A cell tower on wheels, or COW. Photograph courtesy AT&T.
Pope Francis‘s visit to DC next week is expected to bring the kind of traffic and heavy security typical of a presidential inauguration, and events of that magnitude often wreak just as much havoc on mobile phone service as they do commutes. To alleviate some of the inevitable network-frying, though, AT&T is installing temporary, mobile cell-phone towers around the sites the pontiff will visit over his three-day stay.
The devices—known as cells on wheels, or COWs—will be placed near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the White House, and the Capitol, AT&T spokeswoman Alexia Sikora says. The COWs will come in handy when tens or hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to these sites expecting to be able to tweet, photograph, and record the entire event. An estimated 25,000 worshippers are expected at the basilica next Wednesday afternoon, when Francis celebrates the first canonization Mass on US soil.
The COW by the basilica will expand cell capacity there by a factor of 15, and the COWs by the White House and Capitol will boost coverage in those places by as much as a factor of ten. The added coverage will be desperately needed—while government officials have been reluctant to release crowd estimates for the pontiff’s events, AT&T says it expects at least 200,000 people to jam the Mall for Francis’s parade Wednesday after he leaves the White House.
Still, Sikora says people should be thrifty in how much they actually share during the papal events. Even with the COWs, AT&T recommends people get to a wi-fi network before uploading their blurry, distant photos of Francis to Instagram and other visual-heavy social networks.
UPDATE, 5 PM: Not to be outdone, Verizon Wireless says it, too, is temporarily expanding its coverage areas while Pope Francis is in DC. It will be posting COWs of its own near Catholic University, the National Air and Space Museum, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument during the pope’s events next week. The company is also installing “mini-cells” to expand its network capacity in high-traffic areas in downtown DC. Verizon spokeswoman Melanie Ortel also says that the company is also arranging to have employees at its three downtown retail stores stay in the District overnight if the throngs of phone-wielding papal visitors need an assist.
And, in a case of “our papal plans are bigger than AT&T’s,” Ortel also says that Verizon will add a channel to its FiOS television service with a live broadcast of Francis’s public appearances.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Phone Companies Are Installing Extra Cell Phone Coverage to Handle all Your Papal-Visit Sharing
Pope Francis‘s visit to DC next week is expected to bring the kind of traffic and heavy security typical of a presidential inauguration, and events of that magnitude often wreak just as much havoc on mobile phone service as they do commutes. To alleviate some of the inevitable network-frying, though, AT&T is installing temporary, mobile cell-phone towers around the sites the pontiff will visit over his three-day stay.
The devices—known as cells on wheels, or COWs—will be placed near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the White House, and the Capitol, AT&T spokeswoman Alexia Sikora says. The COWs will come in handy when tens or hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to these sites expecting to be able to tweet, photograph, and record the entire event. An estimated 25,000 worshippers are expected at the basilica next Wednesday afternoon, when Francis celebrates the first canonization Mass on US soil.
The COW by the basilica will expand cell capacity there by a factor of 15, and the COWs by the White House and Capitol will boost coverage in those places by as much as a factor of ten. The added coverage will be desperately needed—while government officials have been reluctant to release crowd estimates for the pontiff’s events, AT&T says it expects at least 200,000 people to jam the Mall for Francis’s parade Wednesday after he leaves the White House.
Still, Sikora says people should be thrifty in how much they actually share during the papal events. Even with the COWs, AT&T recommends people get to a wi-fi network before uploading their blurry, distant photos of Francis to Instagram and other visual-heavy social networks.
UPDATE, 5 PM: Not to be outdone, Verizon Wireless says it, too, is temporarily expanding its coverage areas while Pope Francis is in DC. It will be posting COWs of its own near Catholic University, the National Air and Space Museum, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument during the pope’s events next week. The company is also installing “mini-cells” to expand its network capacity in high-traffic areas in downtown DC. Verizon spokeswoman Melanie Ortel also says that the company is also arranging to have employees at its three downtown retail stores stay in the District overnight if the throngs of phone-wielding papal visitors need an assist.
And, in a case of “our papal plans are bigger than AT&T’s,” Ortel also says that Verizon will add a channel to its FiOS television service with a live broadcast of Francis’s public appearances.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Meet DC’s 2025 Tech Titans
The “MAGA Former Dancer” Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program
White House Seriously Asks People to Believe Trump’s Letter to Epstein Is Fake, Oliver North and Fawn Hall Got Married, and It’s Time to Plan Your Apple-Picking Excursion
Scott Bessent Got in Another Argument With a Coworker; Trump Threatens Chicago, Gets Booed in New York; and Our Critic Has an Early Report From Kayu
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule
Washingtonian Magazine
September Issue: Style Setters
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
Fiona Apple Wrote a Song About This Maryland Court-Watching Effort
The Confusing Dispute Over the Future of the Anacostia Playhouse
Protecting Our Drinking Water Keeps Him Up at Night
More from News & Politics
See a Spotted Lanternfly? Here’s What to Do.
Patel Dined at Rao’s After Kirk Shooting, Nonviolent Offenses Led to Most Arrests During Trump’s DC Crackdown, and You Should Try These Gougères
How a DC Area Wetlands Restoration Project Could Help Clean Up the Anacostia River
Pressure Grows on FBI Leadership as Search for Kirk’s Killer Continues, Kennedy Center Fires More Staffers, and Spotted Lanternflies Are Everywhere
What Is Free DC?
Manhunt for Charlie Kirk Shooter Continues, Britain Fires US Ambassador Over Epstein Connections, and Sandwich Guy Will Get a Jury Trial
Can Two Guys Ride a Rickshaw over the Himalayas? It Turns Out They Can.
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule