County officials are negotiating with a contractor for installation of Wi-Fi technology at NRG Stadium, and the chairman of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. said Wednesday he hopes a deal can be struck in time for the system to be installed during the 2015 NFL season.

Houston attorney Edgar Colon, who oversees the agency responsible for the county-owned stadium, said officials continue to negotiate with the contractor, which he would not identify, on the cost of the system and how it will be funded.

"We hope to wrap up negotiations within the month so they can start the installation shortly thereafter," Colon said. "It may be during the season (but) not at the start of the season."

A decision on cost and funding plans, Colon said, "is the subject of the negotiations" with the potential contractor.

Wi-Fi installation has been a priority for the Texans and the NFL as the clock ticks toward Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5, 2017. NFL officials said last year that 26 of 31 NFL stadiums have Wi-Fi stadium-wide or on club seating levels and that progress on that front was essential as the next Houston Super Bowl approaches.

Colon did not provide price estimates, but stadium officials last year said installation of Wi-Fi, which would handle data traffic and free the in-stadium distributed antenna system for calls and texts, would cost about $5 million. Another party estimated operating expenses over 10 years would add another $5 million.

Verizon, meanwhile, has completed installation of a new distributed antenna system to handle calls, texts and, until Wi-Fi is installed, data demands for Verizon customers. The remaining carriers remain for the time being on the original DAS, which is managed by Sprint, but a spokesman for AT&T said the company will move its service to the new stadium DAS later this year.

A Verizon spokeswoman said the new Verizon DAS performed well with no issues at the recent Mexico-Honduras soccer game at the stadium.

Colon said the technology upgrades are aimed at customer satisfaction for stadium patrons.

"Guests expect access to new technology," he said. "Particularly during football games, they want to stream, they want to check on their fantasy league teams, and so on. They expect access to new technology, so the combination of the new DAS plus Wi-Fi will be great for that."

 

houstonchronicle.com

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