WASHINGTON-Mobile-phone carriers last week made significant progress restoring wireless service knocked out along the Texas-Louisiana coastline by Hurricane Rita, restoration efforts that added to those already under way in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The Federal Communications Commission extended for 30 days certain regulatory and filing deadlines for wireless licensees and applicants in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.
Meantime, President Bush said he wants Congress to consider designating the Department of Defense the lead agency in response to a terrorist attack or a major natural disaster. The Department of Homeland Security, sharply criticized for its response to Hurricane Katrina, has top responsibility for handling such emergencies today. Any shift in emergency management could affect how wireless companies and first responders interface with the federal government during man-made and natural disasters.
Cellular carriers said Hurricane Rita, being less powerful than Hurricane Katrina, caused less destruction to wireless facilities and thus fewer cell-phone outages. However, Hurricane Rita, despite having weakened before making landfall Sept. 24, still managed to wreak havoc with cell-phone service along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
T-Mobile USA Inc. said Friday it had restored wireless coverage in the Texas and Louisiana areas hit hardest by Hurricane Rita to either normal or near-normal levels. T-Mobile USA said coverage is available in most metro-Houston and surrounding areas, with more than 95 percent of the carrier’s cell sites in the affected areas operational.
The carrier added that the New Orleans area is at or near normal service levels as well, with more than 90 percent of T-Mobile’s cell sites in the New Orleans area operational.
T-Mobile USA early last week temporarily offered free Wi-Fi Internet service at many of its nearly 550 HotSpot locations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, which were not forced to close due to Hurricane Rita.
Sprint Nextel Corp. said the bulk of its wireless outages from Rita occurred in Houston, where its network was operating at 90 percent early last week, and in Lake Charles, La., where crews were focusing on restoration efforts. Some stores in Houston and Galveston, Texas, began reopening days after Hurricane Rita.
Sprint Nextel said 70 percent of its wireless network services now are operational in the New Orleans market following Hurricane Katrina, and work is nearly complete in Mississippi, where the company has restored more than 95 percent of coverage. Sprint Nextel said it would reopen retail stores in Slidell, Mandeville and Elmwood, La., to better serve customers who are returning to the New Orleans area.
Verizon Wireless early last week said about 90 percent of the carrier’s cell sites in areas hit by Hurricane Rita were operational and that area stores were providing support to customers. By mid-week, Verizon Wireless said service to Houston and Galveston was nearly restored, with significant improvements in Lufkin, Jasper and Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, La.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said more than half of its cell sites in the Texas and Louisiana areas rocked by Hurricane Rita were working. “We continue to make good progress in the areas hit by Hurricane Rita, which did not have as big an impact on our facilities that Hurricane Katrina did,” said Mark Siegel, a spokesman for Cingular.
Cingular Wireless and other wireless carriers said they have cell sites on wheels and backup generators ready if needed.
Alltel Corp. said retail stores throughout Louisiana, east Texas and south Arkansas remained closed last Sunday.
Nextel Partners Inc. said technicians were working to restore remaining service outages in its Gulf Coast network, particularly in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Rita along the Louisiana and Texas coastline.
“Based on all the warnings, we braced ourselves for the worst-case scenario and had our technicians standing by as the storm hit,” said Jim Ryder, vice president and chief operating officer of Nextel Partners. “They have been working tirelessly to restore the impacted cell sites, many of which are already up and running, and we expect additional sites to be operational in short order. Our hearts go out to the people of the Gulf Coast, including our partners (employees) who live and work in the region, and we remain committed to support relief and recovery efforts throughout the area.”
Nextel Partners, among other efforts, said it is raising additional relief funds for the American Red Cross by donating $25 for every BlackBerry wireless handset sold through Oct. 31 in Northwest Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas where Nextel Partners is licensed to provide service.
