Philly Preps Tech for Live 8 Onslaught

Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway will soon play host to an estimated one million spectators attending this weekend's Live 8 concert, setting the stage for a possible logistical nightmare for cellular providers. To avert a potential overload of its system, Verizon Wireless has upgraded its network capacity by nearly 40 percent.

Verizon has worked around the clock to shore up its permanent cell sites and is deploying a mobile transmission site called a "COLT" (Cell on Light Truck) near the main stage. The COLT weighs in at nearly 25,000 pounds, carries two mobile 50-foot cellular antennas and is backed up by an emergency generator. For comparison, Philadelphia's population within the city limits was estimated to be just over 1.5 million in 2000.