Pope Francis’s first visit to the United States was a historic one, with numerous iconic images sure to be remembered for years to come. But for those who attended the events, the most important pictures and videos are more likely those they were able to personally capture and share. Throughout the Pope’s six-day tour, Verizon’s wireless network did its part – transmitting countless calls, texts, photos, videos and social media updates.
During Pope Francis’s tour of Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia, Verizon’s network provided fast and reliable service, even at the most crowded events such as the Papal Mass in Philadelphia.
In Washington DC, Verizon saw network traffic up to ten times normal levels. In New York, network traffic reached six times normal levels. And in Philadelphia during Saturday night’s World Meeting of Families event on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway – attended by more than 200,000 people – and Sunday’s Papal Mass – attended by more than 850,000 people – Verizon’s network handled nearly 12 times the normal amount of network traffic.
Verizon had been preparing for the Papal Visit for over a year, investing more than $30 million to upgrade the network and boost capacity in all three cities – upgrades that are permanent and will remain in place to provide our customers with reliable wireless service for years to come.