AT&T reports record-breaking data usage during papal visit

If you were at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the papal Mass Sunday, chances are you were deploying your mobile phone.  One provider says you used up a lot of your data plans.

If you sent a papal selfie or Periscoped from the Parkway, you are now officially part of a record-breaking bunch, according to Brandy Bell of ATT Wireless.

“Total data usage was 12.6 terabytes, and that is the equivalent of 36 million social media posts with photos,” she said.

For context, Bell compared the numbers to another event, Superbowl Sunday.

“Our data usage in Philadelphia this weekend was approximately seven and half times greater than we experienced at the stadium in Phoenix for this year’s big game,” she said.

ATT invested more than $20 million in improvements in Philadelphia to accommodate the crowds during the pope’s visit. Many of those upgrades will stay in place within what was known as the “Francis Festival Zone.”