Bracing for DNC data surge

Major wireless carriers are shoring up Charlotte's digital network for the Democratic National Convention -- and the extraordinary wave of texts, tweets and Facebook postings expected from thousands of smartphone- and tablet-toting visitors.

AT&T announced Wednesday that it is investing millions in network improvements throughout the Charlotte area. Upgrades include adding Wi-Fi "hot zones" at popular uptown areas, and activating a dozen new cell sites from Concord to Ballantyne.

AT&T is not the only carrier getting ready. Spokespersons for T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon said their crews have been bustling around Charlotte for months.

Verizon Wireless teams walked hotel hallways to see how phones and devices worked in rooms. Sprint analyzed call connections during major uptown sporting events, and designed improvements to limit blocked and dropped calls. T-Mobile, expecting demand to be up to 10 times that of the 2008 convention in Denver, also is adding capacity to existing sites for faster connections.

And all are planning to bring in the COWS during convention time -- temporary towers called cells on wheels.

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