AT&T Boosts Minneapolis Area Mobile Coverage for Super Bowl LII

(Originally published on ATT.com)


AT&T (No. 3 on the Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies list) is boostingcellularcapacity throughout Minneapolis in preparation for football’s Big Game.

When fans head to Minneapolis for the highly anticipated Big Game, they can expect a bettermobile experience to share special moments.

We’ve been working for over a year to boost the network in Minneapolis for the Big Game. We’ve done this through a series of permanent and temporary upgrades throughout the city, so fans will be connected as soon as they arrive. They can share moments on social media during the week-long pre-game festivities, back at their hotels and at the stadium during the Big Gamefaster and easier than before.

In total, we’re investing more than $40 million in our Minneapolis wireless network.

Better coverageinthe stadium

At the football stadium in Minneapolis, we’ve upgraded the Distributed Antenna System (DAS). It will now offer nearly 220% more LTE capacity than at the start of the 2017 pro football season. And more than 800 antennas hidden throughout the venue will help manage heavy wireless traffic. This gives fans strong coverage throughout game day from tailgating to the trophy presentation.

A DAS consists of strategically placed antennas that distribute thewireless networkcoverage throughout the stadium. These antennas manage the wireless capacity in heavily trafficked areas, like football stadiums. This brings better, more consistent wireless coverage to customers indoors and out.

Better coverageoutof the stadium

But we didn’t stop with the stadium. We’ve also upgraded or installed new DAS at 16 locations throughout the Minneapolis area. Fans can enjoy better coverage in hotels, arenas, airports, convention centers, among other venues.

We’ve upgraded the DAS at the airport and installed a new DAS at the convention center in Minneapolis. We’ve also installed a new DAS at NOMADIC LIVE! at The Armory to enhance coverage for all the fans headed to the concert venue each night, includingDIRECTV NOW’s Super Saturday Night.

“When fans head to Minneapolis to cheer on their favorite team, we want them to have a great network experiencewhether they’re making a call, checking email or sharing their favorite moments on social media,” said Scott Mair, president AT&T Operations. “But the network enhancements in Minneapolis won’t go away after the Big Game. They’re permanent and will continue to benefit customers. It’s just one way we’re continuing to invest in our Minneapolis wireless network.”

We’re also deploying 10 Cell on Wheels (COWs) to handle expected increasedwireless networkdemands for the Big Game. COWs are temporary towers AT&T will use to help improve reliability and data speeds for the week leading up to and during the Big Game.

Where to find the COWs:

  • Near Summit Avenue and 35E
  • On Nicollet Avenue to cover pre-game events
  • A Super COW in the Stadium Commons area
  • Near Mystic Lake for pre-game concerts
  • Near the Mall in Bloomington to support visitors
  • North and south sides of the Stadium

How to take advantage of 5G Evolution

We also recently launched5G Evolutionin parts of Minneapolis. That means we’ve upgraded cell towers with ultra-fast LTE Advanced features like 256 QAM, 4×4 MIMO and 3-way carrier aggregation. These features, along with our upgrades, are providing faster speeds and a better experience for customers with compatible devices.

These devices include the LG V30, Moto Z2Force Edition, Samsung Galaxy Note8, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and the Netgear Nighthawk Hotspot router.

We expect crowds of over a million people, but we’re ready with 122 new or enhanced nearby cell sites. These investments mean Minneapolis residents can celebrate the Big Game over the AT&T network at home, work and on the go.

We invested more than $200 million in our Minneapolis and Bloomington, Minnesota areas wireless and wireline networks between 2014 and 2016.

To learn more about AT&T coverage in Minneapolis or anywhere in the U.S., go to theAT&T Coverage Viewer. For updates on the AT&T wireless network, go to theAT&T network newspage.

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