Network providers prepped for Rita's rage

Computerworld - Wireless and landline telephone service providers in Texas said they were scurrying today to face the possible effects of Hurricane Rita, even as many phone crews continued to repair damage from Hurricane Katrina, which hit in neighboring Louisiana almost four weeks ago.
Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile U.S.A. Inc. issued separate statements detailing efforts to bring to the Texas Gulf Coast region reserve fuel for emergency generators, portable cellular transmitters, emergency response teams and phones for use by local police and fire officials.
Mike Karageorge, area vice president for Sprint Nextel in Texas, said efforts to restore service in areas hit by Katrina would not be curtailed by preparations to deal with Rita, which is expected to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border tomorrow morning.
Sprint Nextel Corp. spokesman John Taylor and other carrier representatives said it is too early to dissect the lessons learned from Katrina and how they might benefit Rita preparations. However, Sprint did learn after repairs from four hurricanes in five weeks in Florida last year "that we needed a better understanding of weather tracking," Taylor said.
That prompted Sprint to hire a private weather forecasting company to help predict areas of the worst damage so the company would know where best to deploy its crews.
Patrick Kimball, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, said his company also learned a lot last year from the storms in Florida. But because of Katrina, "we're being more proactive in establishing liaisons with public safety agencies in advance [of Rita] to let them know where there might be service disruptions and to facilitate access for our teams."
Kimball also said repair crews from surrounding areas have been offering relief to workers from the first storm. In fact, some Houston-area workers helped out near New Orleans but have been back long enough to help prepare for Rita.
Michael Coe, a spokesman for SBC Communications Inc., the major local network provider in Texas, said hundreds of SBC workers are already positioned in locations 20 miles to 50 miles from the Texas coastline. Dozens of telephone central offices were prepped for Rita as well, with emergency generators topped off with fuel and doors fortified.
SBC was not directly affected by Katrina but sent some crews to help other carriers, Coe said. "Year-round we do preparations and simulations, but Katrina drove home the type of damage that can be done. A major hurricane of Rita's size hasn't hit the Texas coast for decades, so we're taking every step possible to respond as quickly and effectively