Jan 16, 2009 09:00 ET
Sprint’s Ready For Some Football: Outlines Network Prep for Super Bowl XLIII
TAMPA, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- Jan 16, 2009
Sprint (NYSE: S), the official wireless telecommunications service
sponsor of the National Football League (NFL), has its game face on for
Super Bowl XLIII, Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. Sprint’s capital deployments to
enhance its wireless networks included more than $49 million throughout
Florida in 2008, including more than $11 million in the greater Tampa
area. The network improvements help ensure coverage, capacity and
network dependability during Super Bowl week for Sprint customers and
the NFL at Raymond James Stadium, throughout Tampa and along Interstate
4 up to Orlando.
“We’re looking forward to our own game-day performance,” said Richard
Blanc, regional vice president of network for Sprint. “Super Bowl
preparations are a major undertaking and our networks are ready. We’ve
enhanced coverage in the downtown area, around Raymond James Stadium, at
the Super Bowl Media Center located at the Tampa Convention Center, at
hotels and other area landmarks, and we’ll be closely monitoring our
networks to ensure customers have the best possible experience.”
More than 70,000 fans are expected to attend Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond
James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and millions of viewers
are expected to tune in to The Big Game with family and friends.
Sprint has fortified its wireless and wireline networks to accommodate
the expected increase in voice and data traffic. Network enhancements
include:
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18 new cell sites in the Tampa area to enhance coverage in and around
the stadium.
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Distributed Antenna System (DAS) in the stadium to enhance Sprint’s
wireless coverage and capacity and to enhance 3G data coverage and
capacity for high-speed mobile broadband use.
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In-building coverage enhancements at area hotels.
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Three Cell Sites on Wheels (COWs) deployed near the stadium for
additional coverage.
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One COW deployed in downtown Tampa, enhancing coverage for area events.
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Optimized and extended the NFL's existing nationwide Sprint Global
MPLS enterprise network into Tampa for the Super Bowl.
-
Implemented Sprint Dedicated Internet service to support the secure
access and critical communication needs of the teams as they prepare
for this event.
“Network dependability is critical and Sprint is instrumental to the
success of Super Bowl XLIII,” said Dave Port, vice president of
information technology for the NFL. “Fans, NFL personnel and members of
the media all benefit from Sprint’s preparation, expertise and network
enhancements.”
Since 2006, Sprint has invested more than $15 billion in capital largely
to enhance its networks. Across the country, thousands of cities
received the benefit of this major investment. Sprint’s wireless
networks are performing at their best-ever levels, and independent
third-party reports confirm Sprint’s networks are performing very well
relative to the competition’s.
In addition to operating two high-performing wireless networks, Sprint
operates America’s most dependable 3G network*, providing customers
access to the mobile Web, NFL Mobile Live, e-mail and various social
networking sites – wirelessly and on the go. Gizmodo, a well-respected
technology blog with more than 80 million page views a month in traffic,
recently announced that consistent testing of Sprint’s 3G network in
eight cities selected by the blog showed Sprint unequivocally beating
both AT&T and Verizon in download performance speeds.
Current and prospective customers can view coverage maps using the
Sprint Coverage Tool, which is available at www.sprint.com/coverage
and at self-service, touch-screen kiosks at many Sprint retail stores.
Related Links:
* Dependability based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G
data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the
top 50 most populous markets, June to November 2008.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including
two wireless networks serving nearly 51 million customers at the end of
the third quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant
national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier
1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
Media:
Sprint
Dave Mellin, 720-840-4788
dave.mellin@sprint.com
or
Kristin
Wallace, 404-649-1625
kristin.c.wallace@sprint.com