Expect Some Network Delays When Using Wireless Devices During Inaugural Events

Despite Industry Efforts to Increase Capacity, Crowds Could Cause Congestion

WASHINGTON, DC – With an estimated 2 to 4 million people expected to attend the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. on January 20th, 2009, CTIA-The Wireless Association® and its member companies advise residents and visitors to be prepared for delays when attempting to use mobile devices during the days’ events due to network congestion. 

“The wireless industry is preparing for record traffic during the Inauguration, and companies are undertaking extraordinary efforts to expand their networks’ capacities,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association®.  “But it’s important for the public to understand that there will likely be some delays.  Just as restaurants, trains, and highways have maximum capacity limits, wireless networks have also been built to meet the needs of a large, but limited amount of people.”  

“The public should be assured that wireless carriers are working closely with local authorities and the Presidential Inaugural Committee to boost wireless network capacity around the Capitol grounds, parade route, and National Mall for this historic event,” Largent continued.  “Companies are investing significant amounts of time and money to expand their capacity to accommodate the expected increased demands on their networks, but there is only so much they can do with the spectrum and sites available to prepare for what could be an unprecedented occasion.”

Wireless carriers also are assigning additional technicians to monitor their networks and work with all government agencies involved in the Inauguration events, and they are taking all available steps to address capacity issues, including:  adding new radio channels to augment existing cell sites, provisioning additional portable sites, such as COWS (Cells on Wheels) and COLTS (Cells on Light Trucks) to increase network capacity, and adding backhaul capacity and connections with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to ensure maximum capacity for wireless users within the physical limits of spectrum and the sites available to carriers.  

Visitors to the nation’s capital are advised to be aware of steps they might take in the event that the extraordinary volume of network traffic creates technical difficulties. Those tips include:

• Text, Don’t Talk.  Text messages and e-mails can get through wireless networks when it is too congested to make voice calls.
• Snap and Save, Send Later.  Sending cell phone photos and video require large amounts of bandwidth on mobile networks.  Feel free to snap photos with your cell phone, but wait until leaving the Inaugural events to send them to friends and family. 
• Have a Back-Up Plan.  Establish a rendezvous place and time to connect with your party, or try moving to an area where there is less congestion.

Largent reassured that wireless carriers are committed to addressing the potentially challenging communications environment, and reaffirmed the industry’s long-standing position of its being able to best respond to wireless consumer demand through rational and sensible spectrum allocation.  “You have to remember that we’re actually talking about radio waves, and that spectrum is a finite resource.  While there’s only so much spectrum available for commercial use today, the industry is interested in working with the incoming Administration to identify new spectrum to allow the wireless industry to meet the ever-growing demand for new wireless services,” Largent said. 

Listen as Steve Largent explains the upcoming Inauguration Day network challenges, offers tips to D.C. residents and visitors, and discusses spectrum allocation needs. 

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CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org