Sprint Talks Network Upgrades in DC for Presidential Inauguration 2013

Related: Sprint

With an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people expected to attend the 2013 Presidential Inauguration, Sprint is well prepared to help ensure customers and public safety officials in Washington, D.C. can seamlessly use their smartphones, tablets and hotspot devices to talk, text, email, and post memorable moments to their favorite social media channels.

Sprint has been aggressively preparing for the inauguration since April 2012 - boosting wireless voice capacity by 25 percent and increasing data capacity by 37 percent for numerous cell sites around the National Mall and downtown Washington, D.C.

Other Sprint preparations include:

Deploying three Cell Sites on Wheels (COWs) at key locations near and around the National Mall - including the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - to further enhance the wireless experience of inauguration attendees.
Installing in-building repeaters at the Capital Hilton hotel, the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel, and The Mayflower Renaissance Washington DC Hotel to boost wireless coverage throughout these locations for hotel guests and the venues' numerous inauguration events.

Between the last inauguration in 2009 and the end of 2011, Sprint has invested approximately $300 million to further improve the wireless voice and data experience for customers in the Washington, D.C. market. In 2012, Sprint began investing significantly in the deployment of Network Vision - Sprint's program to deploy an all-new 3G and 4G LTE network. That investment will ramp up even more in Washington, D.C. in 2013, as Network Vision is scheduled to launch in the area in the coming months. Some cell sites in the Washington, D.C. metro area have already been upgraded with Sprint's new 3G and 4G LTE capabilities, and Sprint will continue to fill in the market's overall Network Vision footprint during the coming months.

"Sprint has a great history of providing reliable and resilient wireless communications for large-scale events, including the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, which dramatically broke past attendance records," said Joe Meyer, vice president-Network Service Management, Sprint. "And with the increased use of smartphones, tablets and social media sites since that time, Sprint has taken even greater measures to ensure Inauguration Day is an enjoyable wireless experience for all Sprint customers who have traveled from near and far to attend the commemorative events, and who depend on Sprint's network for a truly unlimited data experience."

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