AT&T uses COWs to boost SXSW coverage

I was down there for the music week and these COWs really worked! No dropped calls, all my texts went through quickly, great 3G coverage. Much better than NYC :)
I also have to add that the iPhone 4 really shined during this event. I kept track of my ever changing schedule (due to the impossibility of getting in most shows), how to get everywhere, texting like mad, taking photos, etc. I didn't bring a laptop and I didn't miss it.

Hopefully they take these to CES next year.. service was brutal there.. A joke when you consider it is the consumer ELECTRONICS SHOW. Ya there might be a few cell phones and heavy users there???

Are they going to use COWs at CES next year? 2010 CES AT+T coverage was HORRIBLE.

I like COWs. COWs give us MILK from which we make yummy, yummy CHEESE. Though, I must admit, I love CHEESE from SHEEP and from GOATs also. Mmmmm... Roquefort... Ahhhhhh... I am glad that I live in an area where AT&T has good service.. I've only had problems on one day in the last couple of years. Sadly though, many people do have problems. The answer isn't more COWs, it's cell towers. From my experience working for AT&T (I quit last year, save your hate mail) unfortunately cell coverage is better in poorer areas than in wealthier ones. For some reason people in nice areas vote down more towers. "Oh God, we don't want one of those unsightly things in our neighborhood!" No no no no no, then they bitch until blue in the face about reception. It sure sucks to have lots of money, doesn't it?

Here's hoping that AT&T gets it right at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this year. Service has been pretty poor since the advent of the iPhone, so I hope they bring COWs to Wisconsin ;-)

I would like to see ATT do this for Longhorns football games. In the stadium, there is a sign that states in case of emergency, text this number. That is a joke because there is no services from about 30 minutes before the game until the game is nearly over. The one advantage of a losing season is that cell coverage was better near the end of last year.

Yeah AT&T has already done it. It will enhance its capability, i think.
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AT&T has already set up the COWs for the CTIA show in Orlando for next week. They're hidden across the street from the convention center hiding behind trees. Tricky tricky.

I'm a student at the University of Texas right up the road. AT&T uses a similar Distributed Antenna System to provide better cell service on our campus. I recently switched from Sprint because I found the service level to be abysmal (dropped over 60% of my calls, data horribly slow) since moving to Austin. AT&T has actually been very reliable and fast, though I stay mainly within the UT area, so I can't really speak for the rest of Austin.

There's a tour of the inside of a COW on http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/17/att-cow-cell-wheels-tour-look-att-boosting-network-capacity-sxsw-2011/