Expect more tweets and photo sharing than ever before coming from fans watching golf this weekend at Colonial.
The ongoing saga between sports fans and cellular connectivity at live games usually takes place indoors. To this end, AT&T recently shared their network strategy for Super Bowl XLVII which included permanently installing 69 miles of cable and over 1,000 antennas. As a result, fans embraced the reliable connectivity – pushing approximately 388 GB of data during the game (an 80% increase from 2102).
But what about outdoor sporting events? AT&T appears to have a solution for that too.
In advance of this weekend’s PGA tour event. the Crowne Plaza Invitational at the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, AT&T installed a mobile Distributed Antenna System (mDAS) – the first ever at a U.S. sporting event. The mDAS will provide enhanced mobile connectivity to golf fans in attendance, making it easier than ever to share their experience from the course via text, tweets, photos, videos and more.
According to our friends at AT&T:
What makes the mDAS unique is that it is literally a portable cellular network, allowing for the deployment of a robust temporary network in just days. The technology is 4G LTE-enabled and the mDAS deployment at the tournament consists of eight antennas, six remote radios and 6,500 feet of cable. All of this is easily transported on a 22-foot container truck.
“The mDAS started the way so many great innovations do, even similar to how a new golf course is first imagined, as a sketch on the back of a napkin,” says Chad Townes VP of AT&T’s Antenna Solutions Group (ASG). “We believe the mDAS will provide fans at the Colonial with a mobile experience they’ve never had before at PGA Tour event. It will make it easier than ever before to share your experience from the course.”
Along with mDAS, AT&T is rolling out four Cells on Wheels (COWs). The mDAS and COWs will be strategically located throughout the golf course to enhance coverage in areas with the heaviest usage of the mobile network.
Photos courtesy of AT&T
