Cingular Wireless Ready to Weather Tropical Storm Arlene in Louisiana
10 Juin 2005 - 8:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
Cingular Wireless Ready to Weather Tropical Storm Arlene in
Louisiana NEW ORLEANS, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- With the first
tropical storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season churning in
the Gulf of Mexico and threatening to become a minor hurricane by
landfall, the nation's largest wireless network stands ready to
weather the storm. The National Hurricane Center says Tropical
Storm Arlene is projected to make a beeline for the U.S. Gulf Coast
and could land somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida
Panhandle this weekend. "We know all too well how critical
communication is in an emergency situation," said Joe Larussa,
VP/GM for Cingular's Alabama/Louisiana/Mississippi/Northwest
Florida Region. "Our network was tested by the storms last year and
proved its reliability. For many people, their wireless phone was
their only line of communication during and after the hurricanes."
While everyone hopes for a quieter season this year, National
Hurricane Center officials do anticipate an above-average
probability of U.S. hurricane landfall this season. The Cingular
network is designed and built to withstand hurricane-force winds.
Additionally, the company has a rigorous emergency preparedness and
response process in place: - Cingular conducts ongoing readiness
drills throughout the year to ensure network facilities and
personnel are ready-to-go at a moment's notice. - Cingular's
Regional Network Operations Center (RNOC) monitors and maintains
the network 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The monitoring
system allows Cingular to assess and handle any emergency situation
within minutes. - Because electrical outages are prevalent during
storms, select Cingular cell sites are backed up by high-capacity
batteries and emergency generators, ensuring a secure source for
power if needed. - Cingular has Cellular on Wheels, also known as
"COWs," which 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. - "COLTs," or Cellular
on Light Trucks, are smaller than COWs and can be driven wherever a
mobile cell site is needed and include two masts for microwave
antennas. - A "RAT," or Remote Antenna Trailer, provides back-up
antenna service if a tower is out of service. "Equally important,
our employees are prepared to help customers before, during and
after these occurrences," added Norman. To help consumers
understand what to expect when they use their cell phones or other
wireless devices during an emergency and what they can do to
prepare, Cingular offers these tips: Before severe weather hits: -
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.
- Consider additional cell phones for your family's use. If you
want to add additional cell phones to your wireless service,
remember to do so prior to the emergency. Staying in touch and
maximizing your wireless service during and after an emergency: -
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. -
Use a landline phone if it is available. In many instances,
landline service may still be available in your area so this still
may be an option. - 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 through Cingular's Mobi-TV service or
through My-Cast Weather. - If you have a camera phone, take, store
and send photos of damaged property to your insurance company from
your device. About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the
largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 50.4 million
customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications
Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the
largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the
ALLOVER(SM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community
of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S.
wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets
customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company
are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless
press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at
http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless
CONTACT: Calie Shackleford of Cingular Wireless, +1-615-221-3690,
or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/
http://www.cingular.com/newsroom
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