CNHI
— Verizon Wireless customers at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis were busier than ever on their wireless devices, using 2.75 times more data than last year's Super Bowl in Dallas and 4.5 times more data than a regular season game at the stadium.
In addition to the all-time high data usage for a Super Bowl game, Verizon Wireless customers were talking up a storm. Call volume soared more than 1,000 percent or more than 11 times more voice calls than during a regular season Colts game.
Backed by the Verizon Wireless network, Super Bowl XLVI was the most viewed game all season on NFL Mobile, with 40 percent more viewers watching compared to Wildcard Weekend and more than twice the number of viewers compared to the highest viewed regular season game. Viewership grew steadily over the course of the game with the highest viewing levels in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
According to Verizon's Super Bowl network statistics:
- Facebook was the most heavily used social media platform with definite spikes at the start of game, halftime, and after the game.
- MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) was also heavily used at the game start, halftime, and at the end of the game.
- YouTube spiked at halftime and at the end of game.
- NBC Sports showed a considerable spike after the game likely for the MVP presentation.
- NFL Mobile TV was the highest used streaming video application.
The Verizon Wireless pre-game plan enhanced the company's network at more than 30 venues around Indianapolis, including major hotels and areas where related events such as the NFL Experience and Super Bowl Village took place. The company's on-site engineers also spent game day testing the network using small portable equipment and walked the stadium corridors to ensure calls and data were connecting.
The Sunday game also was the first to tap into Verizon's 4G LTE network, which launched in Indianapolis last summer just in time for the running of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution technology is the latest and fastest wireless standard available to consumers and businesses, which provides users with up to 10 times the speeds of the existing 3G network.
Complementing the network, Verizon's newly constructed Wi-Fi systems at the stadium and convention center enabled more free Wi-Fi connections during Super Bowl Sunday, allowing wireless users from all carriers to stay in touch.
Many of the company's network upgrades and enhancements for the game will stay in place in downtown Indianapolis, maintaining the city's spot as a contender for any mega events where connectivity is required.
