DENVER, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Political conventions will never be the same. A wireless device is now the must-have accessory on the convention floor and on the move. The proof is in the volume of network traffic.
Thanks to three new Verizon Wireless permanent cell sites downtown and one Cell on Wheels (COW) mobile cell site nearby, Verizon Wireless customers completed nearly 10 million more voice calls and data transmissions than normal during the four days of the convention.
"The thousands of delegates, media and other visitors who converged on our city last week were talking, texting and e-mailing with their wireless phones and devices at record volumes," said Melanie Braidich, regional president for Verizon Wireless. "Our wireless network helped customers share the excitement of the historical political event with those they care about around the globe."
Verizon Wireless customers completed nearly 200,000 voice, messaging and data connections per hour during Thursday night's closing event. That represents a 16-fold increase in wireless calls, text messages, picture and video messages, Internet connections and other wireless traffic on cell sites serving the area compared to a typical week night.
The company's ongoing network investment totals $700 million in the Centennial State and more than $45 billion nationally over the past seven years.
In 2007, Verizon Wireless invested $102 million to expand and enhance its wireless network in Colorado, including the addition of 19 new cell sites. Already this year, the company has installed 23 more sites in Colorado and completed the upgrade of its entire 3G network to Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) technology.
The Rev. A data network gives customers the ability to wirelessly download and upload e-mail, corporate data and videos and access the Internet and more at broadband-like speeds.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: http://www.verizonwireless.com/. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
