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Georgia Residents Urged To Prepare Emergency Communication Plan For 2016 Hurricane SeasonALPHARETTA, Ga., June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This month marks the start of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, reminding Georgia residents that preparation is key to keeping their families safe and ready for severe weather. Verizon Wireless, which operates the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network, offers these tips to help stay in touch and out of danger during hurricane season:
To ensure reliable wireless coverage for customers across the state Verizon has completed extensive storm season preparation as part of its ongoing network enhancements. Since 2000, the company has invested about $111 billion to reinforce coverage, capacity and services, including activating XLTE on sites throughout the nation. XLTE is Verizon's latest high-speed network technology that is especially effective in high-demand locations – such as an area threatened or hit by a storm – where residents are relying on wireless devices to stay in touch. Anchoring Verizon's network coverage in Georgia are the company's network switching centers. These facilities are designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and can serve as Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) for Verizon and first-responders. These facilities – handling tens of millions of wireless connections even on a crisis-free day -- feature hardened shells, large-scale on-site power generation and other back-up systems to ensure the company's network remains strong, running and reliable. Based at the super-switches are fleets of Cells On Wheels (COWs), Cells On Light Trucks (COLTs), Cellular Repeaters On Wheels (CROWs) and Generators On A Trailer (GOATs) that can be deployed quickly to hard-hit locations or areas needing extra wireless capacity. Verizon also has installed back-up generators at more than 97 percent of cell sites in Georgia, including 87 percent in the Savannah region, to maintain wireless communication even in the event of a prolonged power outage. In conjunction with the generators, Verizon has pre-arranged fuel delivery in case of a storm, and will have tankers poised and in position to quickly respond. "Reliable wireless service is critical in emergency communications," Mislevy said. "And we take preparation very seriously." For more details on the Verizon Wireless network, visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte. About Verizon VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/georgia-residents-urged-to-prepare-emergency-communication-plan-for-2016-hurricane-season-300281467.html SOURCE Verizon |