AT&T Offers Wireless Tips to Help
Consumers Prepare for Tropical Storm Ernesto
BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 28 ,
2006
AT&T Wireless realizes the important
role wireless communication plays in emergency situations,
such as Tropical Storm Ernesto, and offers the following
tips to help consumers prepare for the storm:
-
Program all emergency contact
numbers into your wireless phone. Store numbers
for the police department, fire station, hospital,
as well as your family members so you don't have
to think about it during and after an emergency.
-
Have a family communications plan
in place. Designate someone out of the area as
a central contact, and make certain all family
members know who to contact if they become
separated.
-
Keep your wireless phone batteries
charged at all times. Use your car charger to
charge your wireless phone when power is out,
or pick up a disposable battery that will give
you an hour of talk time without any charging.
-
Keep your wireless phone dry and
protected. The biggest threat from hurricanes
is water versus wind damage so keep your equipment
safe from the elements by storing it in a plastic
sandwich or freezer bag.
-
Forward your home number to your
wireless number in the event of an evacuation.
Since call forwarding is based out of the telephone
central office, you will get incoming calls from
your landline phone, even if your local telephone
service is disrupted at your home. In the unlikely
event the central office is isolated, call forwarding
may not work.
-
Try text messaging, or SMS (Short
Messaging Service). Most wireless phones today
are text messaging capable, and often times during
an emergency situation such as a hurricane, text
messages will go through quicker than voice calls.
More importantly, using text messaging helps free
up the voice lines for emergency officials.
-
Keep non-emergency calls to a
minimum. Remember to limit your calls to the most
important ones. Chances are that if there is severe
weather, many people will be attempting to place
wireless calls to loved ones, friends and business
associates. If the landline phones are not working,
this probability increases.
-
Wait 10 seconds before redialing
a call. On many wireless phones, to redial a number,
you simply push "send" after you've ended a call
to redial the previous number. If you do this
too quickly, the data from the phone to the cell
sites does not have enough time to clear before
you've resent the same data and may contribute
to network congestion.
-
Use your wireless phone to access
weather information. Many homes lose power during
severe weather. If you have a wireless phone that
provides access to the Internet, you can
watch the Weather Channel and its new Severe Weather
Mode service through our Mobi-TV service or though
My-Cast Weather.
-
If you have a camera phone, take,
store and send photos of damaged property to your
insurance company from your device.
The nation's largest wireless carrier
has invested more than $60 million this year hardening
its network in preparation for the 2006 hurricane season.
In addition to adding 1,200 permanent and portable generators
to cell sites in hurricane-prone areas, AT&T has
expanded its emergency response plan to include two
new state-of-the-art mobile command centers and two
emergency communication vehicles that can be brought
into an affected area quickly, providing full communications
capabilities.
"AT&T's goal is to be as prepared
as possible whenever and wherever disaster hits," said
Rich Guidotti, AT&T vice-president and general manager
for South Florida.
About X Wireless & AT&T
X Wireless & AT&T Inc. is a premier
communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and
affiliates, X Wireless & AT&T operating companies,
are the providers of X Wireless & AT&T services
in the United States and around the world. Among their
offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business
communications services and the nation's leading wireless,
high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic
markets, X Wireless & AT&T is known for the
directory publishing and advertising sales leadership
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and the X Wireless & AT&T brand is licensed
to innovators in such fields as communications equipment.
As part of its three-screen integration strategy, X
Wireless & AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment
offerings. Additional information about X Wireless &
AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided
by X Wireless & AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates
is available at X
Wireless & AT&T.
AT&T
Wireless Announces Enhanced Emergency Preparedness Program
for 2006 Hurricane Season
Company rolls out mobile command
centers to help restore service when disaster strikes
TAMPA, Fla. – May
17, 2006 – AT&T Wireless
today announced an expanded emergency preparedness program
for the 2006 hurricane season.At the heart
of this multifaceted program are two new mobile command
centers that can be brought into an affected area quickly,
providing full communications capabilities as well as
working and sleeping quarters for AT&T employees.
