TechStack: 5G, drone security and more

Our weekly tech round-up from the world of ticketing and associated industries…

UK’s first 5G neutral host arena

ASM Global, operator of First Direct Arena, has teamed up with network infrastructure company Boldyn Networks to make the Leeds venue the UK’s first 5G neutral host arena.

The collaboration aims to offer high-speed, high-capacity mobile connectivity throughout the entire arena, revolutionising the visitor experience.

Designed and installed by Boldyn Networks, which has recently rebranded from BAI Communications, the new 5G multi-carrier wireless network’s neutral host model is designed to allow all four UK mobile network operators to join onto the network.

This intends to minimise equipment and power usage, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient means of delivering reliable mobile connectivity to customers. 5G service will be rolled out as the mobile network operators connect to Boldyn’s neutral host network.

Drone tech can combat protestors

Halo Solutions is to deploy its live streaming drone technology Halo Stream to help combat protestor activity at major sporting events over the coming months.

The Halo Drone and Stream technology has been deployed to a recent series of major sporting and cultural events to monitor protestor activity, persons of interest, ticket touts and crowd safety. The technology was recently deployed to three successive major events: the Reading Half Marathon, the Ashes series at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, and Flavours of Fingal, one of Ireland’s largest county shows attended by more than 80,000 people.

Halo Solutions founder Lloyd Major said: “With the marked increase of threats from protestor and activist attacks at major sporting events, the safety and security of crowds and event stakeholders has never been more important.”

Ticket import feature for PDFs

TicketSwap, the ticket resale marketplace, has upgraded its app to include Spotify Connect and a new Ticket Import feature for fans of festivals, concerts, theatre shows and other live events across the UK.

The latest update also includes a new function to share individual tickets with friends to avoid hassle around dividing tickets at the entrance.

The new import feature allows users to upload any PDF into their TicketSwap Ticket Wallet to store all tickets in one place and access them instantly, even when offline.

Unique to the Ticket Import feature on the TicketSwap app, users can save any ticket or PDF file to their Wallet including those acquired from another seller or reseller. This platform agnostic approach allows music and theatre fans to access all tickets in any PDF format to all types of events in one place and, if needed, sell these tickets on TicketSwap in just a few quick steps.

Blockchain service launched

Tixologi has launched its blockchain technology service designed to make ticketing secure, more customised and more experiential.

The Los Angeles-headquartered company said the new ticketing platform enables organisers of conferences, parties, festivals, concerts and sporting events to reduce ticketing costs and generate more revenue. It can also eliminate fraudulent tickets and improve the attendee event experience.

Tixologi said it has already provided its superior ticketing alternative to clients ranging from one-off 500 person summits to timed entry ticketing for an immersive experience.