Qwest scrambles as DNC nears

Qwest will be doing some last-minute hustling to add Internet capacity in and around Invesco Field at Mile High after Democratic National Convention officials decided to move Barack Obama's speech to accept the Dem's presidential nomination from downtown's Pepsi Center-which also has been getting a hi-tech makeover in anticipation of the communications needs of the 76,000 expected attendees and media horde that will follow for the Aug. 25-28 event.

"We don't know what the DNC is planning at Invesco, so at this stage we don't know what we need to do there," said Chuck Ward, president of Qwest in Colorado. "We'll see what additional capacity we can provide and see if that's going to be sufficient for the DNC's needs. It's not a lot of time; we're inside the tight window already."

The change to Invesco surprised AT&T, the official wireless provider, as well. "That's a bit of a curveball for all of us involved," said Jace Barbin, vice president of the Rocky Mountain region for AT&T.

For more:
- See the Denver Post story

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