Telecommunications company Vodafone has deployed its 5G network at Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja, one of the host venues for this year’s edition of football’s UEFA European Championship.
Vodafone customers who attended any of Seville’s Euro 2020 matches were able to enjoy the benefits of the technology, with download speeds of up to 800Mbps. Vodafone also provided the necessary extra capacity to deal with the greater demand for the service during matches.
Vodafone said the 5G introduction formed part of its strategy to connect for a “better future” by creating a more inclusive and sustainable digital society through Gigabit mobile networks.
Vodafone noted that the periods of greatest traffic for 5G use was during half-time, when the network managed 20% of downloads and 10% of data uploads. Vodafone claims to be the operator with the fastest download speeds on the market in Spain due to its exclusively 5G frequency.
The Estadio de la La Cartuja hosted Spain’s three group stage matches at Euro 2020, as well as the Round of 16 match between Belgium and Portugal.
Seville stepped in to host Euro 2020 matches after Bilbao was forced to withdraw amid uncertainty over its ability to welcome fans during the tournament. The Estadio de la Cartuja operated at 30% of its 60,000-capacity for the four matches.
The Estadio de la Cartuja hosted the finals of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 editions of the Copa del Rey club competition in April, although no fans were in attendance.
The Estadio de la Cartuja was awarded hosting rights for the Copa del Rey final as part of a four-year deal signed with the RFEF in February 2020. The stadium opened in May 1999 but closed in 2018 after the local authorities determined that its roof required costly renovation work, which has since been carried out.
Image: V&A Dudush/CC BY 3.0/Edited for size
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