As Hurricane Isabel bears down on the U.S. eastern seaboard, wireless carriers are confident their networks are already prepared for the worst. Unlike other recent emergencies, including Sept. 11, 2001, and the August power outage, Isabel was anticipated, giving operators time to make necessary preparations.
“We need to be able to act quickly, but we don’t want to over-anticipate,” Verizon Wireless spokesperson Andrea Linskey said earlier this week, while the carrier was reviewing its disaster recovery process in light of the hurricane warnings.
Verizon’s disaster plan includes ensuring backup batteries and emergency generators are in place, and that its fleet of portable generators and “cells on wheels” are ready for deployment. The company also has stocked loaner phones for use by emergency personnel in the disaster area. In addition, Verizon can re-route calls to customer care centers that might be in affected areas and plans to keep constant communication with its contractor and vendor partners.
In a release issued today, the carrier encouraged customers to charge wireless phone batteries well and to have additional charged batteries or cigarette lighter chargers available. Verizon also suggested customers maintain a list of emergency numbers and distribute their wireless numbers to friends and family, and issued a reminder to hit the “send” key and give a location if dialing 911.
AT&T Wireless Services has similar plans in place, including a ready stash of portable generators, call re-routing capabilities, spare phones for emergency personnel, and teams of emergency workers on standby. “We have to get all our ducks in a row,” said AT&T’s spokesman Ritch Blasi of the company’s contingency plan.
Sprint said it began preparing for Isabel months ago in its annual preparations for hurricane season. The company has put personnel across the East and Midwest on alert and has also placed supplemental equipment in locations likely to be affected. The company said it has made sure its generators are completely filled with fuel, its PCS cell site batteries are fully charged and emergency supplies are available.
During the storm, Sprint suggested customers make only emergency or essential calls. Fewer calls on the network will preserve battery capacity, giving the carrier additional time to move backup generators into affected areas.
Carriers were urged by officials at Monday’s Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NRIC) meeting in Washington, D.C., to prepare their networks for the pending disaster, demonstrating that expectations have been placed on the wireless industry to perform in emergency situations.
