by Andy Livingston

Contributing Editor - WIIE

Are the carriers ready for the inauguration? Are they ready for up to 4 million people who are going to flood the Mall for this historic occasion?

If there is an incident, will WPS (Wireless Priority System) that was implemented after 9/11 work the way it should? A tremendous amount of expense has gone into the development of this from the carrier side to be in compliance.. For you folks who are new public safety and wireless, WPS as defined by Wikipedia is:

“The Nationwide Wireless Priority Service (WPS) is a system in the United States that allows high-priority emergency telephone calls to avoid congestion on wireless telephone networks. This complements the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), which allows such calls to avoid congestion on landline networks. The service is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission and administered by the National Communications System in the Department of Homeland Security. “

Some Advice.. Be prepared when you come to Washington DC during inauguration time! Incorporate the following tips to alleviate congestion on the network.

Text, Don’t Talk. Text messages and e-mails can get through wireless networks when it is too congested to make voice calls.

Snap and Save, Send Later. Sending cell phone photos and video require large amounts of bandwidth on mobile networks. Feel free to snap photos with your cell phone, but wait until leaving the Inaugural events to send them to friends and family.

The wireless carriers are working closely with local authorities and the Presidential Inaugural Committee to boost wireless network capacity around the Capitol grounds, parade route, and National Mall for this historic event. Wireless carriers are assigning additional technicians to monitor their networks and work with all government agencies involved in the Inauguration events, and they are taking all available steps to address capacity issues, including: adding new radio channels to augment existing cell sites, provisioning additional portable sites, such as COWS (Cells on Wheels) and COLTS (Cells on Light Trucks) to increase network capacity, and adding backhaul capacity and connections with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to ensure maximum capacity for wireless users.

Let’s hope the full capabilities of WPS is not needed, and everybody can enjoy this historic day in our Nations Capital