ADC has announced that its InterReach Fusion distributed antenna system (DAS) has been deployed to deliver clear, high-capacity 2G and 3G wireless services in Toronto's Rogers Centre, one of the leading sports and entertainment venues in Canada. The deployment enables Rogers to provide reliable wireless services to its customers during capacity crowd events.

"ADC's vast experience in covering large public venues and the ease of deployment and versatility of our InterReach Fusion product made all the difference in bringing optimized coverage and ample subscriber capacity to Rogers Centre," said John Spindler, vice president of product management for ADC's Network Solutions Business Unit. "By adding Rogers Centre to our recent work covering all of the major venues at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, ADC becomes a leading supplier of in-building systems for public facilities in Canada. It also adds to our international reputation for covering sites as diverse as the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, London's Millennium Dome, the Jamrat Bridge in Mecca, and many of the NFL stadiums in the United States."

Deployed on a six-week schedule so as to be operational for opening day of the Toronto Blue Jays' 2010 season in early April, the Fusion system overcame several unique wireless service challenges at the 46,000-seat stadium.

The Rogers Centre's architecture and its multi-use aspects presented a challenge for ADC which had to ensure the highest possible quality of service to every subscriber. The radio wave environment inside the building changes significantly depending on whether the dome is open or closed. As a result, the DAS had to deliver high performance with the dome in either position. Additionally, the coverage needs for sporting events such as Blue Jays games, with the crowd seated in the stands, are much different from concerts, where the crowd size can increase to 55,000 and many of the spectators are on the field rather than in the stands. Finally, the nearby presence of macro tower cell sites meant that the DAS had to deliver stronger local signals in many parts of the stadium to overcome interference from outside signal sources.