A leading cell phone carrier is shifting gears into the fast lane of motorsports, joining the Acura Grand Prix Long Beach for the first time — to turbo charge connectivity for spectators.
The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach has nabbed AT&T as a new sponsor for this weekend’s “200-mph beach party.” And as part of the partnership, the telecommunications giant has rolled out a “Cell on Wheels” mobile cell site to boost the cellular network for its customers during the 49th annual Grand Prix of Long Beach, which will take place Friday to Sunday, April 19-21. The company will also showcase its in-car Wi-Fi data plan, enabling passengers to enjoy movies, games and more through their vehicles’ built-in Wi-Fi hotspot.
“This was a deliberate attempt to fill an area of concern,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.
The association conducts an annual post-race survey to assess attendee satisfaction, Michaelian said. In recent years, race officials began noticing a significant rise in complaints about cell phone coverage. Upon deeper investigation, these complaints were linked specifically to AT&T customers.
“So we set out to make a concerted effort to see what we could do about at least eliminating or at least providing some added service during our event,” Michaelian said. “So to do that, we went to AT&T and offered them the opportunity to become a sponsor.”
AT&T, for its part, expressed enthusiasm for joining the Grand Prix.
The telecommunications company already maintains a strong relationship with Acura, the event’s titular sponsor, through the carrier’s in-car Wi-Fi service, which AT&T offers in collaboration with multiple carmakers, including Honda, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, and Buick.
So joining the event is the perfect opportunity to promote this data plan, said Matt Harden, assistant vice president of AT&T Connected Solutions.
Race officials, in fact, approached the carrier last year about the sponsorship, but the request came too late for the 2023 Grand Prix, Harden said.
“But we were very excited and told them, look, it’s still on the table for next year; we would love to support it,” he said.
The Grand Prix then requested the help for this year’s event.
“The request (came) with enough time,” Harden said, “that we were able to jump in and be able to provide the support that we’re looking to provide next weekend.”
AT&T has deployed the portable Cell on Wheels in a designated area off Shoreline Drive on the Marina side of the racetrack for the three-day race.
Portable cell towers are used in situations where signal quality can diminish, particularly at large events in typically low-traffic areas, Harden said.
“We do this a lot for big concert venues where there’s going to be a lot of people in a short period of time taking videos, pictures of the events that are occurring. (They) want to get those out to their various social media platforms, friends, family, all of that,” Harden said. “So by bringing in this Cell on Wheels, what we’re able to do is boost the cellular network coverage and increase the capacity.”
At times, the network may still experience congestion depending on consumer demand, Harden said. But AT&T engineers will be on site to monitor the capacity and performance of the cell tower to ensure “the best possible performance out of the network for the fans in attendance,” he added.
This partnership will also encourage folks to use an app the Grand Prix launched last year that helps visitors get up-to-date personalized race schedules, and locations for food and drinks, among other things, Michaelian said.
“It made for a perfect match between what we were trying to accomplish, what Acura was trying to accomplish, and in theory, what AT&T wanted to be able to provide in terms of accommodations for our customers,” Michaelian said. “So that’s how the whole agreement came together. And so in our minds, it’s a win-win-win for all three parties.”
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