Plan calls for improved wireless service on National Mall

New plan introduced to improve cell service on the National Mall

National Park Service officials have come up with a plan to improve wireless service along the National Mall and at nearby parks.

WASHINGTON - National Park Service officials have come up with a plan to improve wireless service along the National Mall and at nearby parks.

What we know:

The plan will be presented to the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday.

Officials said it's necessary in part because the National Mall is often a hub for major events with large crowds. That places considerable demand on commercial mobile networks, potentially leaving visitors, as well as first responders, with degraded wireless service.

The hope is that, ultimately, each wireless carrier would be able to handle up to five times more phone and data traffic than it can today.

What they're saying:

"I was here for the, a couple of the related inaugural stuff earlier this year, and it was, I mean, you couldn’t really place a call," Adam Murphy, who lives in Arlington, said while standing on the Mall Tuesday. He added, "if you don’t have phone service and you’re twenty minutes from the nearest place that might have Wi-Fi, it’s pretty tough. So, I think that would be great, especially for emergency services."

Dig deeper:

Many details still need to be worked out, including settling on how best to add infrastructure without subtracting from the beauty of the National Mall.

For more information about what will be presented on Thursday, you can click here.