- Experience the world's biggest heavy metal festival free in HD and 360 degrees
- High network capacity for the digital stampede
Guitar riffs, mosh pits and headbanging – from August 2 through 4, 2018, the tranquil village of Wacken in Schleswig Holstein will again play host to the biggest heavy metal festival in the world. This year at Wacken Open Air, 170 bands on 8 stages will make sure festivalgoers have a very special, rocking weekend. Deutsche Telekom will broadcast this unique festival on an exclusive live stream in the MagentaMusik 360 app, on the app website, and on EntertainTV. Deutsche Telekom will also make sure that festivalgoers have top network quality for making calls, surfing the web, and sharing their experiences on social media.
“Wacken is legendary; it's an experience in itself every year. Our exclusive live streams mean that all music fans, both at home and on the go, can enjoy classic metal in the best network,” says Michael Schuld, Head of Communication & Sales Marketing at Telekom Deutschland. “We will also be providing those on the festival site with the best network quality, so that they can share their experiences with their smartphones.”
Important figures that are taken into account to ensure a stable network are viewer numbers and the size and topography of the site. At Wacken Open Air, 85,000 festivalgoers are distributed over a 240-ha site – which is more than 330 soccer fields. To meet demand, Deutsche Telekom has upgraded the technology in its existing mobile stations in the festival area, and has tuned them up for the task.
In addition, to cope with the digital stampede, the company is erecting three additional temporary mobile stations with masts 20 meters high. With these additional stations, Deutsche Telekom can increase the network capacity. This means that, even with the large numbers of visitors that are expected, high bandwidths will be possible. Not only that; Deutsche Telekom will be providing festivalgoers with top-class service at its booth on the site, with free Wi-Fi, charging stations and a repair service for smartphones and a virtual reality experience using Samsung technology.
Wacken Open Air is an annual highlight for metalheads, and has gained an outstanding reputation among fans around the world. This year's headline acts Nightwish, In Flames and Judas Priest join a long list of other bands whose job it is to make sure the 85,000 festivalgoers have a headbanging time. Otto Waalkes, one of Germany's most successful comedians, will also take the stage at the event. He is performing for the first time at this mecca for metalheads with his band "Otto & die Friesenjungs" just after his 70th birthday.
Anyone who can't make the event in person can watch lots of the acts free of charge in HD and 360 degrees on Deutsche Telekom's live stream. This means that fans can join the party virtually from at home or on the go, all over the world, as though they were right in front of, or even on, the stage. MagentaMusik 360 partner Samsung provides an ideal solution for this very special festival experience with its Galaxy S9 smartphone in combination with the MagentaMusik 360 app and the Samsung Gear VR.
The acts that are performing live this year will be announced shortly before the festival starts. Lots of performances will also be available online on the app in video format at a later date.
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