In the wake of Michael Jackson's tragic death, more than 100 million mourning fans tapped into mobile to view the memorial service via the GoTV Network, the only mobile provider to distribute live coverage.

AEG, the entertainment group heading up the event, chose GoTV to cover the historical event in order to connect fans on-the-go to coverage they wouldn't be able to access elsewhere. Just as mobile usage skyrocketed on the day of the King of Pop's passing, Verizon Wireless also saw a boost in mobile usage during the memorial.

"Our goal was to cover this historical event and pay tribute to one of the music industry's most talented icons," said Daniel Tibbets, executive vice president and studio chief, GoTV Networks, Los Angeles. "It was GoTV's privileged to partner with AEG and deliver this live event to millions of music fans everywhere, so they could share in this legendary event."

The memorial service for Michael Jackson was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 7.

From 10am to noon on that day, voice calls on the Verizon network in the vicinity of the Staples Center went up 10 percent from the same time on the previous day.

During the same time frame, data usage involving SMS and mobile Web jumped an incredible 86 percent from the day before. Verizon made certain to add that its network handled the traffic well.

Verizon streamed the memorial live via its Verizon V-Cast service which is also part of GoTV's Network.

"GoTV was the official mobile partner," Mr. Tibbets said. "GoTV's channels, such as Hip Hop Official, Rock on Altitude, Es Musica and True country reach the largest amount of potential viewers because they are across all the carriers and platforms.

"As with any medium, reach is important," he said.

Other wireless carriers that work on the GoTV Network include Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Boost, Nextel, Alltel, Cricket and Virgin.

The GoTV Network provided live coverage of the entire memorial service on each of its channels such as Hip Hop Official, Rock On Altitude, Es Musica, True Country, Just Nutz and the GoTV SuperChannel starting at 9 am.

Just as Michael Jackson will never be forgotten, Verizon Wireless saw that his music won't either as MJ ringtones, ringbacks and full tracks remain a part of V-Cast's Top 10.

"We'll likely see some continued interest in Michale Jackson's music, but hard to say for how long," said Debra Lewis, spokeswoman at Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ. "It's always available at Verizon's media store for fans who want to buy it."

Moreover, the Michael Jackson tribute ringtone jukebox is the best-selling jukebox in Verizon Wireless history, selling ten times more than its predecessor.

GoTV and Verizon weren't the only ones who saw a spike in mobile usage.

Transpera reported an 88 percent increase in mobile video consumption on the day of the memorial, only 20 percent less than on the actual day of Michael Jackson's death, June 25.

"Mobile devices are great tools to access our media, information and entertainment," Mr. Tibbets said. "The quality, ease of use and speed of mobile devices are getting better every day."