AT&T Enhances Gameday Wireless Coverage at Heinz Field

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The pageantry of football is in full swing at professional stadiums across the country – and Steeler Nation is lining up with Terrible Towels and glowing smartphones in hand.

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As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced wireless devices and services, AT&T* has improved its mobile Internet coverage at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh by completing the installation of a new 4G LTE-capable Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to enhance the customer experience throughout the stadium.

A DAS installation consists of multiple strategically-placed antennas that distribute AT&T's wireless network coverage throughout Heinz Field providing for more efficient management of wireless capacity in heavily-trafficked areas, such as major athletic venues.  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 the optimal wireless experience.

"We are excited to work with AT&T to make the experience for Steelers' fans at Heinz Field even more enjoyable," said Tony Quatrini, Steelers Director of Marketing. "This AT&T enhanced wireless coverage at our home games will make it easier for our fans to view our official Steelers app on their mobile device, as well as to make calls, check emails and search the Internet. We are looking forward to providing this service to make the mobile coverage at Heinz Field even better."

"When our customers go to Heinz Field to cheer on the Steelers, we want them to have a great network experience no matter what they're doing – whether that's making a call, checking email, downloading apps or surfing the Internet," said J. Michael Schweder, AT&T, president Mid Atlantic. "We're committed to our investment in the local wireless network, and providing enhanced wireless coverage at Heinz Field is just one way that we're investing in Pittsburgh."

AT&T is an industry leader in deploying DAS solutions. DAS help address the exponential network traffic growth skyrocketing at large sporting venues. At professional football's 2012 championship game in Indianapolis, AT&T launched an expanded DAS that enabled 4G LTE coverage within the stadium. It marked the first time in the history of the "big game" that customers created and uploaded more content than they downloaded on AT&T's network. In fact, they uploaded nearly 40 percent more data then they downloaded. Data usage totaled 215 GB and nearly 725,000 text messages were sent and received across AT&T's network.

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.

This unobtrusive network solution is just one innovative approach AT&T is taking to ensure it provides a seamless and effortless customer experience.  AT&T's innovation and investment has resulted in the nation's largest 4G network, covering 275 million people with ultra-fast speeds and a more consistent user experience. That's coverage in 3,000 more 4G cities and towns than Verizon.**

AT&T is the only U.S. service provider to deploy two compatible 4G technologies to deliver more speed to more smartphone customers. Our 4G LTE network delivered faster average download speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld's most recent 13-market speed tests.

AT&T's 4G LTE network delivers speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G***, as well as multiple innovations that optimize the network for performance.  Our network's radio components are placed close to the antenna at most cell sites, instead of inside the base station, which helps minimize power loss between the base station and antenna and, in turn, improves the performance of our 4G LTE network.  The network also is designed with its core elements distributed across the country, which helps reduce latency, or the delay when using the Internet, because your request isn't traveling as far.

Even as AT&T continues to expand its 4G LTE coverage in 2012 and 2013, customers can get 4G speeds outside of 4G LTE areas on our 4G HSPA+ network, unlike competitors, where smartphone customers fall back to slower 3G technologies when outside of LTE coverage. 

AT&T's focus to deliver the best possible mobile Internet experience goes beyond 4G and DAS to embrace additional connection technologies.  AT&T operates the nation's largest Wi-Fi network****, including more than 30,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores and retailers across the country. 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 more than $115 billion into operations and into acquiring spectrum and other assets that have enhanced our wireless and wired networks. Since 2007, 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 Pennsylvania 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.

**4G speeds not available everywhere.  Comparison based on U.S. cities and towns with 4G coverage.

***Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. Deployment ongoing. 4G LTE device and data plan required. Up to 10x claim compares 4G LTE download speeds to industry average 3G download speeds. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more about 4G LTE at att.com/network.

****Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic.  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 around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, 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.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this press release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.

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