Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Buffalo in the Path of Totality for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, many will, no doubt, want to use their phones to capture the moment.
One cell phone carrier tells WBEN it's ready for the increased demand.
"We actually don't expect any impact from the 2024 eclipse," says Verizon's Chris Serico.
Serico says Verizon went to great lengths since the last Total Solar Eclipse in 2017 to make sure its capacity and coverage are reinforced through a 5G Ultra Wideband network.
In addition, Verizon is constantly studying ways to improve coverage, according to Serico.
"The eclipse is one of the many things we study, in terms of laying out our network for the greater Buffalo area and throughout the country. But it's not exclusive to that," explained Serico. "Whether it's expanding our 4G network or improving our experience for our customers through our 5G Ultra Wideband, or nationwide experiences, networks, those experiences are going to improve across the board because of it."
AT&T has issued the following statement:
"Our network has drastically changed since the last solar eclipse in 2017. Our customers now have the benefit of AT&T 5G which provides unique experiences, faster speeds and capacity to do more of the things our customers like. We expanded our 5G network to reach more than 295 million people in nearly 24,500 cities and towns in the U.S. Our higher-speed mid-band 5G+ spectrum alone covers more than 210 million people. Our bandwidth has increased significantly in the last few years, and users have an improved experience on our network as a result. Additionally, the FirstNet Response Operations Group will continue to support emergency communications for first responders and is prepared to deploy redundant, backup connectivity solutions. We continue to monitor the performance of our network around the clock and remain committed to keeping our customers and the public safety community connected."