Washington D.C. wireless networks were temporarily overloaded yesterday, as millions swarmed the city for Barack Obama’s inauguration as President of the United States. Congestion had eased by mid afternoon, however, and carriers say they are generally happy with network performance during the event, which was attended by more than a million people.

AT&T has been preparing for the inauguration ceremony for months, and temporarily increased 3G network capacity by 80%, according to a company spokesman. This was done by installing ‘COWs’ (or ‘Cells On Wheels’) throughout the Washington D.C. area.

Independent telecom analyst, Jeff Kagan, described network performance during the event as “a success, with a hiccup here and there.”

“In situations like this there simply cannot be enough capacity,” Kagan explained. “So if the network is busy when you try your call, then just hang up and try again. As soon as someone else hangs up, another call can be taken.”

Verizon Wireless, which recently became America’s largest wireless carrier, reported five times more than the usual volume yesterday afternoon, but said that the vast majority of calls were still getting through on the first attempt.