As Tropical Storm Gustav Threatens Gulf Coast, Residents Urged To Prepare Emergency Communications Plans

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HOUSTON, TX — With Tropical Storm Gustav threatening virtually the entire U.S. Gulf Coast region from Texas to Florida, Verizon Wireless urges residents to have their emergency communications plans in place. The company offers the following tips:

• Keep wireless phone batteries fully charged – in case local power is lost – well before warnings are issued.
• Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power.
• Keep phones, batteries, chargers and other equipment in a dry, accessible location.
• Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers – police, fire and rescue agencies; power companies; insurance providers; family, friends and co-workers; etc. – and program them into your phone.
• Distribute wireless phone numbers to family members and friends.
• Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you will be away from your home or have to evacuate.

Forecasters predict Gustav could grow stronger and expect the storm to reach land early next week. Once the storm begins to impact, Verizon Wireless urges these additional tips:

• Limit non-emergency calls to conserve battery power and free-up wireless networks for emergency agencies and operations.
• Send brief text messages rather than voice calls for the same reasons as above.
• Check weather and news reports available on wireless phone applications when commercial power is out.

“It’s clear that Gustav will have some impact on the Gulf Coast, but preparation and communication are key elements to responding quickly,” said Kay Henze, Houston/Gulf Coast region president for Verizon Wireless. “Verizon Wireless has the nation’s most reliable wireless network, and we are prepared for our customers' every communication need, especially in times of emergency.”

During the past year, Verizon Wireless has spent $137 million in the Gulf Coast area to strengthen and enhance its wireless network. Highlights include:

• A comprehensive emergency response plan, including preparing emergency command centers across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida in the case of a storm or other crisis.
• Enhancements to its regional switching facilities, which doubled its traffic capacity and back-up power redundancies. Many are designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and serve as regional emergency operations center in the event of a storm.
• A new 35-foot $150,000 Disaster Response Trailer to be used as temporary customer service location in areas impacted by a disaster.
• Erecting about 59 new digital cell sites since the start of last year, of which about 85 percent have their own on-site generators.
• The company also has a fleet of Cells on Wheels (COWs) and Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs), and generators on trailers (GOaTS) that can be rolled into hard-hit locations or areas that need extra network capacity.
• 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 expanded its Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) wireless broadband network, including launching its highest-speed Revision A (Rev. A) network throughout the region. This allows the most advanced wireless services (downloads, location-based applications, video messaging, etc.) and makes the network more robust for usage by residents and emergency agencies.

These kinds of intensive investments and preparations proved critical during the height of extraordinary storm seasons in the late summer and early autumn of 2004, 2005 and 2006. In those years, the Verizon Wireless network remained strong, while many other wireless communication networks struggled to serve residents and emergency response officials.

(Editor’s Note: To accompany a Verizon Wireless Test Man, tour a network facility or obtain broadcast-quality video B-roll and still images of network operations/emergency preparations, contact Gretchen LeJeune at 713-219-8028.)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: 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.