Cellphone users attending football games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome this weekend should have an easier time sending photos and messages to friends, thanks to AT&T's completion of a $10 million "distributed antenna system" in the Dome. The system actually extends coverage serving older 3-G and new 4-G phones to Champions Square, said spokeswoman Sue Sperry, thanks to a 70-mile network of cables connecting the new system's nerve center in a Superdome garage with 950 antennas, she said.

Michael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneWorkers hang New Orleans Saints banners around the Mercedes-Benz Superdome field Friday in anticipation of Saturday's wild card match-up between the Saints and Lions.

"We now have antennas in the locker rooms, and everywhere else," she said. "They're small white boxes that you can spot if you look very hard."

The new antenna system is the equivalent of 200 traditional cell towers.

"It's the largest system of its kind in the world, and has twice the capacity of the system that was recently installed in Cowboy Stadium" in Arlington, Texas, Sperry said.

Football fans have complained about spotty coverage in the Superdome, which has made it difficult to send photos and text messages, or connect to the Internet. The tie-up was especially pronounced on Dec. 26, the night Drew Brees set the NFL's single-season passing yardage record.

AT&T customers will experience improved reception immediately, while other cellphone users are likely to see improvements in service soon. Verizon has agreed to piggyback onto the system, but the company must install its own equipment to make that happen.

Verizon officials announced last week that they had upgraded the company's existing antenna array in the Superdome to improve reception during games while it completed connecting to the AT&T equipment.

The system is available for use by other cellphone companies, but none has agreed to do so yet, Sperry said.

AT&T negotiated a contract last year with SMG, the company that manages the stadium, that requires the company to offer connection to the new antenna system to other cellphone service providers. AT&T is being charged a $175,000 annual licensing fee to cover the space needed for the system in the Dome. The other cell companies will pay AT&T a fee for a share of the installation costs, and licensing fees to SMG.