Ahead of next month’s Consumer Electronics Show, AT&T and Sprint have agreed to tap into a new network from Cox Business and tech partner InSite Wireless Group that will improve wireless coverage at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a venue that spans 3.2 million square feet.

AT&T, Sprint, and an unnamed third “major wireless carrier” have inked deals to launch services powered by Cox and InSite on a new, custom distributed antenna system (DAS) that will increase cellular network capability at the center. The new DAS, based on a network of low-powered, spatially-separated antennas and repeaters, will be completed by this time next year.  Cox said the convention center’s DAS will have a capacity equivalent to 14 cell sites – enough to all carriers to serve the wireless needs of capacity crowds at LVCVA’s largest events.

The center has also has bulked up the number of WiFi access points from 166 to 2,100, which are backed by redundant Cox Business 10 Gbps fiber connections.

In August 2013, Cox Business and the LVCVA signed a seven-year contract with a three-year extension to provide wired high-speed Internet networking services and equipment, wired voice services, private network options, WiFi based wireless Internet services and TV services. The DAS element from Cox and InSite was part of that contract.

“We’ve been deploying advanced technologies at the Las Vegas Convention Center for more than two years,” Derrick R. Hill, VP of Cox Business and Hospitality Network in Las Vegas, said in a statement. “Now, with the support of our partners at InSite, our neutral host DAS will help ensure wireless carriers can provide their customers faster service and improved coverage, enhancing the overall convention center experience for attendees and exhibitors.”

Cox Business/Hospitality Network also announced it was picked as the exclusive technology integration/telecommunication services provider for the new Las Vegas Arena.  The 20,000-seat venue is scheduled to open on the Las Vegas Strip in April 2016.

Cox is running a 10-Gigabit fiber optic network for the Las Vegas Arena to support wired and wireless Internet connectivity. Cox will also use Cisco’s Connected Stadium WiFi platform to operate 550 WiFi access points inside the arena.

Cox Business/Hospitality Network is also using Cisco StadiumVision to manage and target delivery of over 60 channels of high-definition news, sports and entertainment content from the Cox cable channel lineup and live in-house feeds from the arena floor to 650 digital displays throughout the arena. That video platform will be 4K-capable. 

Looking to goose subscriber counts and keep existing customers on board, Sprint hatched a promo that will offer subs from rivals AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless 50% off their plans if they switch to Sprint, while also offering free tablets paired with a year of cellular service to current subs.

Sprint said it will also pay fees up to $650 per line (via an American Express Rewards Card) to anyone who makes the switch.  Anyone who takes Sprint up on the offer also has the option to switch back within 28 days and return the device for free (no restocking fee) with “no questions asked,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said Wednesday on a call with reporters.

Those customers aren’t required to turn in their existing phone, but, if they do, they can apply the trade-in dollars toward a new device from Sprint.

The offer kicks off Friday (November 20) and is good through Jan. 7, 2016. By way of example, he said T-Mobile customers on a $50 per month 2GB plan can get the same from Sprint for $25.

“We believe it’s a great offer, and gives them [prospective customers] a chance to give us a try,” he said, noting that the promo aims to give those consumers ample time to kick the tires on Sprint’s upgraded wireless 4G network, which the exec acknowledged has been viewed with “a lot of skepticism.”

As for that network, Sprint said its LTE Plus network is now up in 77 major markets, and taps into the carrier’s “triband” spectrum portfolio.

Claure was also pressed on how Sprint’s promo, which includes the free tablet offer to existing subs, makes good business sense, especially as the company looks to chop  up to $2.5 billion in costs. Claure responded that the wireless carrier’s financial analysis of it showed that it will be able to grow its sub base and that the deals will be accretive to tis overall financial performance.

“This is well planned...and is well executed,” he said.

According to the fine print for Sprint’s tablet offer (while supplies last) does require a two-year contract. Sprint estimates that it’s a $360 value, and is an offer that will resonate with consumers during the holiday buying season.

Sprint’s promo comes the week after T-Mobile introduced new data plans and Binge On, an option that zero-rates video streamed from partners such as Sling TV that uses proprietary compression technology that delivers video at 480p (DVD quality).

Claure said “we always look at what our competitors are doing” when asked if the promo was in response to T-Mobile, adding later that he didn’t think consumers are “too excited” about watching video at 480p instead of HD.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere was predictably unimpressed with Sprint’s promo, poking holes in it via a series of tweets.  An example:  “@TMobile customers get Unlimited video streaming w/ their plans. Not on @Sprint. #SprintCountdown #halfoffthetruth,” the T-Mobile exec wrote.