Friday, February 2, 2018

Carriers Deploy More Towers, Antennas to Handle ‘Super’ Demand

One of Verizon’s small cells outside U.S. Bank stadium 
and Verizon handrail antennas inside enhance wireless data capacity for the event

Wireless carriers are prepared for record mobile data use in and around U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this weekend for the Super Bowl. Nearly 70,000 fans will be in the stadium and another one million visitors are expected to use their smartphones and other mobile devices in the area.

VERIZON
Upgrades consisting of macro towers, small cell and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are part of the mix, according to a blog post on Medium by Kristen Beckman, Community Manager of the Wireless Infrastructure Association. Verizon has been preparing for two years; it deployed 24 macro cell tower sites and 230+ small cells. The new infrastructure combined, boosted Verizon’s network capacity in the Twin Cities metro by 500 percent, according to the carrier. 

In downtown Minneapolis, which is hosting the free football festival Super Bowl Live, Verizon doubled its network capacity on Nicollet Mall by placing small cells in bus shelters, a new solution for the carrier. “Verizon also installed security cameras on street lights with its small cells in the downtown area in partnership with the city of Minneapolis and bolstered capacity at the Mall of America and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport with neutral-host DAS equipment,” writes Beckman. Inside the stadium, Verizon added 48 percent more antennas to its DAS, using drinkrail, handrail and under-the-seat antennas, as well as Matsing Ball antennas, installed 330 feet above the field. Continue Reading

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