UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When football fans visit the fully revitalized West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium in 2027, upgrades to the home of the Nittany Lions will also extend to the cellular experience, thanks to a new agreement with AT&T.
At its meeting today (Sept. 17), the Penn State Board of Trustees Finance and Investment Committee approved a 10-year agreement with AT&T to update cellular connectivity at Beaver Stadium.
While the updated cellular technology will not be ready until the 2027 season, AT&T officials said the company is also making interim updates and improvements to stadium cellular for the current season.
The agreement calls for AT&T to install a new distributed antenna system (DAS) that will help fans, students, staff, teams, media and visitors remain connected during football games and other major events at Beaver Stadium.
David Horton, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer at Penn State, said the updates will be a neutral-host network, meaning users of any cell phone service will be able to take advantage of the new upgrades, not just AT&T subscribers.
The company will entirely replace older technology it installed in Beaver Stadium in 2013, providing five times the current coverage and 18 times more bandwidth capacity, making it easier for visitors and fans to connect to cellular service within the stadium on gamedays.
The new DAS will include approximately three times the number of antennas currently deployed throughout Beaver Stadium and will add C-band spectrum to help deliver enhanced wireless coverage and increase network capability across the venue.
AT&T will continue to work with Penn State in the years to come to help meet the connectivity demands of fans and visitors at Beaver Stadium.