2012 London Olympics: Is DAS calling? (Is anyone calling? Hello?)

Jacquelin Magnay, covering the 2012 London Olympics for The Telegraph, recently reported that Mayor Boris Johnson admitted mobile-phone users in the city may be out of luck when the games are going on because of a capacity crunch.

"Johnson said he had been concerned about mobile phone capacity for more than two years but the increasing reliance on smartphones ... and the booming sales of tablets ... was making the task [of shifting mobile capacity to the Olympic Park from other parts of the city] increasingly difficult." The mayor is also quoted as saying, "We are looking to install enough masts and have enough physical infrastructure and coverage for the huge demands."

Magnay explained some recent challenges the city has faced concerning mobile-coverage during the games, including the implications of potential mobile blackouts, then added, "the latest problem simply relates to the expectation many of the spectators in the Olympic Park's nine venues will want to tweet, send pictures and text at rates not seen before."

I bet the DAS Forum would enjoy the opportunity to explain to organizers of the London games, the merits of using distributed antenna systems in venues such as theirs.