WCCO: An Internet Upgrade At TCF Stadium Pleases Football Fans

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per WCCO:

A big upgrade at TCF Bank Stadium is aimed at making football fans happy.

It has nothing to do with the field or the seats–it’s a technology upgrade.

Thursday morning, AT&T and the University of Minnesota announced they’ve expanded the mobile internet coverage at the stadium.

They did it by installing a new 4G LTE distributed antenna system.

“Nowadays it is all about technology,” he said. “People are on their phones all the time looking for ways to get the latest stats, the latest replays, to get selfies up and onto the scoreboard. This system will enhance that and improve the game day experience for our fans.”

AT&T says the upgrade will quadruple capacity inside the stadium.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/09/04/an-internet-upgrade-at-tcf-stadium-pleases-football-fans/

Go Gophers!!
 

Good stuff. I can never get service during a game there to check scores during timeouts, or check meltdowns on GHole. Sounds like those days are over
 

Wow. Just yesterday I made the choice to stick with AT&T over switching to T-Mobile. This makes me happy.

I actually noticed last Thursday that my phone was actually working during the game. I wonder if it was up and running then, or if it was just due to the empty stadium.
 

afurry91 said:
Wow. Just yesterday I made the choice to stick with AT&T over switching to T-Mobile. This makes me happy.

I actually noticed last Thursday that my phone was actually working during the game. I wonder if it was up and running then, or if it was just due to the empty stadium.
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Actually, I don't think it matters which service carrier you use. i.e. I believe AT&T was probably just the contractor they used to install this additional capacity and the additional/new communications equipment needed for it. It would be my impression that if you are with Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint you will have faster cellular internet capacity in the stadium footprint.
 

supadupafly said:
Actually, I don't think it matters which service carrier you use. i.e. I believe AT&T was probably just the contractor they used to install this additional capacity and the additional/new communications equipment needed for it. It would be my impression that if you are with Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint you will have faster cellular internet capacity in the stadium footprint.
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I could be wrong, but I highly doubt AT&T would allow that to happen. These cell providers are the spawn of Satan, and I doubt they would play nice like that. I believe that AT&T has laid the foundation and that other networks can now implement their coverage more easily, but they still have to explicitly do it.

KSTP's story explains that a little more: http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3551803.shtml

Apparently it was active last Thursday for the game, which explains why it was usable.
 


I care for no other reason besides improving attendance which of course boosts the game day atmosphere and can help recruiting. I sure hope this upgrade can convince quite a few to fill up those empty seats that would otherwise be empty.
 

die hard gopher said:
I care for no other reason other than improving attendance which of course boosts the game day atmosphere and can help recruiting. I sure hope this upgrade can convince quite a few to fill up those empty seats.
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It's nice to be able to watch highlights of other games, check scores, and even stream other games at halftime. Helps the down time go by faster, and keeps me more sane during the infinite TV timeouts.
 

afurry91 said:
It's nice to be able to watch highlights of other games, check scores, and even stream other games at halftime. Helps the down time go by faster, and keeps me more sane during the infinite TV timeouts.
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Agreed.
 

Yes, because God forbid we actually converse with those people (or others around you) attending the game with us during those timeouts. As opposed to staring at our phones more. Just teasing, but the point is a valid one. :p
 



The Twins really bumped up their Wi-fi capacity this year and that was a nice perk. Maybe the Gophers can work on that next.
 

Word said:
The Twins really bumped up their Wi-fi capacity this year and that was a nice perk. Maybe the Gophers can work on that next.
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In order to handle all twelve people? :cool:
 


I'm on Verizon, so I will have to continue to wait until the walk back to the car to send or receive a text, pic, tweet, check scores, etc.

It was absolutely brutal during the Eastern Ill game and the stadium was only half full.
 



Good...at least now the texts to my crew pick me up a beer when they're up in the concourse will get to them within two quarters! :)
 


Schnauzer said:
I'm on Verizon, so I will have to continue to wait until the walk back to the car to send or receive a text, pic, tweet, check scores, etc.

It was absolutely brutal during the Eastern Ill game and the stadium was only half full.
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Me too.
 

e.bigelow said:
In order to handle all twelve people? :cool:
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I know you're just joking, but the Twins drew amazingly well this summer considering how awful they've been the last few years.
 

Word said:
I know you're just joking, but the Twins drew amazingly well this summer considering how awful they've been the last few years.
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I know! Somehow, they continue to draw a crowd despite the awful product on the field. We are actually going to the game Sunday after the Gophers game Saturday. (Just for reference, I am a Red Sox fan first, then a Twins fan)
 

supadupafly said:
Actually, I don't think it matters which service carrier you use. i.e. I believe AT&T was probably just the contractor they used to install this additional capacity and the additional/new communications equipment needed for it. It would be my impression that if you are with Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint you will have faster cellular internet capacity in the stadium footprint.
Click to expand...

I think AT&T is just upgrading their own equipment, because T-mobile has worked great at TCF Bank Stadium.
 




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