Casting a Vote for Seamless Connectivity

While national political conventions in the U.S. may bring to mind lively state delegations and energetic speeches from the podium, you may think less about the importance of wireless connectivity. However, robust and reliable connectivity is a requirement for today’s modern conventions where thousands of participants use huge amounts of data, as they upload videos, post content to social media, or get stories to editors.

In 2024, American Tower was proud to support some of the venues playing host to the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) by ensuring their world-class wireless networks were ready to meet the demands of the moment. Whether it was extending the Distributed Antenna System (DAS) into a major new area at the Baird Center in Milwaukee or upgrading to higher-performance C-band 5G to enhance guest experiences at Chicago’s United Center, American Tower collaborated with venue staff, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and contractors to exceed connectivity expectations on time for these major national gatherings.

The work to deliver a superior wireless experience in the unique environment of a political convention starts well before the opening gavel drops. We engaged in discussions with the staff at these venues and collaborated closely with each party’s convention planners, conducting regular conference calls to ensure seamless coordination throughout the planning process. Security is paramount at forums that host our nation’s political leaders, and we followed extensive security clearance procedures and credentialing requirements in each city.

American Tower was designated as a Critical Technology Provider for both conventions, giving us special access to the sites to do our construction work and provide event support. For our operations team, security requirements meant spare equipment needed to be staged at key locations in advance, knowing entry and exit wouldn’t be possible once security lockdowns were in place. We also worked closely with MNOs in the pre-event period, so they could test and optimize their equipment.

The American Tower team left nothing to chance once the conventions were underway, conducting real-time network monitoring, staying in close communication with our MNO partners on any performance-related issues with the DAS, interfacing directly with federal and local agency officials, and having operations staff on-site to support the events. The extensive preparation and on-site vigilance paid off, with the wireless networks delivering strong performance during both the RNC and DNC. Notably, data usage at the RNC surpassed that of major sporting events, and the crowd at the DNC on Thursday night was the largest ever recorded at the United Center.

As the confetti came down on each convention’s concluding night, leaders from Baird Center and United Center recognized their partnership with American Tower had not only served them well during their time in the national spotlight, but also positioned them favorably for prominent events to come.