Verizon Wireless Network Ready For San Francisco Giants World Series Victory Parade

WALNUT CREEK, CA — When the San Francisco Giants parade thru the city October 31, the Verizon Wireless will be ready to handle the frenzy of calls, cell phone picture and video messages and texts from the one million excited fans expected to attend.

The company has significantly increased capacity on its voice and 4G LTE data network in downtown San Francisco and at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).  Verizon Wireless’ network is ready to handle more voice and data traffic than that at the busiest time on a normal day.

“From an emergency management perspective, I really appreciate all the background work Verizon has done to increase network access from cell phones.  We view this as a key facet of the larger public safety plan,” said Anne Kronenberg, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.

As part of Verizon Wireless’ preparation for the parade, the company will have temporary cell sites, known as Cells on Wheels (COWs), deployed near the parade route to handle increased network traffic.  These sites can process thousands of calls and data transmissions each hour and are designed for use at special events that demand additional network capacity.  They will be deployed to downtown locations.

“We have made a significant investment in network improvements in preparation for this major event,” said Russ Preite, region president for Verizon Wireless.  “Our customers will be talking, texting, navigating and e-mailing with their wireless devices at a fast pace.  We are prepared, as we were with the SF Giants 2012 playoff and World Series home games, to handle more traffic and to provide the reliable, high-quality service our customers expect from Verizon Wireless.”

Verizon Wireless’ network reliability is supported by industry-leading redundancy and maintenance measures, including back-up power at most facilities.  For additional reliability, generators are installed at all switching facilities and many cell site locations.

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network offers more 4G LTE coverage than all other competitors’ networks combined.  The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is currently available in 419 markets to more than 250 million people throughout the United States.  For more information, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte.

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $70 billion since it was formed in 2000 – on average more than $6 billion every year – to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network.  The company serves nearly 96 million retail customers, including 90.4 million retail postpaid customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 75,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit 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 www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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