AT&T Preps South Florida Wireless Network for Pro Bowl and Super Bowl

MIAMI, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Football players and fans aren't the only ones gearing up for the Jan. 31 Pro Bowl and Feb. 7 Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. AT&T is gearing up its South Florida network to help ensure those in town for the games have a winning wireless experience. AT&T announced today it is expanding capacity and coverage in and around Dolphin Stadium and other key areas in anticipation of increased voice and data traffic on its wireless network.

Network preparations for the big games include:

• Three mobile cell sites on wheels, or COW, in the stadium parking lot;
• A new distributed antenna system, or DAS, inside the stadium;
• Fourth additional layer of capacity added to AT&T cell site inside the stadium: 2G (GSM/Global System for Mobile Communications) voice and data capacity increased by 100 percent and high-speed 3G (UMTS/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) voice and data capacity increased by 280 percent;
• Capacity added to cell sites in the vicinity of the stadium;
• Capacity added to cell sites serving hotels and resorts in Fort Lauderdale and South Beach where Super Bowl activities will be hosted;
• A  COW set up to serve  Fort Lauderdale hotels where teams will be staying;
• Capacity added to cell sites surrounding the facilities where the teams will be practicing; and
• The addition of backhaul connectivity to cell sites surrounding the stadium to increase voice and data capacity between the sites and the routing switch.

"These are two of the biggest games of the year, and fans attending them want to be able to share the experience, as it's happening, with those back home, whether its through a voice call, text message, e-mail or picture and video messaging," said Rich Guidotti, vice president and general manager, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets for South Florida. "Our network team has been working for months to deliver the best possible wireless experience for the games and their related activities."  

AT&T network personnel will be on site for the games to monitor the network. Traffic on the stadium cell sites will be balanced as needed during the games in order to maximize the ability for customers to make calls and use data services.

In addition to the network upgrades for the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, AT&T substantially increased capacity on its 3G network throughout South Florida in 2009 with the addition of a third layer of capacity, or "third carrier" to several hundred cell sites from Key West to Vero Beach. AT&T also activated 20 new cell sites, added 3G technology to dozens of existing cell sites, upgraded its UMTS/3G switching center, added 7 new Radio Network Controllers to significantly increase capacity and added more than 2,500 backhaul connections in 2009.

From 2007 through third quarter 2009, AT&T invested more than $134 million in its wireless network in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties alone.

"We'll continue to invest and innovate to strengthen our wireless network performance so that our customers can have the best experience with their AT&T devices," said Marshall Criser, lll, AT&T president, Florida. "Our network investments and upgrades have made it possible for us to continue to deliver the nation's fastest 3G network and national voice call retainability scores that are near best-in-class."

AT&T's 3G network is now available in more than 350 U.S. cities, including all major metropolitan areas.

AT&T recently completed a software upgrade at 3G cell sites nationwide that prepares the nation's fastest 3G network for even faster speeds. The deployment of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology is the first of multiple initiatives in AT&T's network enhancement strategy designed to provide customers with the best possible mobile broadband experience, both today and well into the future.  Faster 3G speeds will become available as AT&T combines the new technology with our second initiative during 2010 and 2011 to dramatically increase the number of high-speed backhaul connections to cell sites, primarily with fiber-optic connections, adding capacity from cell sites to the AT&T backbone network.  

For more information about AT&T's coverage in South Florida or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/.  The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit www.att.com/networknews.

*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.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services, the nation's fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide, and the nation's leading high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of their three-screen integration strategy, AT&T operating companies are expanding their TV entertainment offerings. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies. 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.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.