Attending a sports game at a stadium can be fun, but when the crowded stands are filled with people trying to use their phones at the same time, it’s hard to get good cellular reception. AT&T is launching a new service to beef up cellular service in congested venues like these, and you don’t need to be an AT&T subscriber to use it.
Turbo Live by AT&T provides priority cellular performance during big sports and concert events, and will first roll out in 10 US stadiums in early February. Yes, that’ll be in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, if you’re going to be in Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area.
AT&T has yet to formally announce pricing. Currently, there’s a web page to sign up for announcements. However, Rob Pegoraro at PCMag got more details from AT&T spokesperson Michael Delgado, who wrote to him in an email, “Turbo Live starts at $5 per event with a variable structure that changes depending on the caliber of the event.”
Pegoraro said that Turbo Live is not an ongoing subscription open to any customer: “Instead, it’s a power-up offered only in designated spots and subject to capacity limits and variable rates that might evoke surge pricing.”
A spokesperson for AT&T confirmed that Turbo Live is using AT&T’s existing 5G network that covers the following 10 stadiums:
• Alabama (Bryant Denny Stadium)
• Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
• Chicago (United Center)
• Houston (NRG Stadium)
• Las Vegas (Sphere)
• Los Angeles (Intuit Dome)
• Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
• New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)
• San Antonio (Alamodome)
• San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium)
• Seattle (Lumen Field)
AT&T is also working to expand coverage in Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Foxborough (Gillette Stadium) and Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium).
You’ll need a 5G-capable phone, which AT&T says may need to be unlocked, and an open eSIM slot for activation.
The latter detail is what makes Turbo Live available to Verizon and T-Mobile customers with unlocked phones: The feature is installed as a secondary eSIM. A Connect on Demand app will provide instructions for setting it up, which will involve a “one-time payment method” with no carrier commitment needed, according to AT&T.
Running a separate service as a secondary eSIM is becoming more common. It’s one of the easiest ways to get international phone service when you’re traveling, and is also how T-Mobile offers its T-Satellite feature to customers of other carriers for $10 a month.
I’ve reached out to AT&T for more details.
