Wireless carriers give 5G high fives for anticipated influx of eclipse viewers

Chris Brock, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·4 min read

Mar. 23—WATERTOWN — The big three wireless network operators do not expect any major issues with cell phone coverage when thousands of people descend here for the April 8 total eclipse.

We can thank the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks, 5G, which cellular phone companies began deploying in 2019. At that time, Verizon reported, "5G Ultra Wideband will fundamentally change the ways we live, work, learn and play, and on a grand scale."

That scale includes taking care of cell phone coverage needs of over 100,000 people who may visit Watertown, in the path of totality, for the eclipse.

"Lucky for us in general, over the last five to seven years, we have drastically improved technology as a whole," AT&T Wireless spokesman Jason Komenski said in phone interview from Rochester on Friday.

Many people may equate 5G solely with speed.

"In actuality, 5G describes a bunch of things that our network can handle," Komenski said. "To put it in perspective, 4G can handle thousands of connections at one time. 5G is designed for millions. If a 4G network is like driving on a freeway, a 5G network is like driving on a freeway with 10 times the amount of lanes on it."

According to coverage maps of two of the other big three wireless networks — T-Mobile and Verizon — they also offer 5G service in Watertown.

"Our 5G network reaches more than 295 million people," Komenski said. "So, 100,000 up in Watertown, where you guys have 5G network, you should be just fine up there, especially during this time of year with this going on."

Coverage for 5G also depends on the type of phone one has. "Some 4G phones were built to incorporate the 5G network, some were not," Komenski said. "It all depends on the device you have."

The carriers don't plan to bring in portable cell towers, which in the industry are called COWs — Cell on Wheels.

"Those things are specifically designed for super-impactful things like natural disasters or things that happened across the country or around the world and that we know our first responders are going to be there," Komenski said. "We know there will be a massive amount of people there who are going to be struggling to contact relatives and reach out to loved ones, like at hurricanes or tsunamis and floods."

A spokesperson for T-Mobile said that the company's emergency managers met with several New York entities, including police and fire departments, to address concerns around the expected surge in network traffic around the time of the eclipse. "We have already done a lot of advance network preparation, including upgrading and expanding our network in upstate New York, so we're not currently planning to deploy any additional temporary network assets like a Cell On Wheels in Watertown. Our teams will be conducting real-time monitoring and be ready."

T-Mobile announced in late January that it had completed extensive network upgrades that now provide 5G coverage across more than 48,000 square miles of the upstate area, from Albany to Buffalo. During the eclipse, its teams will be conducting real-time monitoring of network performance, ready to make adjustments as necessary.

At Verizon, spokesman Christopher Berry wrote in an email, "We do not expect any impact from the 2024 solar eclipse on the operation of our network. In areas where people may gather to experience this event, we're confident the additional capacity we've layered into the network over the past few years will accommodate any increases in data usage."

Spectrum Mobile relies on the Verizon Wireless cell network for service.

"Don't get me wrong," AT&T's Komenski said. "When you have a ton of people in one spot — could you see a slight slowdown of call connecting? Maybe. But nothing crazy. In that event, we highly recommend to send a text message. Text messages go through more quickly than voice calls because they require fewer network resources. And obviously, if you are in an area that has WiFi, don't be afraid to connect with WiFi and you'll have no issues."

AT&T, Komenski said, will be studying the eclipse period carefully. "We're a good company and we know that our customers are everything to us, and them being able to connect anytime, anywhere to the things that they love is massively important to us. We have people monitoring our network 24/7, around the clock. They are ready to go."