G.H.O. GETS C.O.W.
Verizon Wireless "Cell on Wheels" Ready to Handle Heavy Wireless Call Volume During Tournament Week
June 25, 2001
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WALLINGFORD, CT
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Verizon Wireless is helping fans "make the call" at this week's (June 25 - July 1) Greater Hartford Open golf tournament in Cromwell. The nation's leading wireless carrier has installed a mobile cell site at the TPC at River Highlands to handle the increased wireless call volume expected throughout the GHO.
The "cell on wheels" (COW), a fully functional, generator-powered mobile cell site, will effectively double wireless capacity in the area and can handle both voice and wireless data service.
"With the number of fans and media converging on such a small area, and the golfers themselves, there is the potential for a significant increase in wireless usage over what we would normally see in this area," said Margaret Salemi, Network director of system performance for Verizon Wireless in the New England Region. "The COW gives us the ability to make sure we have enough capacity to handle those calls and provide the quality of service our customers expect."
The Verizon Wireless COW has already been used this year during a motorcycle event at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Laudon, New Hampshire. It is also used if Verizon Wireless has to rebuild or upgrade an existing cell site. Verizon Wireless deployed similar mobile cell sites at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia and at areas devastated by wildfires in the West.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with more than 27 million wireless voice and data customers. The coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD), including Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless and PrimeCo Personal Communications. Verizon Wireless has a footprint covering more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. The company, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 40,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.