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Network overloaded at college ballgame?

D

DrFillster

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 23, 2008
93
0
Okay, for the second week in a row, my 3g has great reception at the college football game but can't make phone calls or browse the internet. Tried it on EDGE and 3G.


As soon as I leave the stadium area, phone works like a champ.


Can the network really be that overloaded? I've never had this problem with other providers.

Love to know your thoughts!

Phil
 
this happened to me at Yankee Stadium a few weeks back I thought it was because of the iPhone reception issues but my friends iPhone was working with no problem.
 
It happens sometimes when you get a large amount of people all together in one spot. Too many phones wanting to pull too much power for the cells in the area.
 
Who were the other providers?

Figure a tower might be able to handle up to 1,000 users at a time... so in a stadium with 50,000+ people...

Plus while you're in the stadium, your signal is attenuated as if you were in a building, so how many towers can you see?

Some places bring in a portable tower for each game to help out.

As for 3G data, ATT is infamous for only adding one or two HSDPA channels per tower. Yes, you can share that among many people (because it's over CDMA instead of GSM), but it's not much.
 
Warbrain said:
It happens sometimes when you get a large amount of people all together in one spot. Too many phones wanting to pull too much power for the cells in the area.
Click to expand...

Ever since I first started taking my cell phone to Texas Longhorns football games back in the 90's, I saw this behavior. It's not so much a draw on power as it is that there is no available bandwidth for the carrier to complete your call. Cell networks aren't designed so that every customer can be talking on their phones at the same time. And when an area is congested with users, the airwaves get congested too. Cell companies usually bring in COWs (Cell On Wheels) to help serve as many customers as possible.
 
Prolly makes sense that Verizon has a huge display out front of the stadium. They probably have the COWs to satisfy demand. Loving the 3g if only Apple had gone with Verizon!


calvy said:
Ever since I first started taking my cell phone to Texas Longhorns football games back in the 90's, I saw this behavior. It's not so much a draw on power as it is that there is no available bandwidth for the carrier to complete your call. Cell networks aren't designed so that every customer can be talking on their phones at the same time. And when an area is congested with users, the airwaves get congested too. Cell companies usually bring in COWs (Cell On Wheels) to help serve as many customers as possible.
Click to expand...
 
Yep happens all the time for me at Michigan Stadium. It doesn't matter if I am in the stadium or around it, there are just too many people around to do anything. It really pisses me off too, because I can't get any scores to other games while I am there.
 
Happens to me down here at the bright house. It's annoying, but I usually make a phone call ( or voicemail) and I get any text messages or anything I may have missed.
 
Happened to me at the ballpark at arlington.. Kind of annoying but I was more interested in the red sox winning.
 
kdarling said:
As for 3G data, ATT is infamous for only adding one or two HSDPA channels per tower. Yes, you can share that among many people (because it's over CDMA instead of GSM), but it's not much.
Click to expand...

That's probably why I get such horrible 3G speeds at my dorm here in New York City but I get incredible 3G speeds at my house in the suburbs of Miami...
 
DrFillster said:
Okay, for the second week in a row, my 3g has great reception at the college football game but can't make phone calls or browse the internet. Tried it on EDGE and 3G.


As soon as I leave the stadium area, phone works like a champ.


Can the network really be that overloaded? I've never had this problem with other providers.
Click to expand...

I had this problem for years before on Cingular. Never had this issue with Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon phones. My iPhone is useless even in smaller crowds like Cubs games.

It's no wonder that AT&T has had so many 3G capacity issues with so many new phones on the network.

I have a Sprint mobile broadband dongle and that usually gets 3 to 4 times faster transfer speeds than using the Netshare on the iPhone on AT&T's overloaded network.

The phone was good enough to get me to switch back but good lord AT&T is lousy.
 
I've noticed this as well at a couple of the Colorado Rockies games. I'm pretty sure it will be just as bad at the Broncos/Jaguars game to. Like others have said, I think it is just the network being overloaded in that particular area due to the extra 30,000 users in the area.
 
DrFillster said:
Prolly makes sense that Verizon has a huge display out front of the stadium. They probably have the COWs to satisfy demand. Loving the 3g if only Apple had gone with Verizon!
Click to expand...

Apple did go to Verizon first. It was Verizon who said no to Apple.
 
gotrees said:
I had this problem for years before on Cingular. Never had this issue with Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon phones. My iPhone is useless even in smaller crowds like Cubs games.

It's no wonder that AT&T has had so many 3G capacity issues with so many new phones on the network.

I have a Sprint mobile broadband dongle and that usually gets 3 to 4 times faster transfer speeds than using the Netshare on the iPhone on AT&T's overloaded network.

The phone was good enough to get me to switch back but good lord AT&T is lousy.
Click to expand...

It's all about capcity. Each wirless tech has the same limitations. You can only cram so many calls into a segment of the spectrum. So, if Verizon, Sprint, etc have few customers in your area, you're good to go. But with AT&T, Cingular, whatever, where I've always lived, as the popular carrier to choose, I'd ALWAYS have this happen when I went to support my Longhorns through my college years. This is way before the iPhone was even a wet dream.

Anyway, yes, it happens, sorry, tech limitation. Text is slightly more reliable. Or, like I used to do, keep redialing until it connects. If the other person you are trying to reach is also at the game, then most likely it'll go to voicemail, but you can play voicemail tag.
 
It takes me FOREVER to send texts/make calls at most gatherings of 40,000+ people. I was in Huntington last night for the WVU @ Marshall game, & it was a system overload.
 
at&t has just completed some upgrades around Coors Field in Denver. Good news for Rockies fans. Hopefully, they will start doing this at other stadiums as well.

DenverPost.com said:
Dropped calls, delayed text messages and sluggish Internet speeds should be long gone for AT&T subscribers — notably iPhone users — when they catch a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field.

The nation's No. 2 wireless carrier has outfitted the home of the Rockies with cutting- edge technology, blanketing the ballpark with 160 antennas and building the equivalent of eight 3G cell towers on site.
Click to expand...

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_16037052#1592593
 
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