COWs In Georgia Ready For NASCAR Races

ALPHARETTA, GA — Just in time for this weekend's big NASCAR races, Verizon Wireless is helping fans "make the call" at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The nation's largest wireless carrier has expanded its network around the speedway with two cell site enhancements and installed a Cell-On-Wheels (COW) to increase network capacity during race time and handle the high call volume around the Speedway and the surrounding area.

The two cell towers with the newly expanded capacity in time for the races are located in Hampton and Lovejoy, adding capacity on the main traffic routes into and out of the Speedway, specifically on Tara Boulevard/Highway 19/41. The COW, a fully functional, generator-powered mobile cell site, will be positioned near the Speedway for all of the weekend's events including the qualifying rounds on Friday, October 29 and the races on Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31. The COW has the same call capacity as a freestanding cell site and can handle both CDMA digital calls and wireless data and Internet service.

"Due to the raceway's massive expansion in recent years and NASCAR's popularity, during race time at Atlanta Motor Speedway our network traffic rivals Atlanta's network traffic during evening rush hour," says Jim McGean, Verizon Wireless Georgia/Alabama region president. "With so many fans converging on such a small area, not to mention media, public safety officers and personnel, there is a significant increase in wireless activity over normal usage. Fans rely on their wireless phones to locate friends in the parking lot, make plans to meet and call for help if there is an emergency. The cell site enhancements and the COW give us the ability to make sure we have enough capacity to handle those calls and provide the quality of service our customers — and NASCAR fans -- expect."

With the newly increased capacity of the two cell towers in Hampton and Lovejoy, Verizon Wireless customers enjoying the races over the weekend who have taken advantage of the company's America's Choice plan will enjoy access to a network that covers 90 percent of the U.S. population, with no roaming or long-distance charges. Further, Verizon Wireless relies solely upon CDMA technology — considered one of the most reliable wireless communications platforms — for enhanced clarity and dependability.

Editor's Note: To view a photo of a COW, or one of the company's Network Operations Centers, please visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/news and click on "image gallery."

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 40.4 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video footage of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/verizonwireless.  

####