Given the full-scale implementation of 5G network resources from all the major cellular carriers, it’s perhaps no surprise that data use totals at Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles saw records set for both Verizon and AT&T.
According to Verizon, customers on its wireless networks “in and around” the stadium Sunday used a total of 30.4 terabytes of data, up from the previous high-water mark for Verizon of 21.5 TB of data used at Super Bowl LIV in Miami in 2020. AT&T reported customers on its networks used 13 TB of data Sunday, up from 10.2 TB seen at Super Bowl LIV in 2020. Last year’s Super Bowl LV in Tampa had much lower data totals for all kinds of wireless communications, due to the reduced-capacity crowd due to the Covid pandemic.
Due to inconsistencies on how the carriers have reported numbers over the years, it’s not really possible to compare combined totals from year to year; in some recent years the geographical areas that the carriers used to report their data varied widely, sometimes encompassing large parts of the host city. This year, both Verizon and AT&T seem to be sticking to the “in and around” area pretty closely, which given SoFi Stadium’s layout makes it easier to do since the Hollywood Park borders are pretty clearly separated from the surrounding city streets of Inglewood. From the 2020 game at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium the combined “in and around” the stadium total for Verizon and AT&T was 31.7 TB, making this year’s combined total for the two carriers of 43.4 TB a pretty significant leap.
Both Verizon’s and AT&T’s numbers represent data used on both the 4G LTE DAS as well as on the respective carriers’ 5G deployments inside SoFi Stadium and its surrounding areas, mainly the big parking lots that are part of the Hollywood Park development. While Verizon did not break out numbers by 4G and 5G usage, AT&T did say that 3 TB of its total came from its “5G+” services, which use the millimeter-wave spectrum. According to AT&T the carrier’s customers at SoFi Stadium saw an average download speed of 169.5 Mbps on its “5G+” services.
Verizon said that its networks were used by 60 percent of the attendees at the game Sunday. It’s worth noting that in addition to its cellular numbers Verizon customers also probably contributed to the usage of the Wi-Fi network at SoFi Stadium Sunday, since Verizon has an autoconnect agreement that can quickly switch customers to the Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi network stats from Sunday have not yet been reported, but SoFi Stadium has already seen single-day Wi-Fi usage totals higher than past Super Bowl record marks at previous events this past fall. Wi-Fi statistics from the Super Bowl will be released by Extreme Networks, through its sponsorship agreement with the NFL.
According to Verizon the biggest spikes in data usage Sunday happened at the halftime show as well as just before kickoff; AT&T reported that about half its data total, 6.6 TB, was used before kickoff and during the first quarter.
Like in recent years past, T-Mobile did not report any Super Bowl data-usage totals. However, T-Mobile did say that its customers saw peak 5G speeds “topping 2 Gigabits per second” on its 5G networks at SoFi Stadium.
