Canada telecoms company Bell is expanding networks around major stadium areas in Toronto and Vancouver to prepare for a surge in mobile traffic expected during the FIFA World Cup.

Bloomberg reported on June 12 local time that Bell deployed a total of 4 mobile base stations at World Cup hubs in Toronto and Vancouver and installed dozens of new antennas at the Toronto stadium. The network expansion cost $25 million.

Bell placed the mobile base stations on the outskirts of the stadium and in fan festival areas. It set up a system to spread crowd traffic inside the stadium through overhead antennas. It plans to handle heavy data use occurring simultaneously inside and outside the venue.

The Toronto stadium is expected to accommodate more than 45,000 people per match after temporary seating is added for the World Cup. That is far more people arriving at once than at typical Toronto FC or Argonauts games, and network demand is expected to rise sharply.

Bell expects the expansion to triple total cellular network capacity at the Toronto stadium during the tournament. It also expects theoretical peak download speeds to reach 4.3 gigabits per second.

Aya Abughanem (아야 아부가넴), Bell's senior technical product manager, said, "We are ready so fans can use their phones without communication disruptions." She added, "If spectators do not complain about the network, that is success."

On-site tests also confirmed improvements. Gus Monteiro (거스 몬테이루), a Bell radio frequency engineering specialist, said tests from the south stands at the Toronto stadium showed download speeds about 2.5 times faster than before, with upload speeds improving by up to 4 times.

He pointed to the biggest advantage of mobile base stations as their ability to absorb traffic outside the stadium and reduce strain on the internal network. He said they are effective at easing congestion inside crowded venues.

Not all areas provide the same quality. The report said the north stands can only have antennas installed in corner areas rather than centrally for structural and aesthetic reasons, leaving some room for improvement.

The expansion benefits are not limited to Bell customers. Subscribers of TELUS, which has a network-sharing agreement with Bell, can also use the increased capacity and speed. Rival Rogers also separately installed mobile communications towers around stadium areas in Toronto and Vancouver and invested about $27 million to expand its network.

Canada will host a total of 13 matches during this World Cup, with 7 of them to be held at Vancouver's BC Place. That makes it important to secure stable communications quality not only at stadiums but also at fan gathering points and transport routes.

Bell plans to staff network operations around the clock during the tournament to conduct real-time monitoring. It also plans to use AI-based analytics tools to identify congested areas in real time and adjust network settings immediately if needed.

The industry assesses that communications quality at major sports events has moved beyond a simple convenience and become key infrastructure competitiveness. Analysts say that when decisive moments occur during a match, tens of thousands of spectators take photos and videos at the same time and share them on social media, making stable mobile network operations a factor shaping the fan experience.