Wireless providers prep for Hurricane Florence
As millions evacuate the mid-Atlantic coastal region ahead of Hurricane Florence, wireless providers are mounting an invasion of support crews and high-tech machinery to repair and restore connectivity in the storm’s wake.
The incursion includes a menagerie of machines with animal monickers meant to help mend the hurricane-hit area’s communications network. There are COWs (cells on wheels), COLTs (cells on light trucks), CROWs (cellular repeaters on wheels), GOATs (generators on a trailer) and Spiders, webs of circuitry meant to improve connectivity in hotels, command centers and shelters.
Also set to be deployed: scores of drones to assess damage to the thousands of cell towers that blanket the North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia region expected to bear the brunt of Florence’s wrath.
Wireless providers’ response has grown in importance in recent years, as more than 52 percent of homes only have wireless phones, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
“They are the second responders basically,” said analyst Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, a telecom research and consulting firm.
All the major wireless providers – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon – are well into preparations for Hurricane Florence, forecast to hit the Carolina coasts with hurricane-force winds by Thursday. Among their main missions: ensure cell towers remain operational.
Cell towers typically have on-site generators that keep the sites running for three to five days should the area lose power. Provided winds don’t surpass the Category 4 range of 130 to 156 mph, cell sites should likely remain undamaged, Entner says.
Once the storm has passed, providers will use drones to assess damage and, if needed, a drone called a “flying COW” could be used to provide temporary wireless coverage until cell sites are back up and running, said Scott Mair, president of operations for AT&T Technology & Operations. Those drones were first used in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, he said. Steps consumers can take:
❚ Plug emergency phone numbers you might need into your mobile devices ahead of time.
❚ Have a family communications plan so everyone can connect and let others know they are safe.
❚ Make sure your devices are fully charged and you have extra batteries and car chargers on hand.
❚ Have plastic, resealable baggies to keep devices dry.
❚ Set up Wi-Fi calling. This could allow you to make calls if you have power but no cell service.
❚ Use text messages whenever possible during and after a major weather event to lessen network congestion.