One Year Later: T-Mobile’s Hometown Techover Champ Celebrates $3 Million Makeover With Florida Georgia Line

T-Mobile has officially painted the town of Woodstock, Illinois magenta.

It’s been almost one year since T-Mobile crowned Woodstock, IL the winner of its Hometown Techover – a $3 million tech makeover for an American small town – which included a $250,000 grant from T-Mobile, 5G network enhancements, a Little League® baseball field refurbishment, 100 supercharged family tech prize packs that include 5G smartphones with a year of free service, and a free concert featuring diamond-selling, award-winning duo Florida Georgia Line which took place this past weekend.

The concert brought thousands of Woodstock residents out to the McHenry County Fairgrounds on Saturday, August 13 for a night they won’t soon forget. Florida Georgia Line performed as concert goers sang along and basked in good vibes and a winning spirit.

“We had a blast making memories with the Woodstock community,” said Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard. “It was amazing to see everyone come on out and celebrate together as T-Mobile’s Hometown Techover champs.”

“What a night, Woodstock!” added Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley. “We know the power of music and technology, and how they both can keep us all connected, so to be able to share in this fun night together was something special.”

While the concert made for one epic day for Woodstock, the Un-carrier’s technology enhancements will have a long-lasting impact for the residents, businesses and organizations within the community.

“Ever since Woodstock was announced as T-Mobile’s Hometown Techover winner, we’ve been ecstatic about what it means for our town, and I’m impressed by all the progress we’ve seen,” said Mike Turner, Mayor of Woodstock. “Our city now has a massively enhanced 5G network, our Little League fields have free live streaming through FamCam 5G, more than 3,000 of our students now have internet access – and those are just a few examples. We’re grateful for T-Mobile’s generous contributions to our community and excited to continue watching our town grow and flourish as a result.”

Here’s a closer look at the Techover deets:

• Enhanced 5G Network: T-Mobile’s 5G coverage across Woodstock has nearly doubled in the last year, now covering most of the city and key locations. And, T-Mobile speeds have improved 400%, increasing from 99.5 Mbps to nearly 400 Mbps on average. In addition to several existing T-Mobile sites all receiving major 5G network enhancements, additional sites were deployed – boosting coverage and performance to the west residential areas of Woodstock and the Woodstock Downtown and Historic Square. Plus, even more sites are expected to deploy by the end of September – which will further bolster 5G Ultra Capacity to northeast Woodstock, Marion Central High School, the Woodstock Country Club, Loyola University Campus and surrounding area.

• Community Grant: A $250,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant and technical assistance services from Smart Growth America (SGA). SGA worked with Woodstock community leaders to narrow down potential projects, which includes building affordable senior housing, increasing walkability and developing a multi-use space in the downtown area, which complement ongoing updates to the town’s comprehensive plan.

• Little League® Updates: $250,000 of field renovations on Woodstock’s Sullivan and Dream Fields are underway, with updates including upgraded field surfaces and a branded T-Mobile sign recognizing the Un-carrier’s contribution. Woodstock is also receiving T-Mobile Little League Call Up Grant support and free live streaming through FamCam 5G.

• Connecting Students: Through T-Mobile’s Project 10 Million, 3,000 students across 12 schools – which is nearly half of all enrolled students – in Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 received free internet and mobile hotspots.

• Family Prize Packs: Woodstock families received a tech-focused prize that included four 5G smartphones, one year of free wireless service with Magenta Max, one year of T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and a free Samsung UHD-TV.

“When we set out to give Woodstock a massive tech upgrade, we knew we wanted the town to become a 5G leader in small town America, and we did just that through our spectacular partnership with the people of Woodstock,” said Jon Freier, President of Consumer Group at T-Mobile. “With many of the tech upgrades nearing completion, I’m incredibly inspired by Woodstock’s pride and passion in showing the rest of the country how 5G can connect and empower a community.”

T-Mobile’s Hometown Techover is one of the many initiatives marking T-Mobile’s commitment to rural America. T-Mobile’s goal is to ensure that all Americans — from big cities to small towns and rural communities across the US — have access to all the latest products, services and technology. Beyond amazing deals on plans and new devices, the Un-carrier launched Home Internet last year. With T-Mobile, more than 40 million households – a third of them in rural America – are eligible for 5G Home Internet. T-Mobile also committed to providing $25 million over five years to small towns to help fund community development projects in rural areas across the country. Learn more or apply for T-Mobile Hometown Grants today.

For more information about T-Mobile’s commitment to small towns, visit T-Mobile.com/AcrossAmerica.