WirelessPriorityService
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Dropped calls, begone: AT&T expands feds' Wireless Priority Service to Canada
American carriers have had Wireless Priority Service in place for several years now, giving government officials and first responders improved access to potentially overloaded networks in the event of an emergency or high-density gathering -- but historically, that service has been restricted to American soil. With the Winter Olympics coming right up in Vancouver, AT&T figured it'd have quite a few G-Men strolling north of the border, so it has worked with Rogers this month to roll out priority access for devices roaming in Canada that are already authorized for the service. In a nutshell, that means VIPs strolling around the luge circuit will be able to get through (and stay through) if the crush of humanity gets too much for the poor, overworked cells to handle. And no, you can't sign up for it, so don't even ask.
Verizon announces Wireless Priority Service
After lagging for a few years behind T-Mobile and Cingular in the rollout out of Wireless Priority Service for emergency personnel, Verizon Wireless is finally jumping onto the bandwagon and our rolling out the standard on their network. The service gives call priority to emergency personnel and government officials during times of emergency, when the lines can be quickly choked up with wireless users. So far Verizon has only enabled WPS in a few areas, including Washington D.C., but they hope to complete the rollout by the end of the year. The Bush administration accelerated efforts to get WPS nationwide since 9/11, and while Nextel had some efforts underway at time of acquisition, Sprint Nextel still hasn't added WPS to their network, though it is in the works.[Via The Wireless Report]
