"While 4G LTE will certainly deliver much improved speeds and service quality to AT&T customers, it's tough for me to predict right now how service will be impacted -- until we pack over 150,000 people in and around Bryant Denny Stadium," Lance Skelly, director of communications at AT&T's corporate office, said.
The network, which AT&T pegs as the nation's fastest in a press release, is promoted to include faster speeds, faster response time and more efficient use of wireless spectrum.
"We continue to see demand for mobile Internet skyrocket, and our 4G LTE network in Tuscaloosa responds to what customers want from their mobile experience - more, faster, on the best devices," AT&T Alabama President Fred McCallum said.
Though time will tell if Crimson Tide fans can text, call and browse more efficiently in the fall, Skelly said AT&T is committed to expanding coverage in the state.
"Just between 2010-2012, we invested nearly $60 million in our Tuscaloosa area wireless and wireline networks, and nearly $1.4 billion across the entire state, with a focus on expanding 4G LTE mobile internet coverage and enhancing the overall performance of its networks," he said.
Verizon Wireless launched its 4G LTE network in Alabama's largest cities in 2011 and has since added smaller markets including Tuscaloosa, Florence, Muscle Shoals, Greenville and Troy. The network was introduced to the Tuscaloosa area in April 2012.