AT&T is bringing out multiple vehicles to bolster cell service at Coachella 2013. (AT&T/Contributed Image)
If you’ve been to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the last few years, you know that at points it would be easier to communicate with your friends via carrier pigeon than cell phones.
However, I’ve already received press releases from two mobile phone carriers about how they’re trying to make the carrier pigeons not happen this year.
RELATED: Check out full coverage of Coachella 2013
AT&T is bringing out its Cell on Wheels, or COW, to the Coachella Festival.
From the press release:
“Shown in this photo is AT&T’s super multi-beam antenna (mounted to a mast on the far left). The super multi-beam antenna has 18-beams total and can handle as much as 18 times the network traffic capacity of a traditional single-beam antenna. Below the super multi-beam antenna is a five-beam antenna and single-beam antenna. The far left COW has a set of five-beam antennas mounted to it as well as a single-beam antenna. The far left COW, along with the middle COW and the right COW provide the radios needed to support coverage at the event. The vehicle next to the right COW (center right overall) supports the microwave dish that is used to bring increased backhaul to the event. The vehicle to the far right is an AT&T Mobile Command Post, where engineers on-site can meet to discuss network traffic movement and implement solutions at the event.”
You know that part in “Wayne’s World” where Garth is talking about how they can beam the show to Frankie Sharp’s limo? Yeah, this reminds me of that.
Other interesting notes–AT&T reported 537 million uploads and downloads and 62 million during the first Coachella weekend of 2012.
-The company has two more COWs with five-beam antennae in the parking, camping and transition areas.
-Coachella 2013 is the first time the 18 beams of the super antenna will be used.
The amazing Laurie Lucas, the retail maven of our business team, also passed on information from Verizon.
Verizon Wireless is also bringing in truck and trailer-mounted portable hardware, including COWs (Cell On Wheels) and COLTs (Cell On Light Trucks) and CROWs (Cellular Repeater On Wheels) and GOATs (Generator On A Trailer).
I love that they all have animal names.
Here’s hoping I don’t completely lose my signal by 5:30 p.m.
As we get ready to cover the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year, we’ll be using the #PECoachella hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. If you want to send us photos, musings and more, we’ll give you some love here in the Audio File blog. Just use the hashtag!
For more Coachella news, photos, interviews and information, visit the iGuide Coachella page. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.