On January 20, I will be plunged into logistical hell as I wander around Washington, D.C., to mingle with millions of people eager to be part of Barack Obama's inauguration. I'll carry about four powerful camera/video phones that will ease the difficulty of navigating among the multitudes as well as provide me with all sorts of live and semi-live text, audio, and video information about the festivities. But the more I think about how wireless Internet could help cellphone users during the inauguration, the more I see how much more is still needed.
The inauguration has generated a wealth of information on the Web. The official inauguration site offers more than half a dozen SMS alerts including information about events, weather, and transportation. The Washington inauguration site provides a great deal of logistical information. Some are pdf files. Unfortunately, phones with pdf software often don't do a good job of displaying these files.
One of the best sources of inauguration information is The Washington Post. But its home page is rather messy for finding inauguration information in one place. The Post's "Inauguration Watch" isn't a bad place to start. It's not formatted for cellular phones, but handsets with good Web browsers should be able to access it.
GPS in Washington works better than in some major cities, because the law forbids constructing huge skyscrapers, which often block satellite signals. Driving in downtown Washington will be your worst nightmare. Some roads and bridges will be closed, and many will be gridlocked. Unfortunately, real-time traffic information via the Web is still in the baby stages. In the future, traffic predictions will get much better because of new software and services. In the meantime, you may check online traffic sites, but many of them aren't formatted for cellphones.
D.C.'s Department of Transportation has Web traffic cameras, but don't count on being able to view them on a phone. The best advice is to carry one of the relatively few phones with integrated FM radios -- or just a regular portable radio, primitive though that is.
With all your eating and drinking, you're probably going to need to find a bathroom. Check out MizPee, which also is cellphone-friendly. These Web services depend upon the cellular networks being able to handle the strain. It's very likely that making phone calls or accessing the Web via phones will be very slow, if not impossible. But it won't be a total wipeout, if you have the right tools. For example, SMS could remain working. Also, a cellphone with WiFi will work for Internet access if you find a hotspot. In addition, Verizon Wireless's V Cast Mobile TV should remain operating, because it employs Qualcomm's MediaFLO network of towers and non-cellular frequencies. I expect to watch MSNBC and Fox News, which will be broadcasting live inauguration activities. MobiTV also will offer channels broadcasting inaugural events, but the system works over regular 3G channels, so it might crash in downtown Washington.
I expect that having wireless Internet phones to read news reports, watch live TV, and listen to FM radio will be extremely useful as I wander around the city. I only wish cellphones were better at accessing all Websites.
No problem at all. Thanks very much for your comment. Please keep them coming! I really welcome comments and try to reply to every one.
We'll see many, many articles about the Obama Administration's use of technology, and I'd like to especially read about how they use wireless -- or what they would like to use it, but can't, either because of security or because the technology doesn't exist.
Glad to oblige. I read several news reports about the performance of cellular networks and they basically said there were some intermittent problems, but the networks performed fairly well -- certainly compared to a "melt down" scenario that some people were predicting.
Safe and sound. Amazingly, according the news reports, despite there being something like 1.8 million people, Washington, D.C. police didn't arrest anyone! Obviously, it's a testament to the joyous feelings of people who attended.
Alan: Glad to hear that all the toys worked well, and that the carriers rose to the occasion. And glad to hear that you made it through the writhing masses and (presumably) safely home. Thanks for the report!
There were COWS and COLTS (Cellular on Light TruckS), but I didn't see any, either. But, at least it worked better than many people expected.
The cellular operators might have added many more temporary towers (permanent towers can take a LONG time to get permission to construct), added more frequencies that were held in reserve, added more capacity to their backhauls and cellular switches.
So, now why can't I get good signals when I'm at a CTIA show?!
From what I read they were going to limit the amount of SMSs users got per day. Trying to not overload users with information but also to try to keep the servers load low (assuming a lot of users would sign up for the alerts).
I was also gladly surprised; I thought it would be a lot worse... for having 2M people in such a restricted area. I would like to know what special arrangements did they do to guarantee the mobile service. I know that for concerts and smaller events they use COWs (cells on wheels) but I kept looking for them without success.
Slightly off topic, but, apparently, President Obama will be able to keep his BlackBerry. According to an article in The Atlantic, Obama's BlackBerry will get stronger encryption software so he will be able to use it for "routine and personal messages."
Boy Genius Report says it will be the large, bulky NSA-approved "Selectra Edge." I read about this device a few months ago. Perhaps Obama will bug NSA and RIM to develop a sleeker, secure device for him, such as the Bold.
I received SMS alerts, too, such as messages from The Washington Post. Frankly, I was surprised by how few alerts I received about traffic and Metro delays. I would have liked to have received more news.
You're correct about that message about the woman who fell to the tracks. She fell, but was pushed by a cop into a crawl space and wasn't hit by a train.
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