AT&T network improvements now live at Walt Disney World in the form of small cells and Distributed Antenna Systems

Feb 18, 2014 in "MyMagic+"

Posted: Tuesday February 18, 2014 3:11pm EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

Remember last summer when Disney announced that AT&T would become the official wireless provider for both Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort?

Less than a year later, AT&T have already carried out extensive upgrades to the AT&T network at the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks, giving both guests and cast members enhanced performance.

AT&T has completed the successful deployment of more than 350 small cells, 25 DAS systems and 40 repeaters at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort properties. Already deployed are specialty network solutions at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney.

You can read more about it on the AT&T blog, and check out the video below to learn more about the upgrades.

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BearsMom2011Feb 18, 2014

Whoa. I was psyched about this new development, but there are a lot of cynical folks on here. Yikes

tissandtullyFeb 18, 2014

So how is performance on AT&T with these upgrades in place? It's excellent. I can verify, I remember it being terrible at DAK before the sponsorship and now I get LTE everywhere, even WiFi has improved, but I'll still stick to LTE.

wdwmagicFeb 18, 2014

So how is performance on AT&T with these upgrades in place?

wdwmagicFeb 18, 2014

AT&T network improvements now live at Walt Disney World in the form of small cells and Distributed Antenna Systems

flynnibusJul 25, 2013

The biggest thing that people are missing is the AT&T WiFi HotSpots .. Most AT&T phones are programmed to pick up this signal first b/c it's a free service for customers. Which would instantly get AT&T customers off the in park service. I do not believe the other carriers offer a similar service, so this help all carriers and Disney with bandwidth. This wouldn't help Disney - because this is yet another Wifi network that would cause congestion in the limited radio bandwidth in the parks. Sure it would save Disney IP bandwidth.. but at the expense of far more valuable wifi radio 'space'. The last thing Disney wants is WiFi networks in the area that it can't tightly control.

CoolnealJul 24, 2013

plutofan15Jul 24, 2013

The problem with AT&T's 4G network is that is mostly based on an updated version of HSPA+, which is approx 3X slower than LTE. If they are truly throwing LTE coverage into the parks, it might not be so bad. Incorrect again. HSDPA+ is the enhanced version of the 3G UMTS network which served as a bridge from the 3G network to the 4G LTE network. The Disney area has had 4G LTE active since sometime last year.

plutofan15Jul 24, 2013

Not a completely accurate statement. Even my current AT&T iPhone 5 which uses LTE for data still uses GSM technology for voice traffic and if I'm on a voice call drops back to GSM tech for data. There is no widely deployed voice over LTE technology. Some Android phones add additional antenna so you can be on a GSM call and use LTE for data at the same time but even in that case (at least on AT&T) you are still using GSM tech for the voice portion of the session. This is incorrect. It is true that LTE (4G) is strictly data at this point. Voice calls on a LTE device will be carried over the UMTS (3G) network. Only in cases of extremly high usage will voice calls be directed to GSM (2G). GSM is an old, outdated technology that I can guarantee will not be included in the build out of these new sites. In fact, GSM will be gone by 2017.

mktJul 24, 2013

Speaking as a European, It'd be an extremely rare beast that couldn't roam on AT&T. CDMA on the other hand is useless for us. From my trips to Europe, I've seen plenty of quad-band smartphones on the streets which would work on AT&T. But if you have a cheaper phone, it may not work on the other side of the Atlantic.

dreamfinderJul 24, 2013

Instead of partnering with one provider and calling them the official provider, why not make agreements with the major ones so they can let the majority of guests enjoy better service?? This obviously excludes a lot of guests, for instance - I have Verizon and I love them. Cash Money. It may very well go beyond the guest facing cellular networks. AT&T could be offering them discounts on their employee wireless plans, free hardware, bundling with possible discounts on land lines for office use, and heck, even throw in audio conferencing discounts. When a wireless provider wants your business, the big 3 all still have ties to land line and other telecom areas that they can "package" together to provide an attractive bundle. Knowing the types of discounts that surface for a contract of only a few hundred lines, I'd love to see what strings they pull for a contract that involves tens of thousands of devices. It could very well stretch into Disney corporate, and not just WDW. Anyone know if their corporate wireless contract was up for renewal recently????

wdwmagicJul 24, 2013

The problem with AT&T's 4G network is that is mostly based on an updated version of HSPA+, which is approx 3X slower than LTE. If they are truly throwing LTE coverage into the parks, it might not be so bad. AT&T have nearly 100% LTE coverage of the parks, and a good chunk of the Central Florida area. So they are already in a good position at Walt Disney World.

PadraigJul 24, 2013

So is GSM, unless the tourists have a quad-band phone. Speaking as a European, It'd be an extremely rare beast that couldn't roam on AT&T. CDMA on the other hand is useless for us.

BobJul 23, 2013

I don't agree - AT&T looks to be delivering some very solid LTE performance. This was taken at Epcot http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/iphone-5-goes-to-epcot/gallery/21sep2012-iphone-5-demo-photos-at-epcot/16526.htm The problem with AT&T's 4G network is that is mostly based on an updated version of HSPA+, which is approx 3X slower than LTE. If they are truly throwing LTE coverage into the parks, it might not be so bad.