NFL Buys Anritsu Spectrum Analyzers for Stadium Use

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The National Football League’s game-day frequency coordinators are now using the Anritsu MS2721B Spectrum Master spectrum analyzer to monitor RF spectrum usage at NFL stadiums before, during and after games. Anritsu configured the MS2721Bs with interference analysis and channel scanner options to enable the coordinators to efficiently coordinate the approximately 400 frequencies used at each stadium during a regular season NFL game.

Anritsu has agreed to provide training to all of the NFL Game Day Coordinators and to assist in customizing the frequency standards required by the NFL in coordinating Game Day activities.

“Wireless communications usage has increased greatly since the league first implemented GDCs at Super Bowl XXX,” said Jay Gerber, manager of the NFL’s Frequency Organization Group. “We also had to consider the ever-shrinking RF spectrum as a result of Digital TV and re-allocation of frequencies. Recognizing these factors, we wanted to provide our GDCs with the instruments they need to do the job effectively. The Anritsu MS2721B analyzer has proven to be a great tool to ensure they locate and resolve any RF conflict.”

The MS2721B covers frequencies up to 7.1 GHz and it weighs less than seven pounds.

For more information on the MS2721B, visit www.us.anritsu.com.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.