While your coworkers complain about their NCAA basketball tournament brackets ahead of finals set for April 2-4 in Houston, AT&T has been busy upgrading its network in the area to handle the expected influx of more than 100,000 fans.
Carrier reps say the enhancements include a $25 million investment in distributed antenna system improvements and the deployment of a cell on wheels near NRG Stadium. The DAS improvements, including at the stadium, arena and convention center, are said to increase LTE capacity by 375%.
“When our customers head out in Houston to cheer on their team, we want them to have a great network experience. That means connection no matter what they’re doing – making a call, checking email, sharing on social media or enjoying DirecTV right on their mobile device,” said Larry Evans, VP and GM for AT&T South Texas, in a statement. “Many of these enhancements for the tournament are permanent and will continue to benefit customers after. This means a better mobile experience at pro football’s big game next year. It’s just one way we’re continuing to invest in our South Texas wireless network.”
Houston is set to host the 2017 Super Bowl, so AT&T is playing a longer, strategic angle with these Final Four upgrades, which build on a total of $1.3 billion in Houston-area network investments between 2013 and 2015. During the first round of the tournament, held in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T recorded 916 gigabytes of network data traffic, which equates to more than 2.6 million pictures or 63,000 hours of Web browsing.
