Aug 29, 2013
ATLANTA (AT&T press release) – When a big play happens this season at Bobby Dodd Stadium, football fans can expect to enjoy an enhanced mobile experience as they pull out their wireless device to share the most exciting moments with friends and family.
As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced wireless devices and services, AT&T* has expanded its mobile Internet coverage at Bobby Dodd Stadium by completing an upgrade of its Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to enhance the customer experience throughout the facility.
A DAS installation consists of multiple strategically-placed antennas that distribute AT&T’s wireless network coverage throughout Bobby Dodd Stadium, providing for more efficient management of wireless capacity in heavily-trafficked areas, such as football stadiums. DAS has the ability to provide enhanced, consistent wireless coverage to customers in indoor or outdoor spaces where geographical limitations – terrain, building construction, etc. – or crowd density might otherwise prevent an optimal wireless experience.
The Bobby Dodd Stadium DAS installation is part of AT&T’s Project Velocity IP (VIP), a three-year investment plan announced last fall to expand and enhance its IP broadband networks. Through this investment, AT&T is supporting its customers’ growing desire for high-speed Internet access and new mobile, app and cloud-based services. As part of Project VIP, AT&T plans to add more than 1,000 DAS nationwide by year-end 2015, as well as more than 10,000 macro cell sites, and deploy more than 40,000 small cells, to increase the density of its wireless network.
“When our customers head out to the stadium to cheer on the home team, we want them to have a great network experience throughout the game no matter what they’re doing – whether that’s making a call, checking email, downloading apps or surfing the Internet,” said Keith Holmes, Vice President/General Manager AT&T Georgia. “With initiatives like Project VIP, we’re continuing to invest in the wireless network, and providing enhanced wireless coverage at Bobby Dodd Stadium is just one way that we’re investing in Atlanta.”
DAS technology helps improve the mobile Internet experience by shortening the distance a request must travel. The additional capacity also is expected to help improve call reliability, boost data traffic capacity and enable more consistent network access to help customers make the most of their AT&T devices.
These investments help to ensure that Georgia residents continue to enjoy the best possible experience over the AT&T network, whether at home, at work or on the go. The great performance of AT&T’s 4G LTE network continues to be validated:
• AT&T has the fastest and now most reliable 4G LTE network.** According to independent third-party data, AT&T has the highest success rate for delivering mobile content across nationwide 4G LTE networks.
• Meanwhile, our 4G LTE service was recognized as having faster average download and upload speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld/TechHive’s most recent 20-market speed tests – the second consecutive year that AT&T has ranked 1st overall. PCWorld/TechHive also ranked AT&T’s as the fastest combination of 3G and 4G services in the 20 cities it tested.***
• And AT&T was named America’s fastest 4G LTE network in PC Magazine’s 2013 Fastest Mobile Networks 30-market study – sweeping the top rankings in all six U.S. regions from coast to coast: Northeast, Southeast, North-Central, South-Central, Northwest and Southwest.****
“The mobile internet services upgrade provided by our friends at AT&T is a significant step in enhancing the game-day experience for Yellow Jacket fans,” Georgia Tech Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski said. “More than ever, fans want to be actively involved with what is happening on the field and in the stadium, and this upgrade will make it easier to do so.”
In addition, RootMetrics® has awarded AT&T for strongest overall call, text, and data performance in 66 of 125 national markets from January through June of this year *****
Across Atlanta and Georgia, AT&T’s 2013 investments have resulted in expansion and enhancement of our 4G LTE network, which provides ultra-fast speeds. AT&T 4G LTE is now available in Atlanta as well as Albany, Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, Calhoun, Cedartown, Dalton, Gainesville, Jefferson-Commerce, Macon-Warner Robins, Milledgeville, Rome, Savannah and Valdosta. Nationwide, more than 225 million Americans have access to AT&T 4G LTE service. By year-end 2013, AT&T expects to cover nearly 270 million people and 400 markets with its 4G LTE network.
AT&T’s focus to deliver the best possible mobile Internet experience goes beyond 4G to embrace additional connection technologies. AT&T operates the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network****** including more than 32,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores and retailers, and provides access to more than 402,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count against customers’ monthly wireless data plans.
Over the past five years, AT&T invested nearly $98 billion into its wireless and wireline networks across the country. Since 2008, AT&T has invested more capital into the U.S. economy than any other public company. In a July 2012 report, the Progressive Policy Institute ranked AT&T No. 1 on its list of U.S. “Investment Heroes.”
For more information about AT&T’s coverage in Atlanta or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.
* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Speed claim based on comparison of national carriers’ average 4G LTE download speeds for AndroidTM and Windows smartphones and iPhone 5. Reliability claim compares data transfer completion rates on nationwide 4G LTE networks. Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. 4G speeds not available everywhere.
*** PCWorld/TechHive, May 23, 2013, “AT&T clocks best overall speeds with 3G/4G combo”
**** PC Magazine, June 17, 2013; http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2420333,00.asp
***** Visit rootmetrics.com for more details. Performance rankings of four national wireless carriers rely on scores calculated from random samples. AT&T ranked highest or shared the highest ranking for overall performance in 66 of 125 markets tested, January-June 2013. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of AT&T.
****** A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.
