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Connectivity Will Change Sporting Events Forever

Could smart stadiums be in our future? With the increased availability of WiFi and the inevitable arrival of 5G, the future of sporting events could look a lot different. Marybeth Hall of Brown Pelican WiFi joins the podcast again this week to tell us what it was like to provide WiFi for a race…

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Connectivity Will Change Sporting Events Forever

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Could smart stadiums be in our future? With the increased availability of WiFi and the inevitable arrival of 5G, the future of sporting events could look a lot different. Marybeth Hall of Brown Pelican WiFi joins the podcast again this week to tell us what it was like to provide WiFi for a race team at Daytona International Speedway and what the future could look like for sports fans.

HOW WIFI + 5G COULD CHANGE THE LIVE SPORTS EXPERIENCE

Daytona International Speedway is one of the most famous race tracks in the world. Marybeth Hall and the team at Brown Pelican WiFi had the opportunity to provide WiFi for Brennan Poole’s #30 truck. She joins the podcast to explain what that process was like and talk about how 5G and WiFi can combine in the future to allow for powerful connectivity.

“When 5G launches we’re doing to be seeing how you can merge cellular with WiFi and get a really incredible experience,” Hall says. This kind of connectivity could forever change what it’s like to attend a sporting event. As teams continuously search for ways to improve the fan experience, possessing a robust connectivity solution would represent a large shift in the market.

CYBERSECURITY AND IOT: WHO AND WHAT IS AT RISK?

Cybersecurity affects all verticals and sizes of organizations. One space that is overlooked is the security of IoT, though as Chris Rouland, co-founder and CEO of Phosphorus Security Inc. will tell you, IoT devices are really just computers in a different-looking package, and so too require a necessary level of security.

“Twenty-five years ago we were largely concerned with theoretical vulnerabilities. Someone could get in; someone might embarrass you by changing your website,” Rouland said. “Today, cybersecurity isn’t an existential threat. A company could go out of business.”

With the addition of connected lighting, smart building management capabilities, IP cameras and mobile phones, the security of these devices is imperative. Rouland talks about the trends he is seeing in this space, including data hostaging, as well as who is at risk and the mindset a company needs to tackle this important issue. “The only businesses that haven’t been compromised are the ones that don’t know it. Everyone has been compromised,” Rouland said.

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