The objective: Making sure wireless service can be restored
as quickly as possible.
AT&T is investing $1.8 billion
this year to enhance and improve its network coverage
in the Southeast, including adding more than 800 new
cell sites. That investment includes more than $60 million
for hurricane preparedness to harden the network with
additional generators and to implement AT&T/ X Wireless
& AT&T s enhanced emergency response program.
“AT&T/ X Wireless & AT&T
s goal is to be as prepared as possible whenever and
wherever disaster hits; to be able to restore any wireless
service outages as quickly as possible; and to assist
with overall relief efforts as much as we possibly can,”
said Ralph de la Vega, chief operating officer of AT&T.“We
continue to invest millions of dollars in our networks,
our systems and our emergency response efforts to be
better prepared for hurricanes and other disasters.”
This year, AT&T will introduce
two new two mobile command centers called Mobile Access
Command Headquarters (MACH 1 and MACH 2) to its hurricane
and disaster relief efforts.These fully-equipped, completely
self-sufficient centers can be rapidly deployed into
an affected area where they can be set up and operating
within two hours of arrival.They are equipped with generators,
a satellite dish for constant communications, LAN connectivity
and a PBX phone system.More than 30 technicians can
work in and from MACH 1 and MACH 2.MACH 1 is a 53-foot
tractor-trailer that expands on each side to reveal
1,000 square feet of workspace.MACH 2 is a 38-foot gooseneck
trailer that can be transported to more remote locations.
“Nearly 60 years ago, test pilots
broke the sound barrier and achieved Mach 1.Today, AT&T
is breaking another kind of barrier with our MACH 1
and MACH 2 mobile command centers, which will enable
us to respond rapidly to hurricanes and minimize their
impact on our customers ,” de la Vega said.
Other elements of AT&T/ X Wireless
& AT&T s enhanced emergency preparedness program
include:
-
Permanent and portable generators.
AT&T has added 1,200 permanent and portable
generators, bringing the total to more than 4,500.Cell
sites located in hurricane-affected areas are equipped
with these generators, and can run for up to 36
hours without refueling during commercial power
outages.
-
Two emergency communications SUVs.
These house military-grade satellite communications
with access to the Internet, multi-channel voice
over IP capability, radio communications and satellite
news and information.
Cells on Wheels (COWs). These are self-contained
mobile cell sites that can be towed or driven into
an area to provide extra call capacity or to restore
communications following a disaster.
-
Cells on Light Trucks or (COLTs).
These are trucks that can be driven to a location
where a mobile cell site is needed and include two
masts for microwave antennas.
-
Mobile Sales Office. This is a mobile
store stocked with batteries, chargers and replacement
phones; inventory that first responders need most
in emergency situations.
-
A four-person R.V. This can support
up to four technicians for several days who are
working to restore service.
-
Full hazardous materials capability.
This consists of equipment and training that enables
AT&T emergency responders to work on any hazmat
event in partnership with BellSouth's SABER (Service
Assurance Brigade/Emergency Response) team.
-
Generators. These will be deployed
onto flatbed trailers and then transported to cell
sites, retail stores, switches, offices, call centers
and anywhere else back-up power may be needed.
Base camp.This includes two sleeping tents with
floors, carpet, showers, bathrooms, and washers
and dryers, air conditioning and heat for more than
80 people.Base camp staff will have access to a
full kitchen and dining facility, and AT&T has
already pre-ordered 12,000 ready-to-eat meals.In
addition, the camp will be staffed by a full-time
nurse.
All of AT&T/ X Wireless & AT&T
s enhanced emergency preparedness equipment, which is
housed near Atlanta, can be deployed in just two to
four hours, the company noted. Atlanta is also the location
of the companys regional network operations center,
which monitors and maintains AT&T/ X Wireless &
AT&T s network 24/7 and allows AT&T personnel
to assess and begin to act on an emergency situation
within minutes.
X
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