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