Sziget is a unique environment not only from a cultural but also from a mobile network perspective: during the busiest periods, as many as 70,000–80,000 people use their handsets simultaneously across an area of just 60–70 hectares. Visitors also upload significantly more photos, videos and live content than they do in everyday life. Under normal conditions, upload traffic typically accounts for less than 10% of total data traffic, but during peak hours at the festival, this can rise to as much as 30% – clearly showing how important it is to festival-goers to share their experiences online in real time.
Yettel increases high-speed 5G capacity by 40% for this year’s Sziget
Together with its network infrastructure partner Cetin, Yettel has further developed last year’s 31-sector deployment, increasing total 4G and 5G capacity by 20%. Within this, the capacity of high-speed 5G cells using C-band spectrum has increased by 40%. This is also a positive development from an energy-efficiency perspective, as modern 4G and 5G network equipment operates significantly more efficiently than previous generations. Modern technologies require less cooling and can handle the same volume of traffic with lower resources consumption.
Building and operating the temporary network requires an investment of more than HUF 50 million for Yettel. A 30-strong team of engineers and service specialists has been working on the professional design, operation and continuous, around-the-clock monitoring of the system from the initial planning stage onwards.
During the festival, Yettel will serve visitors with 144 mobile cells at 21 locations. The so-called micro-cells operating across the festival site typically cover sectors with a radius of 100–200 metres. This dense network architecture is essential to handle the voice and data traffic of tens of thousands of users simultaneously within a very small area. As previous years have shown, the area around the Main Stage generates the highest volume of video uploads and sharing, so further network upgrade have been carried out here. Based on last year’s data, peak-hour mobile traffic over the festival period increased by 10% compared with the previous year, with 40% of this traffic already carried over Yettel’s 5G network. Overall, 5G accounted for 25% of total mobile data traffic, and this year experts expect that share to approach 30% as compatible handsets become more widespread.
“From a mobile network perspective, Sziget requires a very different approach and different solutions from a typical urban environment. The number of customers surges within a very small area over a short period of time, while festival-goers upload significantly more videos and photos than they normally would. To ensure an excellent customer experience, we have once again made significant network upgrades this year, increasing available 5G capacity by a further 40% compared with last year. Our primary goal is to ensure that visitors can share their festival experiences as seamlessly as possible,” said Balázs Mang, Director of Technology Strategy at Yettel.
Focus on digital freedom
Alongside its network upgrades, Yettel, the festival’s official telecommunications partner, is increasing the number of mobile charging stations available across the festival site and setting up a free WiFi zone, ensuring that festival-goers can stay connected throughout the event.
“At Sziget, we bring the experience of digital freedom to life through our mobile network, while our brand activities focus on real festival moments. Every day, thousands of people have the opportunity to charge their phones free of charge at our on-site charging stations and stay connected with one another. This year, we are also welcoming visitors to the Yettel Reels Factory, where they can create their own videos using iconic AI-generated Sziget backdrops. In our activity zone next to the Yettel Colosseum, we are also providing free WiFi, giving festival-goers the chance to experience Yettel’s lightning-fast network while enjoying the buzz of Sziget,” said Judit Tőzsér, Corporate Communications Director at Yettel.
In addition to the enhanced mobile network and free WiFi zone, continuous online connectivity is also supported by Yepp, Yettel’s digital mobile service. Hungarian festival-goers can sign up for Yepp online in just a few clicks and may be able to enjoy unlimited mobile data at no extra cost during the Sziget Festival.
More information: https://www.yettel.hu/sziget