ESD projects often have firm deadlines, but a recent one simply couldn’t be missed – or fans at Sunday’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis would suffer limited and slow cellphone service.
ESD was brought in by Ryan Construction to conduct commissioning for what can best be described as a baby data center in the basement of the Mall of America. The space will provide cellphone bandwidth for the tens of thousands of fans, from Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere who will descend upon U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend (along with service for Mall of America patrons and beyond). The two-month project had to be finished before the holidays so a major telecommunications company could move its equipment in to prepare for the big game.
Sometimes with data center work, it’s hard to see the impact. But for the more than 100 million people who watch Sunday’s game on television and see fans taking selfies, videotaping Justin Timberlake’s halftime performance and more, the impact of ESD’s commissioning team will be as clear as a perfectly thrown spiral.