AT&T bolstering network for Super Bowl
updated 11:30 am EST, Tue January 19, 2010
AT&T upgrading Florida network for Super Bowl
In order to avoid leaving a bad taste in its subscribers' mouths at the upcoming Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, wireless provider AT&T has announced on Tuesday it has upgraded its South Florida network. This includes expanding capacity and coverage in and near the Dolphin Stadium and other nearby areas lots of visitors are expected. The provider hopes its measures will help it prevent the kind of poor service and lack of signal as its customers experienced at the recent CES show.
Specifically, AT&T will bring along and park three mobile cell sites on wheels in the stadium's parking lot, will install a new distributed antenna system (DAS) inside the stadium and add a fourth layer of capacity to its cell side inside the stadium. The last step would double the voice and data capacity of AT&T's 2G GSM network, while 3G UMTS network users would see a 280 percent voice and date capacity boost.
AT&T cell sites near the stadium, hotels and resorts in Ford Lauderdale and South Beach, and facilities where the teams will be staying will be boosted as well. Another cell site on wheels will be set up to server Fort Lauderdale hotels. Cell sites around the stadium will also get backhaul connectivity for an increase in voice and data capacity between the sites and the routing switch.
The carrier will also have network personnel on site to monitor traffic and manage it as needed.
Good start...
01/19, 11:47am reply
Well that sounds like a good start & is a nice PR stunt. It's nice to see AT&T finally doing this considering VZW has been doing similar for the past couple yrs already.
snork
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Joined: Feb 2008
Re: PR stunt
01/19, 01:51pm (1 reply) reply
How is it a "PR stunt"? A PR stunt is giving away a free iPhone to every 1000 people who walk into the Miami Apple Store and screen "Verizon sucks!".
And how is it a 'good start'? A good start to what? Adding in temporary service to other areas that need it? Because once the super bowl is over, these towers are gone.
This is nothing more than what ATT, Verizon, Rogers, etc have been doing for years when a large group of people are gathering. And they're letting their customers know what they're doing.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
Big deal.
01/19, 02:34pm reply
Too little, too late. AT&T is doing this just so they can avoid more bad press about their crappy network coverage. Everytime I go to an Sharks hockey game, I get zero coverage. Nothing but fail messages. Meanwhile, my friend (who sits next to me at the games) has no such issues on T-Mobile. We're smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley and AT&T can't get their act together.
And all of those tv commercials about how great their coverage is in San Francisco? Bollocks. It still sucks as bad as it always has.
big_al
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Joined: Jan 2010
Great
01/19, 05:39pm reply
So all I need to do to get decent coverage around my house is to have the Super Bowl there.
jones948
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Joined: Apr 2007