WASHINGTON—Verizon Wireless lost 11 cell sites in the attacks on Tuesday in New York and at the Pentagon but service has generally been restored except in lower Manhattan by the use of temporary sites, Jim Gerace, Verizon Wireless spokesman, told RCR Wireless News.
Verizon Wireless has or is in the process of deploying 10 cell-on-wheels (COWs). Of those 10, two are in D.C. and one in Pittsburgh—near the location of the crash of the fourth aircraft, said Gerace.
The 11 sites are out of service because landline service in the lower Manhattan area has been decimated and calls cannot be carried on that network. Verizon Wireless has its own switch that was not impacted but the landline network often carries calls and that is not currently possible in some areas of lower Manhattan.
In a separate briefing, Larry Babbio, vice chairman of Verizon Communications’ telecom group, said that one center office in lower Manhattan is still standing but beams from the collapsed World Trade Center 7 building have penetrated the building. All of the equipment in the telecom central office is covered with soot and ash and must be vacuumed and cleaned. “We have literally a dozen floors to go through floor by floor,” said Babbio.
Gerace said the spike in demand on Tuesday was 100 percent of normal but by Wednesday afternoon had returned to normal with the exception of those sites that must use lower Manhattan to connect.
“The Pentagon is operating perfectly with very little blocking,” said Gerace.
Although Verizon Wireless has claimed spectrum shortages in the past, Gerace said “spectrum is not a problem at this point.”
