Texans Fans Unhappy With Mobile Service At Reliant Stadium

Fans Frustrated By Cell Phone Service At Reliant Stadium During Games

Texans fans are "grumbling about mobile service" at Reliant Stadium, according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. A request for comments on cellular service at the stadium, "posted Friday afternoon on the Chronicle's website, produced about 80 responses in two hours, and reviews were generally negative." Fans who "brought smartphones or iPads to the game to watch other games on DirecTV's Sunday Ticket said they were so frustrated by poor service that they may opt to stay home next season." Verizon customers "were generally more satisfied that customers of Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T, some of whom suggested the antenna system at Reliant was rigged to provide preferential service to Verizon because of its sponsorship agreements with the team and the NFL." Reliant Park officials said that the stadium is "configured along the lines of virtually every other stadium or arena, with a distributed antenna system that provides access to customers of all mobile providers." Reliant Park GM Mark Miller said that the system at the stadium and at Reliant Center "is designed to handle traffic for the more than 100,000 people who visit the area during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and for technology-heavy events such as the Offshore Technology Conference." Miller: "Everybody works off one set of antennas, and I know that they are looking at a 4G upgrade to the system. I don't have a recollection of a lot of issues coming to our customer service people involving cell phone service. We work with the carriers to provide the best possible service" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/13).