[May 05, 2004] Cingular Wireless is Prepared When Severe Weather Hits SAN ANTONIO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Is your wireless company prepared when severe weather hits? With the start of the 2004 hurricane season less than a month away this is an important question for South Texas coastal residents to ask. Cingular Wireless customers can rest assured that their company is prepared for Mother Nature's challenges this hurricane season. The company's advanced network is designed to handle severe weather, as well as other natural disasters. "Wireless devices have become an important communications tool for staying in touch with friends, colleagues and loved ones, especially during emergency situations," said Andy Shibley, vice president and general manager for Cingular in South Texas. "Not only are ordinary citizens able to keep in touch, but many emergency responders throughout the state use Cingular Wireless for communications for severe weather." National Hurricane Center (NHC) officials recently advised residents in Atlantic and Gulf Coast states to be prepared for the upcoming hurricane season, which runs June 1 through November 30. The recent upturn in Atlantic basin and Gulf Coast hurricane activity, which began in 1995 is expected to continue in 2004. NHC officials anticipate an above-average number of tropical cyclones and an above-average probability of U.S. hurricane landfalls. To prepare for impending severe weather, Cingular Wireless monitors local weather situations, and its network team remains in constant contact with local city and emergency officials. Cingular also takes steps so that that communities and emergency crews impacted by hurricanes can use their wireless devices to keep in touch. How does Cingular prepare its network for hurricane season? - Cingular's Regional Network Operations Center (RNOC) monitors and maintains its wireless network 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout all the Midwest region of the company. The monitoring system allows Cingular to assess and respond to any emergency situation within a timely manner. - Towers and switching centers are designed and built to withstand hurricane-force winds. - As electrical outages are prevalent during storms, 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 (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. - Smaller than a "COW" are "COLTs" - or Cellular on Light Trucks, which are vehicles that can be driven wherever a mobile cell site is needed and include two masts for microwave antennas. - Rounding out the network menagerie is a "RAT," a backup Remote Antenna Trailer provides back-up antenna service if a tower is out of service. "Cingular Wireless has nearly 20 years of experience in handling severe weather," Shibley said. "Our networks have been tested in the past by severe weather and other disasters and have responded to the challenge. Equally important, our employees are prepared to help customers before, during and after these occurrences." ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth , serves more than 25 million voice and data customers across the United States. A leader in mobile voice and data communications, Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular has launched the world's first commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology. Cingular provides cellular/PCS service in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate e-mail and other advanced data services through its GPRS, EDGE and Mobitex packet data networks. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Frank Merriman of Cingular Wireless, +1-972-774-4802, [email protected] Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]