Reporting at light speed as HSV becomes world’s first football club to use LiFi

Journalists in the press centre at Volkspark stadium – home to HSV Fußball AG – are the first to file their stories using an innovative new means of wireless communication. This is because Signify, a world leader in lighting, has installed LiFi in the press centre.

The system, called Trulifi, provides journalists with a highly reliable, secure and fast Internet connection through the room’s ceiling lights. HSV is the first football club in the world to install the groundbreaking technology, which uses light waves instead of radio waves to provide an Internet connection.

New stadium of light

The Volkspark stadium, which opened in 2000, has a capacity of 57,000 and is one of 10 stadiums that will host the European football tournament in Germany in 2024. It is also certified to host other top international tournament matches. Like many stadiums, the wireless signal in its busy press center was prone to overload due to journalists accessing the network and interference from mobile devices of fans, staff and officials, all pinging the wireless router.

Karsten Vierke, Market Leader for Signify in the DACH region, said:

Journalists who write, edit and file stories under time pressure don’t want the added hassle of finding they can’t get online. Now the club is able to offer them a rock solid, secure and fast Internet connection along with high-quality, energy-efficient LED light that helps to lower the club’s carbon footprint. This is a world first for a football club and helps make the stadium an even more attractive venue for hosting important matches.

Signify installed 84 Philips PowerBalance gen2 LED recessed luminaires in the stadium’s press centre. Eight of the luminaires have an integrated Trulifi 6002 transceiver, which modulates infrared light waves to provide an Internet connection of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps).

Journalists using the system receive a USB Access Key, which plugs into their laptop. This picks up the LiFi signal and transmits data back to the luminaire. The LiFi system is free from interference and encrypted. Also, an extra layer of security is built-in as light waves cannot pass through walls.

LiFi: World first for a football club

Daniel Nolte, segment leader area organisation & infrastructure at the Hamburg football club, said:

We opted for LiFi given the increasing demand for bandwidth from journalists using our press centre. For them a reliable wireless connection is everything. Now they have good quality light to write their stories along with a reliable, fast and highly secure wireless connection.

Signify has a range of commercial Trulifi systems to satisfy different market segments. It also includes Trulifi 6013, which uses colored light to create a robust, secure fixed point-to-point connection with a speed up to 250 Mbps.

Trulifi underlines Signify’s leadership in leveraging lighting infrastructure to unlock the potential of light in new high-growth segments with LED technology that’s not only innovative but energy efficient.

Images, courtesy: HSV / Signify

ALSD International – Europe’s one and only event dedicated to the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector – is coming to Croke Park Stadium this October, where some 50+ high-calibre experts from across Europe and North America will be providing insights on how to increase revenues through new builds, renovations and service expansions, as well as via the latest F&B and technology offerings.

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