The Super Bowl is only a few weeks away, and AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all strengthened their cellular networks in Minneapolis to handle the surge in mobile demand the event will bring.
T-Mobile has doubled the amount of LTE spectrum available across Minneapolis and Saint Paul and installed more than 120 small cells throughout the city, inside U.S. Bank Stadium and at nearby venues. The carrier also rolled out Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) technology inside the stadium, which can boost speeds by as much as 40% during peak traffic periods.
Verizon warned of a “blizzard of snaps, streams and shares” and upgraded its network in Minneapolis with 24 new permanent cell sites and more than 230 permanent small cells. The company also increased the number of antennas on its distributed antenna system (DAS) inside the stadium by 48% to support heavy in-venue data usage.
AT&T said it invested more than $40 million to expand its Minneapolis wireless capacity. That investment included an upgraded DAS that AT&T estimates delivers nearly 220% more LTE capacity than it had at the start of the season. Inside the stadium, more than 800 antennas have been deployed to help distribute traffic, and new DAS installations were added at 16 key locations across the city, including hotels, the airport and convention centers.
To further bolster coverage, AT&T deployed 10 temporary cell towers, commonly known as cells on wheels (COWs), around the city, including positions on the north and south sides of the stadium to handle concentrated crowds.
Postscript: The carriers’ announcements also highlight a notable difference in naming. T-Mobile and Verizon use the term Super Bowl, while AT&T refers to the event as “pro football’s Big Game.” That distinction is deliberate: the NFL protects its trademarks and licenses the official name, so organizations that are not official sponsors often use alternate phrasing to avoid trademark issues.
Regardless of what it’s called, fans traveling to Minneapolis for the big game on February 4 can expect dramatically improved connectivity and the promise of fast, reliable mobile data during large crowds and heavy usage periods.