> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.stadiumitforum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # AT&T upgrades cellular DAS at LSU's Tiger Stadium - URL: https://www.stadiumitforum.com/at-t-upgrades-cellular-das-at-lsus-tiger-stadium/ - Published: 2026-10-29T16:20:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-29T16:23:17.000Z - Author: Paul Kapustka - Tags: stadium cellular, stadium wireless, Amphenol, Andrew, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, DAS, stadium DAS, 5G, LSU, Tiger Stadium, MatSing, Ericsson, Paul Kapustka, Stadium IT Forum There are no more cellular "dead zones" at [Death Valley](https://lsusports.net/facilities/tiger-stadium?ref=stadiumitforum.com), thanks to AT&T's recent $45 million upgrade of the cellular distributed antenna system (DAS) at Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium. Completed ahead of this year's football season, the neutral-host network for the 102,321-capacity venue in Baton Rouge, La., is modeled after several other recent "Tier 1" DAS upgrades led by AT&T, including the [extensive DAS refresh](https://about.att.com/story/2025/connectivity-at-superdome.html?ref=stadiumitforum.com) at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl 59. According to Thomas Gandy, director of engineering for AT&T's Gulf Coast Territory, the new DAS inside Tiger Stadium uses advanced gear from Ericsson, Andrew (an Amphenol company) and MatSing to support 92 total sectors of neutral-host coverage. Verizon and T-Mobile, Gandy said, are active coverage partners for the DAS, which was operational ahead of LSU's Sept. 5 home opener against Clemson. AT&T also has a separate overlay of 28 zones of millimeter wave coverage as well as five sectors of coverage for the FirstNet public-safety network, spectrum that can be shared when not in use by first responders. In all, Gandy said the new DAS provides 15 times the capacity of the previous cellular infrastructure, which Gandy said was owned by a third-party operator. ### **Upgrading to match increased wireless demand** According to Gandy, all three major U.S. wireless carriers were customers of the previous DAS infrastructure, one that had legacy equipment that didn't support newer cell technology or spectrum. In 2025, Gandy said AT&T negotiated to purchase the rights to the DAS, in part to ensure that the venue could support the new technologies and spectrum bands needed for high-capacity demand. After a "design year" in 2025, active replacement of the infrastructure started in the spring of 2026 and was completed before the first home football game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/90/aa902c11-c021-4854-8f23-d4970d5afba2/content/images/2026/10/matsing-lsu.jpg) **MatSing ball antennas on top of a light pole at Tiger Stadium* For the new design, AT&T chose a back-end system from Andrew, the all-digital [ERA DAS](https://www.andrew.com/products/in-building/distributed-antenna-system-das/?ref=stadiumitforum.com), which uses a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) to link to the Ericsson baseband equipment. According to Gandy, the system allows for the elimination of the traditional DAS analog conversion stage, keeping the entire system digital. That feature allowed AT&T to substantially reduce the amount of power-hungry, bulky telco gear needed, resulting in much lower power consumption for radios and air conditioning, and a huge reduction in head-end room geographical space required to host the DAS. "With the new system we don't have the big, hot radios anymore," Gandy said. "It's an elegant solution with low loss and low latency, and it takes up about one-fifth the head-end space of a traditional RF-fed DAS." For the seating bowl coverage, AT&T added some of the distinctive ball-shaped MatSing hyper-directional lens antennas, which provide a signal that can stretch connectivity across greater distances while also being highly concentrated. Two of MatSing's largest antennas, which house multiple radios, are mounted on top of light poles on the east and west sides of the stadium. In addition to covering parts of the seating bowl, Gandy said the MatSing antennas will also be used to cover field seating for future planned concerts at the stadium. "We've had great luck with the MatSing antennas," said Gandy, who said AT&T learned some "clever tricks" using the MatSing gear in the DAS upgrade at the Superdome, where the installation performed at record data-consumption rates. "We're incredibly pleased with the MatSing antenna performance \[at LSU\]," Gandy added. In total, AT&T said it used 800-plus antennas from Andrew, 20 from MatSing and another five antennas from Galtronics in the new DAS design. In addition to the coverage inside the stadium, Gandy said the AT&T team paid special attention to the 18 zones of outdoor DAS (oDAS), to ensure that fans could download their digital tickets while walking to the stadium, and to stay connected while they "cooked gumbo" and enjoyed cold beverages at pregame tailgates. ### **A 'whole lot of traffic' on the new DAS** Though Gandy didn't share any exact traffic data, he said the network saw "a whole lot of traffic" both at the home opener against Clemson and at a following game against Texas A&M. The school, Gandy said, is very happy with the new network's performance so far, showing it ready for more big games, like this week's contest with Alabama followed by Texas a week later. "We had a great first game, and then we really got it dialed in for the second game," said Gandy of the new DAS. "LSU and the Tiger Foundation are great partners, and they know our technical capabilities."