Hurricane Prompts AT&T, Verizon to Safeguard Wireless Networks

U.S. wireless telephone companies said they are preparing for Hurricane Irene a day after regulators expressed concern that clogged mobile-phone networks slowed emergency calls after this week’s earthquake in Virginia.

AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) are taking steps including assembling disaster recovery teams, generators and supplies to cope with possible flooding and power outages, the companies said today in separate statements.

Hurricane Irene, the strongest Atlantic storm to threaten the U.S. since 2005, is forecast to pass near North Carolina this weekend and slam into New England next week. More than 65 million people, or one in five Americans, may be affected by the storm, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Federal Communications Commission is monitoring the path of the storm and coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security Department, FCC spokesman Neil Grace said in an e-mail today.

The FCC said yesterday it’s concerned about incidents in which wireless calls to 911 were hindered by overwhelmed mobile- phone networks after the Aug. 23 temblor in Virginia that rattled the U.S. East Coast.

“These are the moments when mobile phone service is needed most -- and disruptions put lives at risk,” Jamie Barnett, chief of the agency’s public safety and homeland bureau, said in an e-mail yesterday on quake-related network congestion. He said the FCC is contacting wireless carriers to “determine the cause of reported outages in an immediate effort to identify and address the problems.”

Spikes in Volume

Congestion reported after the earthquake “was caused by the wireless networks processing substantial spikes in volume,” Amy Storey, a spokeswoman for the CTIA wireless industry trade group, said in an e-mail yesterday. “While some people may have experienced delayed text or e-mail messages, most went through in a timely fashion,” she said.

The wireless companies today urged customers to use text- messaging, rather than voice calls, during an emergency to minimize network congestion. They also recommended that customers keep their mobile-phone batteries charged.

Barnett said that the 5.8-magnitude quake near Mineral, Virginia, illustrated the need for updated 911 services that allow for text, photo and video messaging. He said the FCC will continue working with wireless carriers on an emergency-alert system that would steer government messages around network congestion to mobile-phone users.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/hurricane-prompts-at-t-verizon-to-safeguard-wireless-networks.html