Volvo Car Stadium’s cell service ‘uninterrupted,’ tournament director says

Complaints about cell phone reception on Daniel Island are becoming more common by the day. Lately, concerns are swirling about the strength of the signal at the Volvo Car Stadium’s cell tower.

 

At the end of last month, Jan. 28 to be precise, the 13-year-old (2008) tower outside the home to the Volvo Car Open was swapped with a temporary tower. The switch was made to allow for construction on the stadium that plays host to approximately 100,000 fans and tennis stars from 150 countries. 

 

This April, the tennis tournament will endure a fan-less experience due to the ongoing global health pandemic of COVID-19. However, construction and the restoration of the original tower is expected to be complete 10 months from now.

 

As for the tower’s interim replacement, Bob Moran, Volvo Car Open president and tournament director, said he personally isn’t aware of anything alarming with its functionality. 

 

“I am an AT&T customer and my service has been exactly the same and I’m right here,” Moran said.

 

AT&T and Verizon are the cell phone providers under contract for the tower. Both distributors have informed Moran that cell service has been uninterrupted since the exchange.

 

“There was never a down time,” Moran continued. “We were told it was a smooth transition from the large tower to the temporary tower. And we all worked hard to make sure that happened.”

 

Moran noted that there is no impact to the stadium’s construction timeline by not having thousands of fans and all the vehicle and foot traffic around the island during the tennis event. In fact, Moran and his staff were looking forward to a fan-filled experience prior to COVID-19.  

 

“We were hoping to have fans so they could get excited with us,” Moran said.

 

Moran pointed out that the Daniel Island Park side of the island is typically the source of cellular complaints because there is no tower in the vicinity. He reassured that the stadium’s cell service has been reliably unwavering, with no mentions in his circles of being a spotty subject.

 

“The tower is delivering the same service it always has as far as I know,” Moran added. “It’s not going to improve the service on any of the other parts of the island.”