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Can You Hear Me Now?

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By RICHARD MULLINS

rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: November 17, 2008

TAMPA - If your cell phone seems to work a lot better lately around downtown Tampa and the West Shore area, you can thank the Super Bowl.

All three major cellular carriers are rushing to put up more cellular antennas downtown and around Raymond James Stadium, Ybor City and various hotel districts, to double calling capacity before the National Football League's biggest game.

The stadium itself is getting enough new cellular transmitters to handle a small city - a permanent upgrade that will give a jolt of speed to the surrounding area.

"We're thinking that the first thing everyone will do when they get to Tampa is whip out their phone, take a picture or video of themselves, and send it to their friends, saying, 'Hey, I'm at the Super Bowl! Whoo hoo!,'" said Chris Lee, a wireless contractor for Verizon.

The last thing a big brand-name cell phone company needs is a slowdown or breakdown of its network just as the eyes of the sports world converge on Tampa Bay.

Verizon is spending more than a million dollars on new equipment in the stadium alone, Lee said, including one new cellular zone aimed down at the parking lots for tailgaters, and another string of antennas pointed into the stadium for fans.

As a backup, Verizon technicians will work during the game in a new 10-by-20-foot steel hut control room installed under the top-level, southeast bleachers.
Sprint wireless added significant new capacity in the stadium in the past few months. AT&T added two new cell sites in the stadium - one on the east end and one on the west - and boosted its whole stadium system with more "3G" capacity. New transmitters also went up in downtown Tampa, Ybor City and around several of the largest hotels.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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