AT&T Enhances Local Wireless Network for Wells Fargo Championship
Company Expands Wireless Network Capacity
Charlotte , North Carolina, April 30, 2012
As thousands of people converge on Charlotte for the Wells Fargo Championship, AT&T is boosting network capacity to help its customers have a great wireless experience.
The company has deployed a temporary “cell on wheels” to accommodate expected increased wireless network demands from high concentrations of smartphone users at the golf tournament. The augmentations will help improve reliability and data speeds as the event runs from April 30 through May 6.
“Events like the Wells Fargo Championship generate memorable experiences that our customers will want to share with friends and family through text messages, photos, status updates on social networks and calls from their mobile devices,” said Laurent Therivel, AT&T’s vice president and general manager of Mobility and Consumer Markets in the Carolinas. “We’ve deployed a team of network engineers that’s hard at work on local enhancements to help provide great connectivity, solid coverage and fast speeds.”
The temporary enhancements are part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to prepare for and provide the best possible mobile experience during special events like the Wells Fargo Championship. With crowds expected to reach an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 attendees per day, AT&T’s network team has deployed a cell on wheels to support the crowd’s mobile Internet needs.
From 2008 through 2011, AT&T invested more than $1.8 billion in its wireless and wireline networks in North Carolina.
AT&T’s mobile data network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T has the broadest international coverage of any U.S. wireless provider, providing access to voice service in more than 225 countries and data service in more than 200 countries. AT&T also offers voice and data roaming coverage on more than 135 major cruise ships, as well as mobile Internet services in more than 130 countries.
AT&T also operates the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network** with nearly 30,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to nearly 225,000 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.
