BANG! WIZ! KAPOW! AT&T called in its superhero team for network enhancements during last week’s Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center.

As thousands of comic book fans descended upon San Diego dressed up as their favorite comic book and movie characters with their smartphones in hand, AT&T’s network was ready for all of them – from the superheroes to the villains.

To ensure there was enough network capacity for these socially-savvy attendees to share their favorite moments of Comic-Con with their friends and family, AT&T increased its 4G LTE network capacities at the San Diego Convention Center and in the surrounding areas – including the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego – by 140% compared to last year’s convention.

In addition to boosting capacity to nearby cell sites, we also brought in our superhero trio of network enhancements—a Super COLT (Cell on Light Truck), Super COW (Cell on Wheels), and expanded Wi-Fi inside the convention center. The Super COW and Super COLT feature multi-beam antenna technology, with network capacity equivalent to six traditional single-beam antennas.

With the help of these two “Super” cell sites and increased LTE capacity, we set a new data usage record -- more than 12,135 gigabytes were sent across our network during the four and a half days of the event compared to data usage during the convention in 2013, that’s a 42 percent spike.

  • Check out our comic strip infographic.
  • Check out our map below of downtown San Diego highlighting our improved coverage during Comic-Con.

Bill Smith
Bill Smith President - AT&T Network Operations, AT&T Services Inc