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Carrier offers consumer preparation tips CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is proving to be an active one as Tropical Storm Irene heads toward the North Carolina coast. It is predicted to strengthen as it approaches Cape Hatteras, and Cingular, with the nation's largest wireless network, stands ready to weather the storm. The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Irene could make landfall along the North Carolina coast early next week. "We know all too well how critical communication is in an emergency situation," said Rob Forsyth, VP/GM for Cingular's North and South Carolina Region. "Cingular's 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." 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. "Equally important, our employees are prepared to help customers before, during and after these occurrences," added Forsyth. 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 51.6 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(R), 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://cingular.mediaroom.com/ . DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Dawn Benton of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-5305 (office), +1-404-202-6335 (wireless), Web site: http://www.cingular.com/

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