Wireless carriers back in N. Orleans
Reuters
Sun Sep 4, 2005 4:26 PM ET
http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=uri:2005-09-04T202655Z_01_FLE466561_RTRIDST_0_TECH-TELECOMS-DC.XML
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A number of wireless carriers said this weekend they
are starting to restore service in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, in some cases with generators on the roofs of hotels.
The collapse of the communications network in the New Orleans area has been
widely blamed for contributing to the disaster there, as local officials
were unable to talk to each other and to federal authorities to arrange
relief in the days after Katrina laid waste to the city.
Verizon Wireless said it is at work restoring parts of New Orleans and
surrounding areas including Mandeville, Lacombe, Hammond and Covington. It
has also restored Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which
is being used for relief airlifts.
The company, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc. <VZ.N> and Vodafone
<VOD.L>, said it has restored service in Baton Rouge and Jackson,
Mississippi, and is working to bring back Mobile and Biloxi. In addition,
Verizon said late Saturday it was awaiting approval to deploy COWs -- Cells
on Wheels -- to boost coverage in the affected areas.
T-Mobile USA said late Saturday it has set up a cell site on the roof of a
hotel on Canal St. in New Orleans, running on a generator, and has
reestablished service in many areas of the flooded-out city. T-Mobile said
its network is now available at the Superdome, the convention center and
Armstrong Airport.
The company's main hardware in the area survived the storm, it said.
T-Mobile is a unit of Deutsche Telekom. <DTEGn.DE>
Sprint Nextel Corp. <S.N> was more cautious on New Orleans, saying as of
Saturday night that it remained challenging. The company said it has
assembled a team in Baton Rouge to make repairs in areas where it was
deemed safe. The company, whose Nextel phones are popular for their
walkie-talkie capabilities, has provided 3,000 phones to relief officials.
A spokesman for Cingular Wireless was not immediately available to comment
on the state of their network in the region.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
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