Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

CES tech show breaks data, exhibit space records

CES 2018

People look through Sony PlayStation VR headsets after a Sony news conference at CES International, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

CES Show 2018

Rainy weather is seen over Las Vegas during the first day of CES Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Las Vegas’ largest convention, the CES tech show, broke several records this year.

The show, which showcases the latest in consumer electronics, drew more than 175,000 attendees, with more than 3,900 exhibitors. This year, the show spanned 2.75 million square feet of exhibit space at 11 sites, the most in its 51-year history.

CES attendees also racked up record-breaking data usage for AT&T.

Customers of the mobile giant used 15.3 terabytes of mobile data over the five-day show last week. That is enough to post 44 million selfies or stream 2,000 hours of HD video. The volume represented a 42 percent increase of mobile usage this year compared to CES 2017, AT&T said.

Some of that data was used to send out some of the 860,732 tweets about CES 2018, with 450,554 uses of the #CES2018 hashtag.

To handle all the data, AT&T boosted coverage for CES attendees in Las Vegas with an upgraded distributed antenna system.

The system is made up of multiple, small antennas that distribute AT&T wireless network coverage to provide a boost in cellular capacity and increased speeds. It helped avoid the mobile traffic jam that usually occurs when large groups converge in one area.

Additionally, network upgrades at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Aria Convention Center, and Sands Expo and Convention Center added 65 percent more total LTE capacity compared to 2017.