video or nearly 1.2 million 2-megabyte images.
Comcast said more than half the data volume was generated by use of the free Super Bowl Stadium app, which let attendees order food, watch the Super Bowl commercials and check lines around the stadium.
According to Comcast Business, there were ten major moments that drove traffic on Sunday, including the introduction of the 50 Super Bowl MVPs, Lady Gaga’s rendition of the National Anthem with a flyover from the Blue Angels, opening kickoff and the first coach’s challenges. Other traffic boosts came with Von Miller’s forced fumble and subsequent touchdown from Malik Jackson, the halftime show, Miller’s second forced fumble and C.J. Anderson’s ensuing touchdown, Gary Kubiak’s Gatorade shower and Peyton Manning’s exit from the pitch and the Lombardi Trophy presentation.
Additional heavy use also came from fans using apps to get back home or to their hotel, Comcast said.
Comcast’s Sunday Wi-Fi totals are nearly two-thirds of the total amount of data usage seen on wireless networks during the game.
According to statistics provided by the country’s four major wireless carriers, a total of 15.9 TB of data traveled over wireless networks on Super Bowl Sunday. Nearly half of that amount – or 7 TB – was carried on Verizon’s network.