AT&T Customers Set New Data Usage Record at the Big Game

^{_{Download story (PDF)}}

Touchdown! AT&T Customers Score a New Record at The Big Game

AT&T’s Customers Took Advantage of Massive System Deployment for Near-Seamless Connectivity at Pro Football’s Biggest Game

The confetti has been cleared from the gridiron, and pro football crowned a new champion. However, when it came to connectivity at this year’s Big Game, AT&T’s customers were the winners.

Before the clock hit 00:00 in Inglewood, California, AT&T’s customers had already set a new data usage record on the way to logging 13 TB of data usage^* over LTE and 5G. And it wasn’t just quick plays on the field. Some fans enjoyed super-fast speeds, racking up more than 3 TB of 5G+ data traffic – which is end zone dance worthy!

Check out this quarter-by-quarter breakdown.

Here are additional highlights:

• New record of 13 TB data usage before and during the game
• Approximately a 28% increase in data usage from 2020’s game
• 112K voice calls completed in and around the stadium

All these stats illustrate how network connectivity prep and expansion made it easier than ever for fans to stream or upload selfies, celebration dances and other big moments on the AT&T network. To break it down, that’s the equivalent of streaming more than 110,000 hours of music or firing off more than half a million emails! Forget just streaming the game and halftime show, 13 TB of data is the same as streaming high-def videos for more than 4,500 hours!

“We worked around the clock to make sure our customers could flawlessly upload, download and stream those high energy moments from the game,” said Asad Paracha, RAN Director, AT&T. “With all our prep and investment, we were confident going into Sunday’s game, and we’re thrilled it all came together to deliver the best-in-class experience for the tens of thousands of AT&T customers and first responders in and around the stadium.”

Investing in Our Network to Deliver for Customers

To land those extra points, our teams created a playbook like no other. Work began well in advance of game day with employees adding thousands of cell sites and feet of fiber in and around the stadium.

We executed on our playbook to build and bolster America’s Most Reliable 5G Network¹, fastest internet² and FirstNet^®, the nation’s only network built with and for public safety. Our network teams outfitted the stadium with 10 times the capacity from 2020’s game. That included nearly 260 AT&T 5G+ nodes.

Prioritizing First Responders

With FirstNet, Built with AT&T, public safety’s emergency communications didn’t have to compete with attendees’ voice and data traffic. This is vital as, on average, a first responder on FirstNet used 2+ times more data for their critical communications at the Big Game compared to a fan. Last night, first responders conducted over 320,000 data sessions and roughly 2,300 voice calls. That’s like streaming more than 100 hours of HD video without interference or interruption from fan selfies and social posts.

Plus, with AT&T Enhanced Push-to-Talk, first responders at the Big Game maintained interoperable communications regardless of device. By augmenting their existing radio system and seamlessly integrating FirstNet – removing longstanding jurisdictional and discipline-specific barriers – public safety on 2-way radios and smartphones stayed connected throughout the excitement.

Learn more about our public safety-specific preparations for last night’s Big Game here.