Wireless Woes in Washington

Record numbers of people descended on the nation’s capital yesterday to witness history, but despite preparations by some of the nation’s largest wireless carriers, networks didn’t seem up to the task of handling all of the visitors and the network traffic they brought with them.
 
AT&T spent $4 million to increase network capacity in Washington, D.C., and competitor Spring Nextel Corp. also supplemented its network by adding portable cell phone towers. But despite the added network capacity, customer demand was just too high. Verizon Wireless experienced three to five times normal call volume that day, while T-Mobile experienced ten times normal call volume, and people were sending text messages and photos en masse, as well as downloading streaming video. The result? Jammed networks and dropped calls reported around the city throughout the day — Despite pleas from carriers strapped for network capacity.
 
It seems that despite the last minute effort to supplement their networks, nothing can take the place of proper planning for carriers.

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