Hurricane season is on the way and cities, businesses, utilities, phone and cable companies are getting ready.  Here is an article from the Palm Beach Post about their preparations.

It left millions without power for weeks, triggered long gas lines, took out traffic lights and trashed the region with debris.

If a storm similar to 2005's Hurricane Wilma were to hit South Florida this year, would we be better prepared? Across the board, businesses, government officials and emergency managers say yes - but don't expect an easy time of it.

Powerful storms create havoc, no matter what, and the government doesn't have the resources to rescue everyone who might be in distress, they say....

...AT&T, the state's largest telephone company, says that it invested more than $3 billion in its landline and wireless systems in Florida from 2006 to 2008.

Among other things, AT&T upgraded key equipment and placed it in safer spots, installed more generators and replaced copper wiring with fiber optic cable.

The company said it has more than 150 technology and equipment trailers ready to fix service problems.

T-Mobile USA spokesman Glenn Zaccara said the company's hurricane preparations include investing in more generators and batteries and securing better access to towers to make repairs after a hurricane by building relationships with government agencies. But since most cell phone signals are transmitted from towers to landlines, cell phone companies rely on landlines to be working in order for cell phones to operate....

Read the entire article...
Written by:  Julie Patel, Jennifer Gollan and Ken Kaye
Date:  July 5, 2009

NISKAYUNA, New York (Reuters) - General Electric Co plans to invest $100 million in a factory to build high-tech batteries for heavy equipment, which it believes could be a $1 billion business over the next decade.

The largest U.S. conglomerate plans to seek federal stimulus money to fund construction of the factory, near Albany, New York. Initially the factory will make batteries for GE's forthcoming hybrid railroad locomotive.

"Battery technology is a core part of the energy future globally. We want to be a part of it," said Jeff Immelt, chief executive of the world's largest maker of jet engines and electricity producing turbines.

"We've invested about $150 million so far in this innovation, this technology," Immelt said....

...The batteries GE will build in the New York plant will use a sodium-metal halide technology that the company believes is well suited to storing large amounts of energy. While initially rolling out to railroad locomotives, GE officials said it could also be used in utility backup systems, emergency power supplies for telecommunications providers and eventually, in a smaller scale, hybrid or plug-in electric cars....

Read the rest of this article...

May 12, 2009

By: http://www.reuters.com

Verizon still has the best marketing machine of all the broadband and cell companies.  They are always there with press releases after a disaster saying how prepared they were.  This time with the potential floods in North Dakota and Minnesota Verizon is out with their press release before the disaster.  Here is a copy the the press release:

FARGO, N.D., March 24, 2009 ---- Flood stages have been reached in parts of the Red River Valley south of Fargo and weather forecasters predict record flooding to reach the Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., areas by Thursday, March 26. Verizon Wireless' network team has made preparations to its digital network here, ready to deliver reliable wireless coverage and service during the Spring flood season. The company's network crews and emergency response teams - including many veterans from previous flooding situations - are actively working in affected areas.

Verizon Wireless' network team has prepared for and is responding to the flood by:

• Utilizing a comprehensive emergency response plan, including activating an Emergency Operations Center (EOC: 38.55, -0.02, -0.05%) and performing disaster drills.
• Additional staffing has been added for 24/7 monitoring of the network.
• Adding 25 per cent more capacity to individual cell sites as needed in areas where consumers are increasing usage of the network.
• At the Fargo Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO: undefined, undefined, undefined%), which processes all voice and data calls in eastern North Dakota, testing pumps and hoses and reinforcing the permanent 32" dike built into the facility with additional sandbagging. In the event of a commercial powerinterruption, redundancy is built into the network--the MTSO has a 750-kilowatt generator to sustain commercial power for up to a week and the facility also has battery backup power for up to eight hours.
• Each cell site in the path of the flooding has been checked by a technician, with fuel added to permanent generators which exist at 97 per cent of cell sites in North Dakota. In addition, all individual cell sites have eight hours of battery backup power in the event of a commercial power interruption.
• Have a supply of 2,000 sandbags for additional needs. So far, four cell sites have been and bagged, including one near Kindred, which has been reinforced and now has 1,800 sandbags protecting the cell site.
• Pre-arranging fuel delivery to mobile units and generators to keep the network operating at full strength even if power is lost for an extended period of time.
• The company has pre-positioned portable cell sites known as Cells on Wheels (COWS: undefined, undefined, undefined%) and a Cells on Light Truck (COLTS: undefined, undefined, undefined%), and generators on trailers (GOaTS) that can be rolled into hard-hit locations or areas that need extra network capacity.
• The company has expanded its EV-DO wireless broadband network, including launching its highest-speed Rev. A network throughout the state. This allows the most advanced wireless services (downloads, location-based applications, video messaging, etc.) and makes the network more reliablefor usage by residents and emergency agencies.

"As we've seen in past storm seasons, wireless communication is crucial during an emergency," said Nancy Clark, president--Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. "It is important that we implement a comprehensive plan to make sure the network stays strong and calls go through when and where they're needed most."

During the past seven years, Verizon Wireless has spent more than $150 million in North Dakota to strengthen and enhance its wireless network. These kinds of intensive investments and preparations have proven crucial during severe weather events. Verizon Wireless has invested more than $50 billion since it was formed - $5.5 billion on average every year - to expand the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services.

For more information about Verizon Wireless visit www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ: 29.71, -0.38, -1.26%) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Another one bites the dust in this bad economy.  RCR Wireless has been a leader in wireless stories for the industry for over 25 years.  They have also been a leader in publishing stories about the status of the FCC and regulation.  We have referenced their stories many times on our blog and will miss them.

Here is what they posted:

After more than 25 years, RCR Wireless News closes
We bid you all a fond farewell!
March 3 2009 - 4:21 pm ET |

RCR Wireless News has suspended publication of its print and online products immediately and is closing operations. Unfortunately, the market for RCR's products has been hit particularly hard by the global financial meltdown.

"RCR Wireless News was passionately run by first-class people and it pains us to make this move but the economy gives us no other choice," said Crain Communications Chairman Keith E. Crain. To contact Crain, e-mail Colleen Robar at crobar@crain.com

Another press release from Verizon bragging about it's backup network, this time in Ohio.  As you can see they are claiming that they now have generators at 90% of their cell sites.

Verizon Wireless, an operator of a wireless voice and data network and a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, announced on Friday (30 January) that it has installed permanent backup generators across the state of Ohio, US as a part of its continuing network investment in the state.

According to the company, its network in Ohio has continued to operate throughout the week as result of this ongoing network investment.

The network investment includes permanent backup generators that have been installed at over 90% of the company's cell sites across the state, Verizon said.

Verizon had reportedly completed the installation of generators at every cell site in Ohio in 2008, where it was possible to put one, to allow its customer to stay connected during tough weather conditions and power outages.

The company has reportedly invested over $258m in 2008 to enhance its digital network in Ohio and a total of $1.4bn since the company was formed in the year 2000.

These network enhancements included building new-cell site and upgrading existing-cell sites, increasing coverage and capacity within existing coverage areas and completing a high-speed wireless broadband network expansion across its Ohio coverage area.