AT&T's cell on wheels and cell on light truck systems set up in downtown San Diego. Courtesy AT&T
AT&T’s cell on wheels and cell on light truck systems set up in downtown San Diego. Courtesy AT&T

With well over 100,000 people descending on San Diego later this week for Comic-Con, AT&T has set up temporary cell phone towers to handle the traffic.

Data usage at Comic-Con has grown nearly 700 percent since 2011, and last year attendees used more than 15.3 terabytes of of mobile data searching the Internet and uploading photos.

“We expect it to keep rising this year with the sudden popularity surge of apps like Pokémon Go,” an AT&T spokesperson said.

Special equipment set up for Comic-Con includes:

  • A “Super” COLT (cell on light truck) at the San Diego Convention Center
  • A “Super” COW (cell on wheels) in the Gaslamp Quarter to serve outdoor events, after parties, and restaurants
  • A distributed antenna system network inside the Hilton Bayfront Hotel
  • Cell sites inside the San Diego Convention Center

The carrier is also providing free WiFi for its customers inside the sprawling convention center.

Chris Jennewein is founder and senior editor of Times of San Diego.