Conventions for political parties happen only every four years and they are the equivalent of a Super Bowl. AT&T is suiting up for the big GOP gathering in Cleveland in July, by bulking up its networks to the tune of nearly $125 million.
While the data upgrades are being performed specifically for the convention, which is expected to attract 50,000 people, much of the infrastructure will be left behind, reports Cleveland.com. AT&T said planned improvements would permanently boost cell service and data capacity at Quicken Loans Arena and the FirstMerit Convention Center of Cleveland, the two main convention sites. And AT&T also will triple its 4G capacity throughout downtown Cleveland and also will boost higher-speed LTE coverage at 165 sites, including restaurants, hotels and at the street level, the news site reported.
“As you migrate and folks are coming in and out of the convention centers, we hope that will be a seamless transition,” said Adam Grzybicki, AT&T Ohio president.
The announcement came during a news conference last week at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum at which convention officials named AT&T the official communications, video and technology provider to the convention. Cleveland.com advised readers to expect the RNC to announce more sponsorships before all is said and done — corporations are one of the primary sources of funding for the convention, which is expected to cost at least $124 million. At the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, the company made $15 million worth of improvements to boost the city’s data bandwidth. AT&T also made donations worth $3 million to the Tampa nonpartisan host committee that helped raise money for the event, campaign finance records show.
Other cell carriers plan to upgrade their Cleveland networks during the Republican convention too, according to convention CEO Jeff Larson. “But AT&T is our lead company on this,” he said.
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