We Take You Behind the Scenes to Show You How the Nation’s Largest Wireless Network1 Prepares for the Largest State Fair in the U.S.
Midway games. Fun houses. Funnel cakes. Fried food of all varieties. And an icon simply known as “Big Tex.”
Over the next few weeks, millions of people will walk through the gates at Fair Park in Dallas for the annual State Fair of Texas to take in the familiar sights, sounds and tastes. And after last year’s event was limited due to COVID-19, attendance expectations are high for crowds eager to experience all the attractions.
That means, millions of selfies, uploaded videos, and tons of data used to search the web for the best fried treat. During it all, the AT&T network will be there to make sure the laughs, posts and streams are seamless. In fact, this is one of the largest network-enhanced planned events for AT&T every year – right up there with the Oscars, Emmys and many marquee sporting events.
“Success for us is all about putting the customer at the center of everything we do. It’s about giving them a perfect user experience,” said Ian Sinclair, director of RAN engineering in North Texas, AT&T. “It’s about, not just meeting the goals of all their expectations, it’s about exceeding them. It’s about ensuring they don’t drop a call. It’s ensuring that they have fast, reliable and seamless connectivity throughout.”
And that’s why AT&T has deployed more technology than ever before. That investment includes nine Cells on Wheels (COWs) throughout the fairgrounds. Each COW has Band 14 spectrum antennas for FirstNet® – the only network built specifically for America’s first responders. The company’s goal is for everyone at the fair to be able to enjoy the experience safely.
AT&T customers can also surf the web easier than ever before since we added more Wi-Fi pods this year, which are placed around the park in high traffic areas. Across 74 different access points, we have more than 150 Wi-Fi antennas. This provides not only wireless network overflow, but the ability to maintain super high connectivity in an environment that’s packed with fairgoers like outside the Cotton Bowl; the home of the AT&T Red River Showdown.
“I am so excited about this year’s AT&T Red River Showdown! We’re expecting almost 175,000 people,” said Lynette Aguilar, VPGM of North Texas, AT&T. “When you’re at the Cotton Bowl, our fairgoers can more easily connect with families and friends.”
“[The AT&T Red River Showdown] is a sense of national pride for both the people that come here and for AT&T as a whole, to just be able to put so much time and effort into this, to create an overwhelming technology experience. And we’re just excited to see how our customers will use that,” said Sinclair.
And no matter which team you’re rooting for, or how many corny dog posts (or photos) you share over social media, our network is ready for it.
1 Based on comparison of carrier owned & operated networks. No AT&T on-net coverage in select countries, including Canada.
2 FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
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