Sprint said it is preparing for the potential
impact of Tropical Storm Fay threatening to make landfall in the
Florida Keys Monday evening and then again through southwest and
central Florida Tuesday. Sprint has staged backup generators and personnel in
strategic locations in Florida to manage potential service impacts.
Sprint also installed permanent generators at more than
1,000 additional sites in hurricane-prone communities in Florida in
2007. Sprint also added more than 450 new sites throughout the state
of Florida to its Nationwide Sprint Network and Nextel National
network in 2007.
Customers can take proactive steps before the storm hits. Sprint
offers the following consumer tips to prepare for a possible landfall:
-
Keep your wireless phone and backup batteries charged, but be
aware that an interruption of wireline and commercial power
could affect wireless calls. -
If possible, get extra batteries and charge them.
- In times of commercial power outages, a car adapter for your
wireless phone should enable you to recharge the battery. -
Keep phones and necessary accessories in a sealed plastic bag
to avoid water damage. -
Load family and emergency numbers into your wireless phone.
-
Wireless networks sometimes experience heavy traffic during
emergency events, so remember to use Nextel Direct Connect(
or send a text message.
For more information about Sprint Nextel hurricane preparation
efforts, or to learn what you can do to prepare for a major storm,
visit: www.sprint.com/hurricaneinformation.
One of the primary reasons for the loss of wireless service in a
hurricane is the loss of commercial power to the cell site. Sprint
continues to take steps to reduce the effect of power loss on its
wireless networks. In 2007, Sprint invested $59 million for hurricane
preparations in storm-prone coastal communities. This investment
included the installation of permanent generators for critical
wireless sites and network facilities as well as investment in
additional portable generators and Cell Sites on Wheels (COWs) -
mobile cell sites that can be deployed in impacted areas to restore
service quickly. This equipment provides backup to the networks in the
event of power outages or other damage that could result after a
hurricane.
As a standard practice, Sprint has permanent generators at all of
its wireless and wireline switches, the network components where data
and calls are routed to their final destination. In addition,
permanent generators are installed at all of the company's network
Points of Presence (POP), the facilities where traffic enters and
leaves the company's global IP network, which facilitates dedicated
data services for Sprint's corporate and government customers as well
as other critical communications. These backup generators have
automatic cutover switches to immediately neutralize any loss of
commercial power.
Sprint has a strong track record of providing critical
communications and personnel to assist first responders with relief
efforts. Sprint's network and business continuity teams will deploy
additional Satellite Cell on Light Trucks (SatCOLTS,) the design of
which is proprietary to Sprint. SatCOLTS help facilitate
communications among relief and response agencies.