November 22, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; General view of an American flag at Ford Field prior to a game between the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Trying to use a cell phone while in a crowded stadium can be a frustrating experience. Trying to upload that picture to facebook? Forget about it. Want to tweet during the game? You’re in for a frustrating experience.

Complaints about data service being rendered useless in large groups of people is nothing new. Truth be told, I had similar problems but those went away once I got on Verizon’s 4G network. I’m not sure if that is a common experience for others but an alternative is now available at Ford Field.

The Detroit Lions partnered with Verizon Wireless to build a massive network inside Ford Field:

“Our Network team worked closely with the Detroit Lions to construct this new WiFi system that will provide our customers with even more capacity at Ford Field,” said John Granby, president, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless. “Sports fans are increasingly reliant on their wireless devices for streaming video, accessing social media and downloading their favorite team apps and other content. We built this high-tech network to offer our subscribers another reliable solution that works in tandem with our existing network.”

Perhaps you noticed a little catch in that quote in the form of the word “subscribers”. The Lions’ gameday guide provides some more information for getting connected:

Get your Verizon smart phones ready! The Detroit Lions have partnered with Verizon to bring free WiFi to Verizon wireless users at Ford Field! Learn how to access your WiFi!

How to Download:

Android users need to Download WiFi Access Zone from Google Playstore.
Open and connect to Verizon WiFi
BlackBerry users need to Download WiFi Access Zone from BlackBerry AppWorld
Open and connect to Verizon WiFi
iPhone iOS 6 users go to Settings > WiFi. Select Verizon WiFi

Ford Field becomes the ninth NFL stadium to offer widespread WiFi. Roger Goodell stated during the offseason that he would like WiFi in all NFL stadiums but teams have apparently been left on their own to find a partner to provide the service. I suppose that leads to the kind of partnerships the Lions know find themselves in which restricts access to certain subscribers. The New England Patriots were previously the most recent to get a WiFi system up and running and do not have limitations based on service provider.