PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Construction of the NFL Draft stage and other structures in and around Lambeau Field and Titletown are still two weeks away, but plenty of infrastructural work behind the scenes has been going on for years.
A big focus is being put on cellphone and internet service for not only draft attendees, but also residents — as big draft crowds could slow connectivity down.
“Connectivity is always a concern when there’s that many people,” said Rick Brooks, chief technology officer with Cellcom.
With upwards of a quarter of a million people expected in the Lambeau Field/Titletown area for the NFL Draft, companies like Cellcom and UScellular are making adjustments.
“Anytime we have big a event like this, we take a look at the capacity needs — what we estimate for customers to make sure we’re supporting our customers and the community,” said Scott Guyette, senior manager of system performance at UScellular.
That support, in the case of the NFL Draft, is the addition of bandwidth in the area.
Cellphone and internet providers are working to add equipment, both permanent and temporary, to the area to handle the extra traffic.
According to Brooks, “We put something up called COWs. A little bit different from what you guys think of cows. So, Cell on Wheels is what it looks like. Essentially, it’s portable cell sites that we can temporarily place in different areas to where there will be large amounts of crowds.”
While the COWs will go up closer to the start of the draft, technicians from multiple carriers have already been working to install more permanent equipment in the stadium district area.
“You can imagine, if you have a router at home and you have multiple users on the router, eventually you run out space on that capacity. And so what we’re doing is, we’re increasing the hose size in order to make sure you have more capacity to meet those demands,” added Guyette.
The new equipment will not only help to keep people connected during the draft, but the benefits will be felt long after the crowds have gone home.
Guyette said, “This should help any of our customers that are coming in for the draft and it should continue to maintain continuity for the existing customers in the area.”
Carriers confirmed connectivity won’t be an issue during the draft.
Brooks added, “We’re ready for our customers we serve. We’re ready for the community members that come, and even the fans that are coming from probably worldwide to Green Bay for this historic event.”
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