Verizon Wireless Completes South Florida 'Super Switch'
February 22 2010 - 10:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
$50 Million Facility Built to Enhance 3G Coverage, Can Withstand
Category 5 Storm MIAMI, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless,
which operates the nation's most reliable and largest voice and 3G
data network, has completed construction of a $50 million high-tech
"super switch" in South Florida to further strengthen wireless
coverage and advanced services for customers throughout the region.
The 45,000-square-foot Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO)
will serve as the company's main call-processing hub for South
Florida, serving an area from Key West and continuing through all
of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The MTSO is located on five
acres in west Broward County. With a comprehensive array of the
most advanced wireless network technologies, the facility has the
capacity to handle each day tens of millions of voice calls and
wireless data transmissions such as text, photo and video messages;
downloads of games, music and other applications; uploads to social
media sites; Web surfing; and more. With construction complete,
technicians are currently conducting final tests for the network
"cutover" of these wireless transmissions. The cutover - in which
wireless traffic will be transferred to the new switch from
existing Verizon Wireless facilities - is scheduled for early
March. "Our network teams have been working extremely long and hard
on this giant jewel of wireless network technology," said Frank
Wise, Florida executive network director. "This is a big moment for
our technicians and a great moment for wireless customers in South
Florida." Verizon Wireless began construction on the project in
late 2008, borrowing and enhancing design elements from large
modern super switching facilities completed in Jacksonville and
Orlando in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The building was designed
to accommodate large-scale expansion as needed and to withstand a
Category 5 hurricane. The structure includes fully redundant
back-up power generation, further enhancing the emergency and
everyday reliability of the Verizon Wireless network. The switch
will serve as the company's Emergency Operations Center for South
Florida in the event of a hurricane or other crisis. "South Florida
is one of the most dynamic and demanding markets in the nation,
with millions of highly mobile tech-savvy customers squeezed along
a coast," said Pam Tope, Florida region president for Verizon
Wireless. "We built this switch to ensure our customers have the
most reliable, advanced coverage and services today and for decades
to come." The project is a key component of the company's overall
effort and investment to maintain the largest and most reliable 3G
network in the state. In the past year, the company has spent $240
million in Florida on network enhancements. This year, Verizon
Wireless plans to launch its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless
services in 25 to 30 markets nationally. LTE will offer customers
significantly greater network capacity than even today's most
advanced 3G coverage. The new South Florida switch is equipped for
and will play a key role in the upcoming rollout of 4G LTE
technology in this region. For more information on the Verizon
Wireless network and products and services, visit
http://www.verizonwireless.com/. About Verizon Wireless Verizon
Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless
voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers.
Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees
nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon
Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (Nasdaq and LSE: VOD). For
more information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/. To preview
and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution
stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon
Wireless Multimedia Library at
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia. DATASOURCE: Verizon
Wireless CONTACT: Chuck Hamby, +1-813-615-4803, Web Site:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html
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