Sprint’s Network Disaster Recovery and Emergency Response Teams

[503ducati]

http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_d...rticle_id=2299



News Releases

31 May 2012

Sprint’s Network Disaster Recovery and Emergency Response Teams are Prepared for the Start of 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), May 31, 2012 - With less than 24 hours until the official start of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season and two named tropical storms already formed this year, Sprint (NYSE:S) and the Sprint Emergency Response Team (ERT) are ensuring customers of their dedicated preparedness for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) recently projected forecast.

For any potentially impactful storm event, the Sprint ERT, along with the company’s network and business continuity teams, will pre-stage in hurricane-prone areas with:

- Portable generators to provide power to Sprint network assets when local power is unavailable;

- Satellite Cell on Light Trucks (SatCOLTS) and Cell Sites on Wheels (COWs) to provide immediate restoration of service and to help facilitate wireless and IP communications among disaster relief and emergency response agencies; and,

- Experienced and well-trained technicians and engineers who can readily access and maintain the resiliency of Sprint network assets.


Sprint also has permanent generators – automatic cutover switches to minimize loss of commercial power – installed at:

- All of its wireless and wireline switches – the network components where wireless data and calls are routed to their final destination;

- The company’s network Points of Presence (POP) – the facilities where traffic enters and leaves the company’s global IP network, which facilitates dedicated data services for Sprint’s corporate and government customers, as well as for other critical communications.


Sprint’s commitment to consumers, first responders and emergency medical officials


Created in 2002, the Sprint Emergency Response Team is a group of seasoned personnel with expertise in providing immediate restoration of wireless voice, data and IP service, Sprint Mobile Broadband devices, and fully charged Sprint Direct Connect phones to facilitate coordination among disaster relief and emergency response agencies, public safety officials and medical personnel.

Sprint ERT maintains a 24-hour hotline, 365 days a year, to rapidly address client needs and, during times of state and federally declared national disasters, provides 25 mobile devices and wireless service free of charge for 14 days from the date of declaration to state and local agencies. Since its creation, Sprint ERT has conducted more than 5,200 deployments, and provided emergency wireless support for more than 1,250 events.

Since 2001, Sprint has worked with Wilmington-based weather data and hurricane awareness expert Mark Sudduth of HurricaneTrack.com on his team’s efforts to provide live, immediate and seamless reporting during every hurricane season. Sprint has supplied Sudduth and his team with Sprint 3G and 4G mobile phones and broadband devices to give them fast and reliable mobile Internet connectivity during their field data collection efforts and online video reporting. Sudduth is based in Wilmington, N.C., and has reported on more than 40 named tropical storms and hurricanes along the Atlantic Coast since 1998.

“The wireless resources and support from Sprint have been truly invaluable to our efforts and to HurricaneTrack.com’s supporters and fans,” Sudduth said. “No matter the storm condition – it can be a Category 1 or a Category 5 hurricane – Sprint’s 3G and 4G service has been reliable and always available when we needed it.”

Additionally, wireless consumers are encouraged to use the following tips to prepare for a hurricane, severe flood or other natural disasters:

- Keep your wireless phone and backup batteries charged, but be aware that an interruption of wireline and commercial power could affect wireless calls.

- If possible, get extra batteries and charge them.

- In times of commercial power outages, a car adapter for your wireless phone should enable you to recharge the battery.

- Keep phones and necessary accessories in a sealed plastic bag to avoid water damage.
Load family and emergency numbers into your wireless phone.

- Use your Sprint camera phone to take digital pictures or video of your property and valuables before the storm hits. Upload the images to your personal pictures inbox on www.sprint.com so you have "before" pictures in the event of any storm damage.


Wireless networks sometimes experience heavy traffic during emergency events, so remember to use Nextel Direct Connect® or send a text message.

For more information about Sprint’s hurricane preparation efforts, or to learn what you can do to prepare for a major storm, visit www.sprint.com/hurricaneinformation. Public safety officials seeking information about services from the Sprint Emergency Response Team should call 1-888-639-0020, email ERTRequests@sprint.com or visit the Sprint ERT Facebook page.

[morningpride]

Created in 2002, the Sprint Emergency Response Team is a group of seasoned personnel with expertise in providing immediate restoration of wireless voice, data and IP service, Sprint Mobile Broadband devices, and fully charged Sprint Direct Connect phones to facilitate coordination among disaster relief and emergency response agencies, public safety officials and medical personnel.

Interesting that they are publicly saying that they are using SDC now...... I have yet to see any ERT go kit with anything in it but a Nextel device.

[morningpride]

Sprint ERT's Response to our question about their transition to SDC from iDEN.

Sprint is transitioning our iDEN sites and coverage to a CDMA & 4G based network through our Network Vision strategy. Sprint's Emergency Response Team is working on implementing these same changes within our inventory, fleet of SatCOLTs and deployment capabilities as well as doing testing with 4G data over satellite. This upgraded network will provide for a better utilization of both coverage and capacity for our customers. Sprint Direct Connect provides some of the same capabilities as our iDEN services including interoperability platforms - which is vital for our Emergency Response Team and first responder organizations.

[Evan702]

makes sense. How can they expect to migrate consumers from iDEN to CDMA if they aren't doing the same themselves?

[morningpride]

Just noticed the typo... It's actually funny, because it's soooo true!!!


Wireless networks sometimes experience heavy traffic during emergency events, so remember to use Nextel Direct Connect® or send a text message.