The wireless industry continues to struggle with service outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast region when it came ashore Aug. 29, but by late last week, carriers appeared to be making some progress. News reports indicated that wireless services were severed almost completely in many communities due to power outages caused by wind and flood damage following the catastrophic fury of the hurricane.
By the end of last week, several operators had managed to repair networks in many areas away from the Gulf Coast region that did not suffer as much flooding, but were still having difficulties in and around New Orleans. Reports indicated that wireless customers successfully were placing calls or sending and receiving text messages, but there were still issues with receiving calls in many areas.
Analysts noted local agencies likely would place more emphasis on getting wireline services up and running in the hardest-hit locations to support 911 services, but that wireless carriers would be aggressive in getting their networks back online as quickly as possible.
“I think the wireline networks will be the first priority, but the wireless carriers can expedite their progress by working together and at least getting basic voice service up and running as fast as possible,” said Visant Strategies senior analyst Larry Swasey. “Those networks have become very important for emergency and police, and the carriers will likely provide priority access for those needs in the short term.”
T-Mobile USA Inc. said more than 80 percent of its coverage was operational in the Mobile, Ala., area and more than 40 percent was operational in the Hattiesburg, Miss., and surrounding Gulf Coast region. The carrier still was having trouble in the New Orleans area, where it said it had 50 percent of its coverage was operational, but that downtown New Orleans was still experiencing limited services as engineering crews were not yet able to reach cell sites.
T-Mobile USA noted that its switching center in New Orleans remained operational throughout the hurricane, and that as of last Wednesday, it was processing more than 1 million calls per day in and out of New Orleans.
Sprint Nextel Corp. said it was sending hundreds of engineers and technicians, as well as nearly two dozen vehicles into the area, but it cannot reach many sites until it is deemed safe.
“Obviously we must wait until it is safe to move into the area, but once it is safe to do so, our customers can count on us being there for them,” said Sal Todaro, Sprint Nextel’s area vice president. “There will be many power issues to deal with, and we want to reassure our customers that we will put forth an effort second to none in recovering from this devastating storm.”
The carrier added that many wireless sites that relied on battery backup have failed and will have to wait until it is safe for generators and personnel to recharge the batteries to turn the sites back on.
“Our equipment needs power to work, and while many sites have backup generators or batteries, some of those sites may be flooded,” Todaro added. “Also there are issues where other carriers to whom we connect might be out of service. It is a complex issue, but we have the people and assets in place to respond as quickly as humanly possible.”
Sprint Nextel noted that a switch located below sea level in the New Orleans area reported flooding and had to be shut down, impacting long-distance calls into and out of the area.
The carrier also noted that the network issues have impacted customers as far away as the Florida Panhandle because long-distance service is typically directed through New Orleans.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has set up free emergency calls at its open company-owned retail stores in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The carrier also said it plans to deploy mobile calling vans in the area, providing free phone calls.
The carrier said it has emergency crews in the area that are beginning to survey cell-site outages, but noted that they have limited access to those sites due to blocked roads and unsafe conditions. Cingular added that it has more than 500 generators ready to be dispatched as soon as conditions allow, as well as more than 240,000 gallons of fuel for those generators.
Verizon Wireless said it had managed to restore service to many parts of the Gulf Coast as engineers were able to gain access to impacted areas. The carrier noted that by last Thursday it also had restored service at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International airport, which had become a staging area for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Regional operators also reported significant progress.
Cellular South Inc. said some of its network in Mississippi was still operational, and according to a spokeswoman, was the only wireless or wireline communications network still operating in many areas. The carrier said it took extra precautions prior to the hurricane hitting, including deploying generators, and has deployed temporary towers in many areas. Cellular South noted that it was providing emergency response personnel priority access to its network and asking customers to place only emergency calls on the network or use text messages, which place less demand on the network.
Regional iDEN operator SouthernLinc also reported significant improvements across its network with 98 percent of its sites across Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi operational by last Thursday.
With the short-term focus on just getting wireless networks back on-air, Swasey noted the long-term impact could last up to a year.
“It could take at least three months just to rebuild the systems in the hardest-hit areas, and that will be just getting the network operational,” Swasey said. “There are also problems with customers having likely lost their handsets in the flooding and the possibility of an increase in bankruptcy filings that will impact the back-office and billing systems for carriers. It might be a year before everything is back to normal.”
