Verizon Makes Network Upgrades in Philly Ahead of DNC
Republican or Democrat, delegate or protester, there’s a safe bet that everyone attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia will be doing some of the same things: calling, texting, and uploading pictures to social media during the convention. The number of people present and using local networks would put a strain on any provider, but Verizon is preparing for the event in advance.
Verizon is taking pains to ensure that service will be good for visitors to the Wells Fargo Center, where the DNC is taking place.
The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that Verizon is making major upgrades to some of its Philadelphia networks for the second time in two years. The new upgrades, which are being made in Old City and South Philly, come in addition to upgrades made ahead of Pope Francis’ visit last year. The upgrades will help handle the countless texts, posts, tweets, and calls made by the tens of thousands of people expected to be in town for the DNC.
The locations of the upgrades are strategic, to make sure areas “crucial to the convention’s success” are served with the best reception. Andrew Testa, a Verizon spokesman, told the journal that the company was installing a system that would provide Wells Fargo Center with “six times more capacity.” Not only is Verizon beefing up its network to handle the major amounts of data going in and out of Philly, but it is making contingency plans for any outages as well. “We have eight hours of battery and generator backup should something go wrong,” Testa explained. There will be a command center set up on-site with company representatives on the ground in case severe weather or other problems threaten to interfere with service.
Per the Journal: “Other permanent enhancements in Philly include the installation of additional small cells and expanded network capacity at nearby Lincoln Financial Field, and the addition of new fiber, which will benefit broadcast media outlets, at Wells Fargo, Independence Mall and the National Constitution Center.”
Verizon is making similar upgrades in Cleveland ahead of the Republican National Convention.
