Verizon announced their wireless services are ready for the 2005 hurricane season. Verizon was quite pleased with the way their system performed during last years catastrophic hurricane season sighting a 96% call success rate in some areas just hours after the Francis gave a fair attempt at drowning the entire state of Florida.
“We take our role in public safety very seriously,” said Dick Lynch, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Verizon Wireless. “Our customers depend on their wireless phones every day-and it’s especially important for calls to go through during times of emergency. Preparing for these emergencies and maintaining the nation’s most reliable wireless network play an important part in our commitment to our customers.”
Verizon Wireless preparation for the 2005 hurricane season includes:
— The Verizon Wireless network is built for reliability in emergencies,
with battery back up power at all facilities, as well as generators
installed at all switching facilities and many cell site locations.
This capability is critical when power goes out and if roads are
impassable in the wake of a storm.
— The company has a fleet of Cells on Wheels (COWS) and Cells on Light
Trucks (COLTS), which are self-powered transmitters that can be rolled
into hard-hit locations or areas that need extra network capacity.
Network teams also have hundreds of generators ready to go to further
strengthen the network.
— Verizon Wireless is fully prepared to again quickly set up wireless
emergency communication centers (WECCs) to serve residents and rescue
agencies in the area(s) in the greatest need.
— The company has developed and practiced a comprehensive emergency
response plan, including preparing emergency command centers in the
case of a storm or crisis.
Verizon Wireless has regularly invested more than $4 billion nationally each year since its inception – and more than $5 billion last year alone – to expand and upgrade its nationwide wireless network. The company’s most reliable network claim is based on the network studies completed by test men and women, who conduct more than 300,000 calls monthly on the national Verizon Wireless network and other wireless carriers’ networks while traveling more than 100,000 miles in specially-equipped company test vehicles.
John Stith is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
