Nascar Fans At Bristol For The Jeff Byrd 500 Get Boosted Wireless Coverage With Verizon Wireless' Mobile Cell Sites

BRISTOL, TN — Race fans will flood Bristol, Tenn this weekend as the Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the Jeff Byrd 500 stock car race presented by Food City, and the thousands of race enthusiasts are sure to bring their cell phones, smartphones and tablets. To keep race-goers and tailgaters talking, texting and surfing the Web without interruption, Verizon Wireless technicians have rolled in a high-tech Cell on Wheels (COW) unit and a Cell on Light Truck (COLT) unit for the race weekend of March 18 - 20.

“For a big Bristol event like the Jeff Byrd 500, we’re expanding coverage by sending out our 3G COW and COLT equipment to accommodate the race fans’ network needs,” said Terry Dison, network director – for Verizon Wireless. “We are always enhancing our network in Tennessee so customers enjoy the most reliable service, but for these races we go even further to ensure network coverage.”

A 75-foot telescoping antenna and 13 dedicated voice and high-speed data channels allow one COW unit to handle thousands of phone calls and data transmissions concurrently. These races generally lead to spikes in network traffic, and the COW unit will strengthen Verizon Wireless’ network coverage at Bristol Motor Speedway for the race weekend. The COLT is a self-contained mobile cell site able to process thousands of calls every hour. Together, the COW and COLT will enhance coverage for voice calls, data usage and text messaging.

The Verizon Wireless 3G network uses the most advanced high-speed Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) wireless technology for the clearest call reception and fast speeds for sending SMS messages. Deploying the COW and COLT for additional network coverage at Bristol Motor Speedway is part of Verizon Wireless’ continued commitment to expand coverage, increase capacity and enhance the quality of its wireless voice and data network throughout the country. To date, Verizon has invested more than $970 million in the Tennessee network alone since 2003.

In addition, Verizon announced in February that it is bringing the world’s first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to Bristol, Tenn. in 2011. The availability of a 4G LTE wireless network in Bristol is part of the company’s aggressive expansion of its network into 140 additional markets in 2011. Last year, the world’s first large-scale launch of LTE began in 38 major metropolitan areas and in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast. The 4G LTE expansion into Bristol, Tenn, will bring to the area significantly faster speeds than current 3G networks from any wireless carrier, better in-building wireless coverage and significant consumer and business product innovations.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 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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