There's a buzz in the air. And it’s not just because the July 18-21 Republican National Convention is approaching. It’s the cell signals bouncing off the more than 165 mostly permanent upgrades AT&T is making to Cleveland’s Long Term Evolution sites, which make uploads and downloads faster.
During the convention, the company will also set up eight special antennae systems at The Q and other areas of downtown, along with cell towers on wheels. The upgrades triple AT&T’s capacity downtown.
“You may all of a sudden notice that the street poles are a little bit taller,” says Christy Moore, network area manager, who also worked on AT&T’s efforts during the 2012 Tampa, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, conventions. “That is an antenna that has been put up that’s distributing the mobility networks.”
The lasting upgrade is building up the backbone — cables installed in warrens underground. AT&T is adding between 50,000 and 75,000 feet of fiber cable to their network. The cables run between The Q, the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland and Public Square.
“We’re not just hitting the main venues, but the other areas as well,” says Moore. “We’ll be able to respond to the needs of the convention but also long-term for downtown.”
The additional cables permanently increase AT&T’s bandwidth downtown. “The industry standard is 144 strands of fiber in a sheath,” says Moore. “Most of our products and services run off of one or two strands.”
Although plans are still in progress, AT&T also may bring in extra workers from Akron or Columbus to ensure the upgrades go smoothly.
“These are left-behind services for our residents,” says AT&T Ohio president Adam Grzybicki. “We’re going to have a rip-roaring network.”
