'Go Philadelphia!' mobile app created for papal visitors

Pack 1.5 million people into a one-mile stretch of Philadelphia and there could be some issues with cell service.

With Pope Francis coming to highlight the World Meeting of Families in late September, Philadelphia's thousands of visitors will need information at their fingertips, from where to find the nearest restaurant to the closing time of a museum.

Anticipating swelling crowds and huge demands on bandwidth, the World Meeting of Families has created the "Go Philadelphia!" mobile app in partnership with IBM.

The app, announced Wednesday by Donna Crilley Farrell, executive director of the World Meeting of Families, is already available free on the Apple App Store and Google Plus. It has stored maps and information on 120 cultural and historical exhibits and events in the region Sept. 18-29 and will be updated in coming weeks. Organizers hope people will use it to plan their visits ahead of time.

"We recognize how overwhelming this could be for our visitors and also for the residents who will participate," said Crilley Farrell. "This provides a guide, instant access to the information visitors need, institutions and exhibits, schedules and translation services and maps."

The World Meeting of Families Congress runs Sept. 22-25, with the pope's visit that weekend.

In addition to stored information, which can be accessed without Internet access, the app will also provide real-time translation and captioning in eight languages during portions of the Papal Mass on Sunday, Sept. 27. Pope Francis is known to speak to and fro among languages when he addresses crowds.

The app will include curated travel information and FAQs; maps of papal visit locations, religious sites, and city landmarks; emergency information and Facebook updates. Information about cultural and historical exhibits was submitted from organizations and organized by Visit Philadelphia.

Diane Melley, vice president of Global Citizenship for IBM, said she hopes the app lives on past the papal visit, as the app could be updated with information for future big events in Philadelphia.

Crilley Farrell said telecommunications had been a primary focus of planning.

"It's been a constant conversation because everyone is aware of the issue," she said. "People are going to want to use the app and also stream video and text. The need for bandwidth is only going to increase, but this will, I imagine, tax the resources in a really big way."

Crilley Farrell said cellphone charging stations would be available in the Convention Center, where the World Meeting will convene. She said she was in talks with event planners about positioning some stations along the Parkway.

Tom Dugan, chief technology officer for the World Meeting of Families, said the purpose of the app was to give people access to information in the event they don't have an Internet connection.

"If you go to an Eagles game and try to use your phone at halftime, there's just not enough bandwidth, so we understand that," he said.

The organizers have partnered with all major cellphone carriers, which are positioning extra mobile coverage throughout Center City.

Each of 40-some Jumbotrons will be equipped with eight high-density hot spots to provide free WiFi in the most congested areas, Dugan said.

Xfinity is also opening all of its corporate hot spots for free access that weekend.

Still, there are no guarantees of connection speed during the biggest moments of the event.

"It's not a question of will I be able to send an e-mail or a tweet," he said. "It's a question of how long does that take?"

215-854-5506@juliaterruso