Press Releases

• Technologies that will serve as the basis for 5G (Massive MIMO and beamforming) increase the network’s capacity by up to ten times and are available for the first time at a large-scale event in Portugal

Vodafone Portugal – the official sponsor and technology partner of the world’s biggest music and entertainment event – has implemented an extensive expansion of the coverage and capacity of its mobile and fixed networks at Rock in Rio-Lisboa 2018.

In the mobile component, Rock City is totally supported on Vodafone’s next-generation network. The company is ensuring coverage of the four hectares of the site with the installation of 17 mobile communications antennas with 5G-ready technology, guaranteeing fast and flawless connections that will allow the approximately 60,000 spectators expected every day in Bela Vista Park to share ever more information in real time (videos, photos, histories, etc.).

In addition, Vodafone is also installing a base station with Massive MIMO and beamforming technologies, two of the innovations that will support the next generation of mobile communications and which will be made available at a large-scale event in Portugal for the first time.

At a time of exponential growth in data usage, with customers increasingly demanding better quality and speed, Massive MIMO and beamforming will increase network capacity by five to ten times, achieve greater efficiency and serve thousands of users at the same time more efficiently. As a result, Vodafone customers who visit Rock City will benefit from a technology which, by using different beams on the antennas, transmits the network in a much more targeted way and constantly follows the movement of users as they move around the site.

 “At an event with the characteristics of Rock in Rio-Lisboa, where data traffic is very high and demanding, using Massive MIMO and beamforming is of huge benefit to customers. By making these innovations available in what is regarded as the world’s biggest music and entertainment event, Vodafone is taking another step towards the future, at the same time as demonstrating the excellence of its current network, which now supports speeds that can reach 1Gbps in 4.5G”, said João Nascimento, CTO of Vodafone Portugal.

With the introduction of these technologies at Rock in Rio-Lisboa, it will be possible to take advantage of a technology that will serve as the basis for the future generation of mobile phones – 5G – supported by all the 4G smartphones now available on the market. In Portugal this is a technology offered exclusively by Vodafone.

Fibre network over 55 kilometres long

In order to ensure a better communications experience at the festival, the Vodafone operation also includes an ambitious expansion of the fixed service infrastructure involving the installation of a fibre circuit over 55 kilometres long.

As the official telecommunications provider for Rock in Rio-Lisboa, Vodafone is responsible for guaranteeing the communications that support the whole festival operation, not just during the four days of the event but also during the entire preparation period, which began over two months ago.

Vodafone supplies all the communications for the 400 or so employees at this year’s festival and has prepared television, voice and data solutions (both fixed and mobile) and Wi-Fi in the most strategic areas of the festival: The Operations Centre, VIP Area, World Stage, Vodafone Rock Club and Press Room.

Given the special nature of the accredited journalists’ work, who broadcast live thousands of editorial pieces about the festival, there will be a technical team in the Press Room every day to support the press.

In addition to being the Official Sponsor of the event and lending its name under the Yorn brand to one of the festival stages (Yorn Street Dance), Vodafone has 14 years’ experience at Rock in Rio-Lisboa, an event that the company has been associated from the festival’s first edition.