- The Big 3 wireless carriers are staging equipment along the race route to handle connectivity during the Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Las Vegas knows how to stage big events and this is one of the region’s biggest
- FirstNet, backed by AT&T, is gearing up to keep Clark County Fire and other public safety users connected
Judging by some of the latest ads from the Big 3 wireless carriers, one might get the impression that they don’t like each other very much. For sure, AT&T and Verizon are sick and tired of T-Mobile and its “best network” claims.
But there are times when they all need to work together, and one of those will be this weekend, when Formula 1 cars start racing on the streets of Las Vegas for the Grand Prix (LVGP). Yes, thousands of spectators will be relying on their cell phones to carry them through all the fun and exciting activities related to this event, but police, fire and EMS crews need these staunch competitors to play nice together for the sake of public safety.
“I think [the carriers] would all tell you, agnostic of what label they wear on their shirt, that they're all invested in the success of the event and making sure that Las Vegas is one of the safest places to go see a major sporting event,” said Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Brian O’Neal. “They all want to make sure that the event goes well and that people come away from it just being amazed at the technology, the safety, the success of Las Vegas hosting these events.”
Las Vegas knows a thing or two about how to stage big events: the Super Bowl, New Year’s Eve, the Electric Daisy Carnival. “But this one is definitely at the top of the biggest events that we do, and then it's three days back-to-back. So it presents some challenges for us, as far as staffing and just maintaining that posture over a longer period of time,” he told Fierce.
This marks the third year in a row that Las Vegas has hosted the Grand Prix and O’Neal said he thinks the biggest change in communications this year is the addition of more partners engaged in interference testing.
“This year in particular, more people are willing to go through that testing process, which is really good. It’s validating all the checks that we’re putting in,” he said.
O’Neal spoke with Fierce in a joint interview with FirstNet Division Chief Rich Johnson, who is overseeing FirstNet’s deployment for the Vegas Grand Prix. AT&T won the FirstNet contract in 2017.
Of course, Clark County public safety agencies work with the FCC to ensure they have enough spectrum for an event of this magnitude. “But most important is the relationship with the carriers and with FirstNet,” O’Neal said. “We rely on the dedicated spectrum that FirstNet has to power our public safety devices, but then we also rely on everyone else staying within their allocated frequencies.”
Staging wireless gear
The big Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix is Saturday night, but events are happening along the race track starting Thursday. The track is a 3.8-mile loop that goes around Las Vegas Boulevard and other streets that are closed to traffic.
There’s no way to move telecom gear and assets around the track when it’s “hot” and events are going on. That means they need get satellite cell-on-light-trucks (SatCOLTs), compact rapid deployable (CRDs) units and miniCRDs situated where they need them well ahead of time.
“We are embedded in strategic spots throughout that footprint, so that we're not waiting in case a tragedy or a technology event happens,” Johnson explained.
FirstNet likes to talk about the dedicated 700 MHz spectrum band at its disposal and Johnson said FirstNet was the first to provide always-on 5G priority and pre-emption for public safety. In addition, FirstNet has access to AT&T’s other commercial spectrum bands, including 3.45 GHz and C-band.
“Think of our deployable assets as an elite pit crew that's dedicated exclusively to public safety,” Johnson said. “We're only talking public safety – dedicated exclusively to public safety.”
T-Mobile, Verizon get in on the action
Last week, T-Mobile, the exclusive 5G partner of the LVGP, announced some of the new technologies it’s bringing to the event this year, noting the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will use its T-Priority service, which reserves extra network capacity for first responders when crowds are heavy.
Not to be outdone, Verizon is also staging temporary assets, like sites-on-light-trucks (SPOTs), at key high-traffic locations in and around the Paddock building and at the Sphere. These are all connected via temporary fiber to handle the crowds, according to a Verizon spokesperson.
Verizon is relying on C-band and millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum to bolster its coverage and capacity. “We’ve specifically deployed mmWave both indoors and in the outdoor fan areas to deliver the ultra-fast speeds and capacity needed for large crowds,” the spokesperson said.
If all goes as planned for the Big 3, they’ll all score points at this year’s LVGP. But we’re pretty sure their bickering over who’s got the best network will continue for years to come.