LONDON -- Fans, journalists and staff at White Hart Lane, the home of Tottenham Hotspur FC, will be the first at any Premiership Club to have wireless (WiFi), high-speed Internet access at a football match. The innovative service, Spurs Connect, is being provided to Spurs by WiFi specialist, Canova Wireless, in partnership with broadband heavyweight, Bulldog Communications.
Spurs Connect will be launched at Spurs’ home game against Leicester City on Sunday, 22nd February. From that point, everyone entering the stadium with a WiFi-enabled device, such as a modern laptop or PDA, will have rapid, wirefree access to the Internet through a 2 Mbps SDSL service.
Wireless Internet access will be available throughout the entire stadium complex – from the terraces to the press box – and has been tested to withstand the most extreme weather conditions.
Canova’s role will be to manage the WiFi service through a team of dedicated service engineers whilst Bulldog is providing the SDSL connectivity. In addition, Bulldog will provide a 2 Mbps, uncontended (i.e. dedicated bandwidth) ADSL3 Internet service that will allow staff throughout White Hart Lane to send and receive information at high-speed from their desks.
“Tottenham Hotspur is dedicated to providing its fans, employees, business partners and the media with the best and most modern facilities of any football club. WiFi Internet access covering the entire ground is the latest example of this commitment. From the Director’s box to pitch side, surfing the web at lightning fast speed will be child’s play for everyone at White Hart Lane.” said Matthew Collecott, Finance Director at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
High-speed Internet access will provide a whole host of benefits to visitors and employees at White Hart Lane. For example, fans will be able to surf the web from their seats, checking up the scores from other matches, listen to Internet radio commentary and communicate with friends; whilst journalists will be able to file their copy instantly via email at the final whistle. Business people using the stadium’s conferencing facilities will have a high-speed, seamless and secure link to their company networks via Virtual Private Network technology.
Spurs Connect will be promoted in match day programmes, all executive boxes, all conference rooms, the Tottenham Hotspur club shop and on the Spurs web site and prepaid cards. In addition, fans will be able to trial the Spurs Connect for free on launch day and enter a competition to win a wireless PDA and one of four NetGear 802.11g 54Mbps wireless PC Cards.
“We’re delighted to have been chosen to provide WiFi access to a high-profile brand like Tottenham Hotspur. It’s the perfect endorsement of Canova’s commitment to providing the best possible service to our customers, at the most affordable price,” says Pravinder Samra, Marketing Director at Canova Wireless. “So whether you’re a journalist looking to file copy or a fan checking up on the football results, WiFi Internet access should prove to be enormously useful and popular at Tottenham Hotspur.”
Canova Wireless
Bulldog Communications Ltd.